I Was on 11 Medications for Autoimmune Symptoms and Chronic Pain—Then I Started Red Light Therapy, and My Reality Changed

You may have noticed red light therapy panels at your local gym or a downtown wellness center, or perhaps you’ve scrolled past posts featuring glowing (albeit mildly terrifying) LED face masks on social media. Beyond this hot skincare trend lies a growing body of research on “photobiomodulation”—the clinical term for using specific wavelengths of red and near-infrared light to trigger biological changes at the cellular level.

Report Stanford University experts: “Red light has been used for a variety of new health and beauty concerns that largely harness something called ‘photobiomodulation,’ or the use of light to alter biology.”

According to a 2025 review analyzing meta-analyses of randomized controlled trials, photobiomodulation has shown promise for chronic pain conditions including osteoarthritis, fibromyalgia, and temporomandibular disorders (such as TMJ). The FDA has cleared numerous photobiomodulation devices for temporary pain relief and other usages.

While photobiomodulation shows promise in research settings, individual results vary significantly. Always consult your healthcare provider before starting any new treatment, especially if you have an autoimmune condition or are currently taking medications. For some patients, though, the results have been life-changing.

Below, a 50-year-old mom from Colorado shares how desperation led her to try red light therapy, and how the positive effects inspired her—once a pre-med student—to help others.

How Red Light Therapy Changed My Life

By Tess Peterson, as told to Charlotte Hilton Andersen, MS

In December 2020, I found myself in the darkest place I’d ever been. I’d lived with chronic pain for 20 years following a car accident—two decades of surgeries, procedures, and medications. I was fully disabled. As if things weren’t tough enough, my childhood lupus, which had come and gone throughout my adult life, came roaring back.

The fatigue was crushing. I had the telltale butterfly rash across my face, joint pain, and I could barely function. At the time, I was on 11 different medications: two types of painkillers, something for my lupus, sleep medication, thyroid medication, and several others just to counteract side effects from the first round of prescriptions. It was a complicated mess.

The hardest part was dealing with all that and still trying to be a good mom. I have two kids and I didn’t want to let my pain show, but I couldn’t do the physical things with them—no playing basketball with my son, no active adventures with my daughter. I was very limited, and it broke my heart to see them and not be able to fully be a part of their lives.

Then a friend mentioned something she’d been doing for her Lyme disease: red light therapy at a nearby wellness center. Did it sound a little “out there”? Sure. But when you’ve been in chronic pain for so many years, you’ll try just about anything. So I started driving an hour and a half, five days a week, to lie in a red-light bed.

What I noticed first

I wasn’t sure what to expect, but something shifted within just a few sessions. I had a damaged nerve that ran down my right arm—the source of much of my chronic pain. After a handheld laser treatment combined with a couple of sessions in the light bed, I got in my car and went to back out of the parking spot. I turned my head to look over my shoulder—and gasped. I hadn’t been able to do that in years. I’d always had to fully turn my body to look behind me. That was stunning.

I signed up for a membership at the wellness center before I’d even finished my trial sessions. People close to me were skeptical, but I knew something was working.

Beyond the improved mobility, my mood lifted. One day, about a month later, I was driving there, singing along to a song, and realized I felt happy. I hadn’t experienced that kind of lightness in so long. The hopelessness that had become my constant companion started to fade. I was sleeping better, too.

The results that shocked my doctor

I’d visited my rheumatologist in early December, right in the middle of my lupus flare. My bloodwork showed all the markers of active disease. About three months later, I went back for a follow-up and received some surprising news: There was no evidence of lupus in my blood.

My doctor was shocked and asked what I’d been doing—yet when I told him about the red light therapy, he was dismissive. “That’s all in your head,” he said.

I understood his skepticism—most physicians don’t receive training in photobiomodulation during medical school. But I’d planned to become a doctor before my accident, so I have a science background. I’d done my homework. I knew there were dozens of clinical research studies supporting this therapy.

What photobiomodulation actually is

You may have heard of red light therapy for improving skin or stimulating hair growth—there are ads for masks and hats all over social media—and there’s real science behind those uses. (As long as you’re using a legit red light device because, caution: not all of them are.)

Clinical trials have shown that red light can increase collagen and elastin production in human skin, reducing fine lines and wrinkles. A 2023 study in Skin Research and Technology found that red LED light reaches the dermis and stimulates fibroblasts, the cells responsible for producing the proteins that keep skin firm. The FDA has also cleared several devices for hair regrowth, with studies showing red light can stimulate follicle growth when used consistently over several months.

But what most people don’t realize is that those cosmetic devices, even the legit ones, aren’t the same as medical-grade photobiomodulation. It works like this: The mitochondria, the powerhouse of the cell, contains an enzyme called cytochrome c oxidase. This enzyme absorbs red and near-infrared light, and researchers believe this absorption enhances the mitochondria’s ability to produce ATP, the energy currency of cells. With more available energy, cells may function more efficiently and support the body’s natural repair processes.

And no, there’s no UV light involved—so no risk of skin cancer. That’s one of the most common misconceptions I’ve heard.

What the research shows

While my experience is just one person’s story, there continues to be a growing body of scientific evidence behind photobiomodulation. In November 2024, the FDA authorized the first-ever non-invasive treatment for age-related macular degeneration—a light-based system using photobiomodulation that improved patients’ vision by an average of five letters on a standard eye chart over 24 months. The FDA has also cleared numerous red light therapy devices as Class II medical devices for temporary relief of aches, pains, and muscle stiffness.

Beyond FDA clearances, clinical research has explored photobiomodulation for a range of conditions. A 2023 review in the journal Bioengineering found that photobiomodulation’s anti-inflammatory properties showed benefits in treating both rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis in animal experiments and clinical trials.

What I tell people today

I’ve been doing red light therapy consistently for four years now, typically four or five days a week for 15-minute sessions. I have since come off all 11 medications I was previously on (with my doctor’s supervision). The nerve damage in my arm has healed. I haven’t had a lupus flare since.

Here’s the big question: Am I in remission? Am I healed? I honestly don’t know—time will tell. What I do know is that right now, there’s no evidence of autoimmune disease in my body.

There are a lot of skeptics, and I totally get it: it does sound kind of weird. So when people ask me about this, I tell them the same thing: In over 60 years of research and thousands of clinical studies, the science is encouraging—and all you have to do is lie there for 15 minutes. (And hey, you may end up with better skin and more hair growth as side effects.)

I eventually opened my own Light Lounge franchise because I wanted other people to have access to what helped me. I see clients every day who’ve been written off by traditional medicine—people with chronic conditions who’ve tried everything. When they start experiencing benefits, even small ones, it’s a huge weight lifted.

Not everyone responds immediately. About 25% of people notice something after their first session, but most need to commit to regular treatments for a month or more. I always encourage people: just keep coming. It’s a lifestyle change, not a quick fix.

For me, every day I wake up without pain, without medications, able to play with my kids—I know where I’ve been. Today I’m so grateful I’m not there anymore.

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