Sjogren’s Syndrome – Introduce yourself and meet others

Posted by cmtg @cmtg, Aug 20, 2016

I have been diagnosed with this and I'm in pain most days and would like to have discussions.

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@becsbuddy

@cblue this site from Mayo Clinic says pretty much the same thing; that cevimeline stimulates your own glands to produce saliva versus artificial saliva which many people have to use.
https://www.mayoclinic.org/drugs-supplements/cevimeline-oral-route/side-effects/drg-20062661?p=1. Your dentist says the saliva produced is not adequate to protect your teeth. Have you asked him what he would suggest you use in addition to cevimeline?

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Ps the oral pathologist confirmed it is saliva from my own glands. I’m just having trouble getting it to work consistently and when it does, it makes me nauseous often.

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Man, this aging process....... Thank you for taking time to try to help!

I have had a positive ANA for decades and run a higher CRP number, I have for many years. Other than Osteoarthritis, no other autoimmune diseases have been identified. My health is good for the most part at 70.

Last month I had, what I refer to as a "flare". My whole body was in pain for over a week. I went into my PCP who I've had for decades. Once again she ran blood tests looking for clues.

My CRP had jumped from a previous high of 7 mg/L to... 80 mg/L...!!!!!!!!!

The only clue was the test for Sjogren's Ab. My result was Sjogren's Anti-SS-A was.. over 8.0..., normal range being 0.0-0.9. The Anti-SS-B was normal range at less than 0.2.

She is convinced this is enough for a DX of Sjogren's. I know medicine is a process of elimination and I have had severe dry eyes and mouth for years. Do I need further testing or is this convincing?

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@di341

Man, this aging process....... Thank you for taking time to try to help!

I have had a positive ANA for decades and run a higher CRP number, I have for many years. Other than Osteoarthritis, no other autoimmune diseases have been identified. My health is good for the most part at 70.

Last month I had, what I refer to as a "flare". My whole body was in pain for over a week. I went into my PCP who I've had for decades. Once again she ran blood tests looking for clues.

My CRP had jumped from a previous high of 7 mg/L to... 80 mg/L...!!!!!!!!!

The only clue was the test for Sjogren's Ab. My result was Sjogren's Anti-SS-A was.. over 8.0..., normal range being 0.0-0.9. The Anti-SS-B was normal range at less than 0.2.

She is convinced this is enough for a DX of Sjogren's. I know medicine is a process of elimination and I have had severe dry eyes and mouth for years. Do I need further testing or is this convincing?

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Does your doctor have a treatment and care plan in mind for you? What does she suggest?

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@di341

Man, this aging process....... Thank you for taking time to try to help!

I have had a positive ANA for decades and run a higher CRP number, I have for many years. Other than Osteoarthritis, no other autoimmune diseases have been identified. My health is good for the most part at 70.

Last month I had, what I refer to as a "flare". My whole body was in pain for over a week. I went into my PCP who I've had for decades. Once again she ran blood tests looking for clues.

My CRP had jumped from a previous high of 7 mg/L to... 80 mg/L...!!!!!!!!!

The only clue was the test for Sjogren's Ab. My result was Sjogren's Anti-SS-A was.. over 8.0..., normal range being 0.0-0.9. The Anti-SS-B was normal range at less than 0.2.

She is convinced this is enough for a DX of Sjogren's. I know medicine is a process of elimination and I have had severe dry eyes and mouth for years. Do I need further testing or is this convincing?

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Has your doctor suspected PolymYalgia Rheumatica? When my CRP jumped to 80 and I was in tremendous pain, it was diagnosed as PMR. Prednisone worked pretty fast to get the pain under control, but there is always a threat of it returning. Look into it, pretty interesting.

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@di341

Man, this aging process....... Thank you for taking time to try to help!

I have had a positive ANA for decades and run a higher CRP number, I have for many years. Other than Osteoarthritis, no other autoimmune diseases have been identified. My health is good for the most part at 70.

Last month I had, what I refer to as a "flare". My whole body was in pain for over a week. I went into my PCP who I've had for decades. Once again she ran blood tests looking for clues.

My CRP had jumped from a previous high of 7 mg/L to... 80 mg/L...!!!!!!!!!

The only clue was the test for Sjogren's Ab. My result was Sjogren's Anti-SS-A was.. over 8.0..., normal range being 0.0-0.9. The Anti-SS-B was normal range at less than 0.2.

She is convinced this is enough for a DX of Sjogren's. I know medicine is a process of elimination and I have had severe dry eyes and mouth for years. Do I need further testing or is this convincing?

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I don't know what else you would need for a dx. My dr during a flare dx'd me with the same even though the Sjogren's was not positive. My rheumatoid is always highs. the new Tyrava nose spray is helping for the dry eye. Expensive. The drops are a bit tricky to administer bc I find the spray is hard to feel. My eyes are now more bothersome again especially to light.

Good luck! Hope you find what you need and feel better! We are about the same age....turn 70 in December. Sometimes a challenge in itself!

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@jkm54

I don't know what else you would need for a dx. My dr during a flare dx'd me with the same even though the Sjogren's was not positive. My rheumatoid is always highs. the new Tyrava nose spray is helping for the dry eye. Expensive. The drops are a bit tricky to administer bc I find the spray is hard to feel. My eyes are now more bothersome again especially to light.

Good luck! Hope you find what you need and feel better! We are about the same age....turn 70 in December. Sometimes a challenge in itself!

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If you keep the eye drops in the refrigerator that help with administering a lot and it feels better.

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@lucyhipp

This has been a journey. went from 146 lbs. in January 2022 to a current wt. of 112. This started with Endoscopy and colonoscopy showing Gastroparesis, gastritis and a SIBO infection. My GI tested me for endocrine tumors which were negative. PCP group was just sitting by with no idea except that I came to the ER too often. GI suggested I get a long term + ANA investigated. I did and some labs were abnormal. I had no idea that my Sjogren ANT was negative. Meanwhile, after several falls and night sweats with a crazy TSH going from5, to 15 to 34, I go to a local rehab hospital with dehydration and weakness. The rheumatologist call me to DX me with Sjogren. I am placed on Plaquenil and for unmentioned reasons I change rheumatology. This group is concerned about how frail I am and my neurological symptoms. EMG shows no big deal except a bad R shoulder, now known to be calcific tendononis. Three ER visits later for eye infections, I off Plaquenil and my sight is decreased quite a bit. I rely upon Sjogren foundation and find a rheumatologist at U. OF Pa. Currently, I am scheduled for a lip biopsy on Dec. 29th. I have had home OT, PT and speech therapy. Pain management manages my pain. My depression is quite awful. I wish I had the money to go to Mayo Clinic where a team works together. I have been a nurse since 1974 and that was what I was taught. I would appreciate feedback on this story and my illness. My. name is simply Lucy.

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Reading all that you have been through breaks my heart. Hopefully you will find an an answer soon.

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I highly recommend that you call Mayo Clinic you might be surprised. Please don’t count them out without talking to them. God bless!🙏🌟

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@di341

Man, this aging process....... Thank you for taking time to try to help!

I have had a positive ANA for decades and run a higher CRP number, I have for many years. Other than Osteoarthritis, no other autoimmune diseases have been identified. My health is good for the most part at 70.

Last month I had, what I refer to as a "flare". My whole body was in pain for over a week. I went into my PCP who I've had for decades. Once again she ran blood tests looking for clues.

My CRP had jumped from a previous high of 7 mg/L to... 80 mg/L...!!!!!!!!!

The only clue was the test for Sjogren's Ab. My result was Sjogren's Anti-SS-A was.. over 8.0..., normal range being 0.0-0.9. The Anti-SS-B was normal range at less than 0.2.

She is convinced this is enough for a DX of Sjogren's. I know medicine is a process of elimination and I have had severe dry eyes and mouth for years. Do I need further testing or is this convincing?

Jump to this post

This IS your Dx IMHO

Yep! You're a Sjogren's warrior

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@di341

Man, this aging process....... Thank you for taking time to try to help!

I have had a positive ANA for decades and run a higher CRP number, I have for many years. Other than Osteoarthritis, no other autoimmune diseases have been identified. My health is good for the most part at 70.

Last month I had, what I refer to as a "flare". My whole body was in pain for over a week. I went into my PCP who I've had for decades. Once again she ran blood tests looking for clues.

My CRP had jumped from a previous high of 7 mg/L to... 80 mg/L...!!!!!!!!!

The only clue was the test for Sjogren's Ab. My result was Sjogren's Anti-SS-A was.. over 8.0..., normal range being 0.0-0.9. The Anti-SS-B was normal range at less than 0.2.

She is convinced this is enough for a DX of Sjogren's. I know medicine is a process of elimination and I have had severe dry eyes and mouth for years. Do I need further testing or is this convincing?

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In my opinion this is absolutely enough. This illness can be so hard to diagnose I would take it and run with it. Thank God you have a doctor aware of Sjogrens. Now it’s time to find a medication that works for you and the good news is for us we have many to chose from. Good luck please keep us posted. We care. Diane.

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