AutoImmunity Community - Sharing hope, help, and hallelujahs!

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The Site

AutoImmunity Community is a website dedicated to the millions of people who have either been diagnosed with an autoimmune disease, or suspect that they have such a condition. This online forum is also intended to benefit friends and family members as well as those suffering from multiple autoimmune diseases. The purpose of this web site is to establish a community of people with similar problems and experiences in order to share knowledge and encouragement.

Please note that the founder of AutoImmunity Community and the forum moderators (unless denoted as Medical Advisor) are NOT medical doctors. This website was specifically designed by laypeople for laypeople. Therefore, any information included on the AutoImmunity Community website is never intended to replace the relationship that exists between a patient and his/her physician.

Mission Statement

To create a safe and structured environment in which people representing all of the autoimmune diseases can come together as one community. United, we will not only find tremendous hope and support, but will also help the world to discover more about autoimmunity in general.

The Founder

Barry Andrews is the founder and webmaster of AutoImmunity Community. After being diagnosed with Myasthenia Gravis (MG) in June 2004, he searched the internet for a forum or newsgroup to share information with other MG patients. He quickly realized that there was not only a lack of a good MG forum, but of an autoimmune forum in general. For this reason he decided to get busy and create this web site for people like himself in need of contact with similar individuals. His goal was to create a safe environment to share experiences, information, and hope.

Since the establishment of this website in 2004, Barry has since been diagnosed with two more autoimmune conditions-Hashimoto's Thyroiditis and autoimmune hypogonadism. While the past years have included medication complications, surgery, and some difficult times, they have also provided an opportunity to learn tremendous empathy for others with illnesses. Therefore it is with the utmost compassion that Barry and his family members maintain and moderate this forum.

Medical Advisors

We are proud and honored to welcome medical advisor(s) to the AutoImmunity Community team:

Rhonda Gabr, MD, PhD

Disclosure of Funding Statement

AutoImmunity Community is a private website. There is no charge to view the site or use its services. AutoImmunity Community has three sources of funding:

the founder's (Barry Andrews) personal funds
small advertisement banners and/or videos in various sections of each web page
optional contributions from registered users of the site

Advertising Policy

AutoImmunity Community includes small banner advertisements and videos in various sections of each web page as a source of funding. These advertisements are clearly marked with the word "Advertisements." AutoImmunity Community does not endorse any of these advertisements and is not liable for any of the information contained on the advertiser's websites, nor it's videos; however, AutoImmunity Community does guarantee that no advertisments for pornographic material will ever be displayed.

The advertisement banners are the only advertisements that are permitted on the AutoImmunity Community website. There will be no advertisments included within the message boards, either by AutoImmunity Community or it's users. AutoImmunity Community hosts Google sponsered ads and links, but we do not control the ads' contents. Furthermore, advertisements do not influence the content of any forum posts or blogs within the website.

Users of the site are not permitted to post or display advertisements of any product or service that is for profit within the message boards. This includes posting URL's. All advertisements posted by users will be immediately removed from the site and the poster's user id will be revoked permanently.

However, if you are a reputable company interested in advertising on our site, please contact:

This site is best viewed with Firefox.

Authority

All forums and blogs are moderated on a daily basis. The moderators and administrators are volunteers. They use the following aliases: bandrews, AmandaA. The moderators and forum/blog members are not regarded as health professionals unless their alias is marked with the category of "Medical Advisor."

Complementarity

The information provided in all forums and blogs, ( including blog comments ) is designed to support, not replace, the direct relationship between patients and health professionals.

Privacy

We remind you that any message can be read, used, reproduced and cited by everyone. You do have the option to delete and edit your posts in the forums. Special note about comments in blogs: Comments cannot be deleted by the blog user. If a comment needs to be deleted, please contact one of the moderators.

Messages

The moderators and members should conduct themselves at all times with respect and honesty. By using our forums and blogs, you agree to post information that is true and correct to the best of your knowledge and is of your personal experience. If the information you post is not from personal experience, we request you to provide sources (references, links, etc.) whenever it is relevant and possible. You are not allowed to post advertisements, whether in the form of text links or banners, for example. The moderators reserve the right to delete any messages deemed inappropriate without notifying the author. In cases of abuse, the moderators reserve the right to ban a member from the site. Moderators are not required to give notice for banning or deleting messages, and a reason may not be given even if one is requested by the author. Be sure to review all forum rules here: Forum Rules
Disclaimer: Information contained on the AutoImmunity Community (hereafter referred to as "AIC") website is intended solely for general educational purposes and is not intended nor implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice relative to your specific medical condition. At no time is information on AIC's website intended to provide or confirm a diagnosis, nor is any claim made as to the therapeutic safety or effectiveness of any medications, tests, course of treatment, or the subjects of any other discussions.

Always seek the advice of YOUR physician or other qualified healthcare provider for any questions you may have regarding your medical condition. Only your physician can provide specific diagnoses and therapies.

AIC, its volunteers and Medical Advisors assume no liability whatsoever for direct, indirect, special, or consequential damages relating in any way to the use of information provided on AIC's website.
(Click here to read the rest of AIC's Disclaimer in it's entirety).

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Site last updated: 01/03/2011