10/21/2025
“It’s probably just stress.”
How many times have you heard that after an autoimmune flare? It’s frustrating because for so many women, those flares aren’t random at all. If your symptoms spike before your period, after coming off birth control, or postpartum, there’s a hormonal story happening beneath the surface.
Your hormones and immune system are constantly in conversation. They shape how your body responds to inflammation, how antibodies behave, and whether your system goes into attack or repair mode.
What usually gets missed in a rushed appointment is how deeply they’re connected. Estrogen can trigger flares when it’s too high or too low. Progesterone acts as a natural buffer, calming immune overactivation. Cortisol might suppress symptoms temporarily, but over time it can make things worse. And gut health plays a major role in both hormone balance and immune tolerance.
If your flares seem tied to your cycle, stress, or major hormonal transitions like pregnancy or menopause, you’re not imagining it. The key to real healing is understanding that hormones and immunity aren’t separate systems—they’re part of the same conversation. When you address both together, everything changes.
