Sand in your eyes and cotton in your mouth? There’s a name for what you might be experiencing. Sjögren’s syndrome is an autoimmune disease that most commonly affects the lacrimal and salivary glands, which create moisture for the eyes and mouth, respectively. Sjögren’s syndrome causes a reduction in the production of saliva and tears, leading to uncomfortable dryness in the mouth and eyes.
There’s no known singular cause for Sjögren’s syndrome, but researchers believe that a combination of environmental and genetic factors determines who develops the disease. While there are certain genes that increase a person’s risk for Sjögren’s syndrome, the genes do not act alone. It is believed that in order for a person to develop Sjögren’s, the immune system must be activated by some sort of trigger – such as a viral or bacterial infection – that sends the immune system into overdrive.
Evidence also suggests that if someone in your family has Sjögren’s syndrome, you’re at higher risk for it. In fact, approximately 12 percent of people with Sjögren’s syndrome have one or more relatives with the disease. It's also common for relatives of people with Sjögren’s syndrome to develop some other type of autoimmune disease such as lupus or hypothyroidism.
Approximately 4 million Americans have Sjögren’s syndrome, making it among the most prevalent autoimmune disorders. Though it can affect people of either gender or at any age, nine out of 10 people living with Sjögren’s syndrome are women, most of them diagnosed in their 40s. In fact, a major risk factor for developing Sjögren’s syndrome is being a post-menopausal woman.
While there isn’t yet a concrete answer as to why Sjögren’s syndrome affects women at such a higher rate than men, researchers believe the hormone estrogen might play a role. Another risk factor for Sjögren’s is the presence of other autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis or lupus. In rare cases, even children can have Sjögren’s syndrome.
Now a days I meditate daily, do yoga every single day and take supplements from the Deepak Chopra's center. It has just change my life.
My diagnose at first was Lupus, then arthritis, fibromyalgia and Sjs.
We need more specific information, the article its too general.
I had to have surgery (2007) to remove a prednisone pannus because I had been on high doses of prednisone for more than ten years. The surgery went horribly wrong with several complications because Dr. Cohen would not listen to the other doctors and went on with the surgery anyway. When the stitching came undone I had to have a second surgery (2009). The surgeons who assisted in my surgery let me bleed internally for nine days because Dr. Coleman left the hospital right after the surgery and he could not be reached (one of the surgeons who assisted told me I would have to ride it out until they could get in touch with Dr. Coleman). My hemoglobin was 6.8 after the first surgery. Nine days later, after receiving 14 units of blood and 2 units of plasma, my hemoglobin was 6.6 (hell of a ride!!!). It didn’t seem to matter how much blood they pumped into me, I was losing ground, so on the eighth day the hospital doctor, Dr. Riley Snook, who knew my medical case, only too well, called Dr. Wooden in to do the surgery (washout). Dr. Wooden examined me, a push here, and a poke there, and in just a few minutes he told me I would be in surgery early the next morning. The surgery did not go off as scheduled because Dr. Coleman had to have a surgeon who he could trust to help cover up what they did wrong. I was led to believe that Dr. Wooden did the washout and stopped the bleeders. It was not until a month or so ago that I found out the surgeon that Dr. Coleman trusted was Dr. Flores. Between Dr. Coleman and Dr. Flores, my stomach was forced up into my lungs, collapsing 2/3 of my right lung and 1/3 of my left lung. I have been asking, no, begging to get a surgeon to fix the damage and correct the intestinal problem. Four hospital doctors and three surgeons tried to help me but the Chief surgeon told them not to help me or they would be fired. Dr. Pascuzzi, my neurologist at IU Hospital, told me to go outside of IU Hospital’s control. I went to seven different Surgeons who were qualified to do the surgery I needed. As each one of those Doctors talked to the Chief surgeon at IU Hospital, they would then call me back and cancel my appointment and tell me they did not want to get involved. In all, twenty-two doctors covered up for a few surgeons who think they are privileged and don’t want their superior standing to be damaged beyond repair. Before the first surgery I played golf nearly every day, shot hoops, and made mad passionate love to my wife. I nearly died in the first surgery and they tried even harder to do me in during the second surgery. The surgeons turned a healthy man into an invalid and I am now on Hospice Care and Home Bound. There is a massive cover-up going on because Dr. Coleman, Chief of Plastic Surgery at IU Hospital, doesn’t want anyone to know what horrible mistakes were made on me, and it didn’t have to be that way. The only way I’m going to live through this situation is for the News Media to expose the cover-up that is going on at IU Hospital. The last I heard from Dr. Pascuzzi was that Dr. Coleman’s influences ran deeper than just IU Hospital and he said we would have to start looking out of state. I am a sixty-six year old man and my means are moderate at best, so even if I found a surgeon out of state I would not have the means to travel there. Please help me before it’s too late.
Joseph Haynes Phone: 765-282-7826 E-mail: jtinyhaynes@yahoo.com
I guess in order to become a specialist in
the medical field one would have to reside in a foreign country to get knowledge and training then relocate to America, make the big bucks laugh all the way to bank and develop a self righteous almighty god attitude to us American born citizens.
That's ok. Bad KARMA is on her way and to all the greedy people in this world.
I couldn't agree more!
Sjs is a systemic disease. Yes - common symptoms are dry eye and dry mouth, however, the entire body is affected. The gastrointestinal system, the genitourinary system, the skeletal system, and the skin all are frequently affected by this disease. Not to mention potential kidney and liver disease as well as a ten fold increase in the incidence of lymphoma. Generalized fatigue is also a hallmark and for many is disabling.
This article is superficial and poorly researched. If Arthritis Today, a respected source of information publishes more stories of this calibre, I will not be reading it in the future.
I expected more and better information from you.
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