Seven Auto-Immune Disorders Doctors Often Miss

CNN is spotlighting seven auto-immune disorders in women that often go undiagnosed by doctors. Experts have found that many women feel their doctors’ aren’t taking their symptoms seriously and are being told that their health concerns are “all in their heads.”

The reality can be, however, that some women often have an auto-immune disorder. One in five Americans end up being diagnosed with these disorders, and three-quarters of them are women.

“More than 40 percent of women eventually diagnosed with a serious auto-immune disease have basically been told by a doctor that they’re just too concerned with their health or they’re a hypochondriac,” Virginia Ladd, founder and executive director of the American Autoimmune Related Diseases Association said to CNN.

What are auto-immune disorders? Auto-immune disorders occur when the immune system attacks itself. Seven of the the more common disorders include:

1. Polycystic ovary syndrome

2. Fibromyalgia

3. Chronic fatigue syndrome

4. Lupus

5. Multiple sclerosis

6. Rheumatoid arthritis

7. Irritable bowel syndrome

For more detail on these disorders plus diagnoses and treatment information, read the whole story at CNN.com.