Frankly, I’ve found that when they say that certain types of arthritis are autoimmune diseases, it’s probably true.  Most people I know who have arthritis are older.  But even among those who are older, and especially among those who are younger and have it, I’ve noticed that a lot of times, they actually have other autoimmune disorders as well.  The immune system attacking itself means that it probably won’t just attack one area of the body.  It will falsely attack multiple parts of the body.  So frankly, while I understand the fact that most people would prefer not to actually take an immunosuppressant drug thereby taking the risk that you would actually get more sick among other things, it can be necessary.  It’s as simple as that.  You shouldn’t take it if the case is mild or otherwise if it’s not extreme without question.  But there are various ways to do it.  You just have to know what it is you are looking for and what it is you want to do in general terms.  You essentially have to be able to help yourself out.  This is measured based on the other problems you have and all the other extenuating factors in general.  But if this is the case and you have to effectively suppress your immune system to see success, than the tradeoff in those cases many have found are actually worth it unfortunately speaking.  It should never get that extreme, but of course it has in the past and continues to do so.