What would "components of Sjogren's" mean?

I was diagnosed through the antibody level as well (SS-A) but it was slightly over 1. I did not have dry eyes or mouth at the time of diagnosis but one year later and now I see a dry eye specialist and am constantly sipping water.

I wonder what is meant by "components" as well. Maybe ask the doc what they meant. I'd be curious.

Good grief! Is that rheumatologist part of a hospital group. If so are there any rheumatologist in your area that have their own practice? I would check that out. I did the research and found an independent doctor. I went because of symptoms and was told by PC that Mercy rheumatology would not see me because I am sero negative for RA. My appointment lasted about 45 minutes and I answered a lot of questions. Bloodwork done and came back with unexpected positives. Subsequent tests came back negative and then several months later my ANA was slightly positive…it had been negative before! I hope you are able to find someone who listens. I have realized that I am blessed to have found a great doctor so quickly.

Unfortunatly, Shogren's sets you up to attact any system in your body. When my rheummy diagnosed me, she had me get several specialists. The Liver people ran lots of tests with the conclusion that they would watch and wait and see. The Kidney people started out that way. If you doubt what your hearing, get a second opinion.

"Components" can mean you have labs that indicate an autoimmune condition (even though you may not have symptoms - yet) or that you have an overlap with an already have a confirmed condition with aspects of another condition . . . i.e. you have labs and symptoms consistent with rheumatoid arthritis, but either have developed Sjogren's antibodies when next tested - or you have started to complain that you have dry eyes and now often get mouth sores, though you may be testing negative for any of those Sjogren's antibodies. I have an overlap condition with "components of psoriatic arthritis" as my shoulders and hips hurt, which is more consistent with psoriatic arthritis rather than RA or dermatomyositis, but I have no psoriasis anywhere on my body.

I don't know that I agree that chest pain would have nothing to do with autoimmune disorders as so many of them have a lung component. Many autoimmune conditions make you prone to ILD, pulmonary nodules, or someone could have sarcoidosis. When in doubt, a second opinion is always a good idea!

@pm56 Thanks for the reply. I was diagnosed with Hashimoto's over 20 years ago. I do have psoriasis (be glad you don't 🙂 )and psoriatic arthritis, but was told that those conditions wouldn't affect the sjogren's number? Honestly, the abnormalities in the bloodwork/etc. indicate lupus. Pretty sure I don't have that either though from my understanding the ssa sjogren's can be positive when it is lupus? I had already decided not to attend the 3 month follow-up appointment and repeat bloodwork as the receptionist not so kindly informed me that he didn't have any appointments open in August. After rolling her eyes a bit, she scheduled for a virtual visit at 6:30 AM. Now I am stuck wondering if it is worth tuning in to see if he has any insights.

@suetex Thank you for the reply. So, then it isn't just a casual note on my records. It is frustrating. Honestly, I don't have time to be sick. This appointment was a bit of a last try for answers and now I am left with more questions. I wish second opinions were a possibility where we are. It's pretty rural. For now, I will just have to wait and see I guess. Hopefully, it just won't attack 🙂 .

@intheorchard did they tell you which antibodies you were positive for? Anti-Ro is strongly connected to Lupus, but can still be part of an overlap condition. Do you know if you were positive for anti-dsDNA or anti-Smith?

I think if I were you, I would still attend and make a list of my questions and ask them all. Hopefully the doctor is receptive to answering everything you want to know!

intheorchard, components in this case refers directly to the lab work used to make this ( differential) diagnosis. The word components can also be used to describe the symptoms peculiar to a disease. Your symptoms don't align with the typical components of Sjogrens.
Shortness of breath while supine is something you might want to discuss with a cardiologist. It can be sign of fluid shifting and pressing against the heart muscle, or simple muscle stress. But it can be and early sign of congestive heart failure. Combining the two shortness of breath and high SSA could lead you to the possibility of Multiple Myeloma, but the two might be completely unrelated in cause.
I'm hoping you have simple muscle strain from too much pruning in the orchard.

Thank you for the reply. My mom died of congestive heart failure so I must admit, my mind goes there. The doctors here seem content enough to do a chest x-ray (I've had two four years apart) and say everything looks fine. I am inclined to just accept that as I am too busy to be sick. But when I wake up gasping at night, I start to question. After 5 years of mentioning chest pain, my GP did finally order a ct chest scan. It came back with an enlarged ascending aorta to which she replied 'well it's not an aneurysm yet, we'll do an echo next year'. No mention of it again. Calcified granulomas and lymph nodes in the lungs to which she replied, 'everyone has those'. I noticed a 'calcified mass on the kidney' but since she did not mention that, I assumed it too is common. I do accept that my inclination to just accept that "it's nothing" and move on is contributing to the lack of diagnosis. But then I wind up on a discussion board whining and looking for answers :). I will look up Multiple Myeloma and see the symptoms--thank you. 🙂

Hi I am sorry that some of your concerns were not answered and the others were ignored,I have sjogrens, myasthenia gravis and fibromyalgia an I can tell you that I went through many Drs and test but also missed diagnosis but finally 5 yrs ago I found support for my answers at Columbia hospital in New York and let Drs know you need answers because Drs don't get pay for 15 mins appointment they bill for 45-1 hr.