A mouth that feels like it's full of cotton or eyes that feel gritty and burn. For many people with Sjögren's syndrome, these are the extent of their symptoms. But for others, dry mouth and eyes are just the beginning.
A disease in which the immune system attacks and damages the body's moisture-producing glands, Sjögren’s can cause dryness of skin and mucous membranes. Dry skin may itch and crack. Dry vaginal tissues may make intercourse painful. A dry throat may make it hard to swallow.
Sjögren’s can also affect other parts of the body. Patients may experience pain, stiffness and swelling in the joints, rashes on the arms and legs related to vasculitis – an inflammation of tiny blood vessels. The lungs, liver and kidneys may become inflamed; some people develop tingling and numbness in the limbs because of neurological involvement.
The syndrome was identified in 1933 by Swedish ophthalmologist Henrik Sjögren, who observed that a large number of his female patients were experiencing dry eyes and mouths, along with their arthritis symptoms. That Dr. Sjögren noticed more women with the condition is not surprising – of the 1 to 4 million people in the U.S. who have the disease, 90 percent are women. Most develop it after age 40.
The disease is classified either as primary Sjögren’s, meaning it exists entirely by itself, or secondary Sjögren’s, meaning it can develop in conjunction with another connective tissue disorder such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA) or lupus.
Sjögren’s Symptoms and Signs
In addition to dryness of the eyes and mouth, which are known as sicca syndrome, and are the most common indicators of Sjögren’s, symptoms can occur in any part of the body. Here are a few more to look for:
Eyes
- Itching eyes
- Feeling something is in the eye
Mouth and throat
- Difficulty swallowing or eating
- Loss of sense of taste
- Difficulty speaking
- Thick or stringy saliva
- Mouth sores or pain
- Hoarseness
Systemic
- Fatigue
- Fever
- Change in color of hands or feet
- Joint pain or swelling
- Swollen glands
How is Sjögren’s Diagnosed?
Diagnosing Sjögren’s syndrome is often no easy matter. The average time between onset of symptoms and diagnosis is six years. Symptoms rarely develop rapidly, but tend to evolve over a period of months or years, and are not always present when the patient first visits a rheumatologist or other healthcare provider.
I also have a strange thick feeling under my right rib cage, but xrays and scans do not show anything.
I think I must have sjogren's but when your specialist says no, what should you do?
I am beginning to worry that other things in my body are deteriorating while I endure the endless doctor's visits, constantly being sent away with no diagnosis ...
Please help ...
Allison
Since 2009 I several procedure to have my deep vein ablation in both legs (ELVT) which cleared much of my leg pain. It would hurt worse after lying down due to back flow of blood. I found this article on WebMD and copying/pasting a small portion on a study surgery vs ablation (laser):
But I still have to take Adderall occasionally for fatigue when I have it- you might try that because it helped me to function, gave me more motivation to get up, and also to lose the brain fog. Also if you eat out you can't know if it has HFCS or not. But my body tells me and I can tell within two hours of eating/drinking anything that contains HFCS. A vaginal hormone tablet called Vagifem helped with the hormonal part, sweating, and other things. I also take a beta pill sometimes- to increase blood floor- more so when it is cold because I have Raynaud's Syndrome which is worse when it is chilly.
I have seasonal allergies and take eye drops, nasal spray, and a tablet to help with those problems.
But since 1988 I have been doing some research- reading about “The Yeast Syndrome” , Fibro, Arthritis, etc. I feel that they were correct in RE: Yeast which is fed by HFCS and sugar but I feel more rapidly with HFCS. In 2009 I had to have a stent placed in my common bile duct due to a severely infected gallbladder and then had the gallbladder removed. It had Candida so I knew it was true for me. I have quit eating or drinking anything with High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS. now often renamed corn sugar) not only lost weight but lost the Fibromyalgia pretty good. Also drinking a lot of water during the day also seems to help. But I do love my Pepsi Throwback-the Pepsi similar to what we grew up on. But the corn now is a Hybrid so I think some of us are more sensitive to corn products but especially if they have HFCS. I believe that your brain does not register it and neither your body. Think about when your mom made cakes, etc. You didn’t gobble it up as fast as you can gobble up “Twinkies” or “Little Debbie’s” like you can now. You think that was pretty darn good and eat another so you gain a lot of weight.
I do take 2 types of pain meds but am cutting back on the frequency. I had added Tramadol 50 mg with Loritab 10 mg. I have a thyroid problem but it wasn’t found until last year. I knew it would come because my grandmother had it + Raynaud's + other vascular problems it is in the family and I feel that it worsened some symptoms and muddied the waters. I had diabetes but since not eating those items and there isn’t much else to eat I don’t Glucophage in over a year. I went from 170 to 108 lbs, my high school weight! But when you are 52 I think I do need to gain a few pounds back, am working on it but, of course, my husband loves it!
Hope this helps someone.
I am sero-negative. My symptoms are complicated with osteoarthritis & fibromyalgia. For almost 25 years now I have had dry eyes/dry mouth, but the bulk of my aggravation is the joint pain. Fibro pain I can deal with, this other is
sometimes debilitating. I take have been on Plaquenil for 16 yrs, and now take Mobic. It's not normal, but it is my normal. I do well, but now need to consider disability. I was young when I was diagnosed, so at 53 I'm wearing out. Life goes on!!!!
I'm pretty sure I have this; besides the eye drops, however, the meds I currently take for RA (prednisone, methotrexate, Enbrel) should be alleviating the Sjogrens symptoms, too. As for rashes/itching, I've found tea tree oil, applied with damp cotton ball, helps a lot. I began using it for toenail fungus (thanks, RA); its antifungal, antibacterial, antiseptic qualities work well on rashes, cuts, etc. I also use DermaE's Tea Tree Oil/Vitamin E Antiseptic Cream (about $10 for good-size jar--& it's organic) with good results.
What would you sugjest I do?
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