A Patient's Guide to Immune Tolerance and the Future of Autoimmune Recovery. By Tommy T Douglas , Amateur Health Researcher and Blogger For decades, the standard treatment for autoimmune diseases-where the body mistakenly attacks itself-has been a "sledgehammer" approach. If your immune system is attacking your joints or your nerves, doctors prescribe immunosuppressants to quiet the entire system down. While effective, this leaves patients vulnerable to infections and cancers. While traditional vaccines prepare the body to fight pathogens, inverse vaccines teach the body to recognize self-antigens as safe.