Sjogrens Syndrome

[seekeerz]

I'd appreciate any input on this - does it tend to run in families and how much does fatigue and/or stress come into it ?

[Sqad]

Google it.

It does not tend to run in families.

It is an auto immune disorder and it is questionable whether stress or fatigue has anything to offer.
I personally have doubt that it is stress related.

[seekeerz]

Thanks Sqad, I have googled and feel a bit overwhelmed with facts. My cousin has been diagnosed with the syndrome and I have a number of similar symptoms, hence the family query

Just interested to hear how others coped

[Sqad]

LOL...sorry, I haven't had it, so can't tell you how i coped.

[seekeerz]

Well thanks ....... I think !!!

[yogasun]

Hi seeker
I don't suffer from it but a friend does. It doesn't seem to cause her many problems. I believe she has eye drops and whenever I see her she is always chewing gum. Maybe she has been told it could help to keep the mouth moist.
Sorry not much help.

[yogasun]

Just to add. This friend is so laid back she is virtually horizontal, not at all
a 'stressy' person!

[slaney]

Hi seekeerz; Sjogrens like other autoimmune disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis can have a familial element.
It's thought that people who develop it have genes that predispose them to the disease, and then other environmental factors trigger the onset of the condition.
Fatigue can be a major symptom.
Some reliable basic information here...
http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/Sjogrens-syndrome/Pages/Introduction.aspx

[Eve]

What kind of symptoms do you have?

I looks like I have it - have very dry eyes from rheumatoid arthritis and gland disease and Sjogrens has come up a lot from general opticians to doctors at the eye hospital.

It's an unnatural dryness - for me it can feel like my eyes are almost being sucked into my head and I get blurred vision when really dry - I've not been able to wear contact lenses for years as my eyes suck them onto my eyeball to get the moisture out. I have preservative free eyedrops from the eye hospital (and lubricant at night) I can put in every 2 hours but when bad I can literally feel my eyes dry back out.

Dry mouth wise it can get to feel like there is literally no moisture in my mouth at all and even breathing in makes it worse (air drying it out more).

I also get cheek swelling and I have other symptoms though once autoimmune things mount up (with the RA too) it's difficult to work out what causes what sometimes.

If you have dry eyes then get an optician to take a look with the orange dye they use and a slit lamp to get an initial verdict about dryness - they should be able to see dryness on the eye and can see some problems with tear issues (e.g. if you are not producing tears, tears aren't staying on the eye etc...).

You would need referral to a rheumatologist/eye specialist for anything to be looked into. Blood tests which can show antibodies which can show up in Sjogrens (and other conditions) are not usually done by GPs, similar with eye examinations and lip biopsies.

[seekeerz]

thanks for all the replies, girls, - the trouble with 'googling' is that there's so much info, it's sometimes hard to sort out the 'chaff'

I have the dry eyes and mouth, hence the chewing gum, and also a tendency now for nose bleeds when the weather's very dry, I've noticed that, this summer, whereas it was never a problem before.

I guess we're just connecting the dots now as I've also had trouble with my teeth and I'm going to have some tests to determine whether it's all one thing or not, so thanks again