Sjogren's Awareness

 Hi Everyone!

I forgot that the month of April is sjogren's awareness month. Yes the same purple ribbon as lupus and for good reason.

Along with lupus I was diagnosed with sjogren's (show grens) about 4 years ago.

Approximately 30% of people with lupus also have sjogren's  as a secondary autoimmune. The primary signs of sjogren's are constant dry eyes, dry mouth, difficulty swallowing or speaking and extreme fatigue.   Sjögren's syndrome have an increased risk of developing cancer, specifically non-Hodgkin lymphoma

In both sjogren’s and lupus, there are high levels of antibodies (proteins produced by your immune system that are meant to attack germs) called SS-A and SS-B. Having high levels of these antibodies in your blood is a sign that your immune system isn’t working as it should.  Both diseases share similar immune system pathways. In both, the immune system becomes overactive and attacks the body’s own tissues and organs. These shared immune pathways help explain why lupus and sjogren’s disease can occur together, why symptoms may overlap across multiple organ systems, and why diagnosis can sometimes be challenging.

So with all of the things that lupus already attacks add sjogren's to make it doubly difficult.

Autoimmune diseases often do not occur in isolation. Many people with an autoimmune disease have more than one autoimmune disorder, a pattern sometimes called autoimmune clustering or polyautoimmunity.  

The last 5 weeks have been hell for me. My blood work shows both lupus and sjogren's off the chart in a bad way. One day I will feel better and the next it feels like a Mac truck has hit me. I still have to function no matter what. I have friends tell me, "You don't look sick."  I think I will have a T-shirt made up with.

I don't know where I'm going with this post. I'm very exhausted and my body hurts. I think I just want all of you to know that people with autoimmune are not weak, we don't want pity. We just want to be treated like everyone else.

Nicole