Joint pain is one of the most common symptoms of Sjögren's syndrome. Multiple joints are painful, usually episodically with periods of joint pain, known as “flares”, followed by periods of little or no joint pain. Tenderness and swelling of the joints, when present, are indicative of inflammatory arthritis.
Sjogren's Syndrome patients often complain of mental fatigue or “brain fog.” Brain fog impairs focus, causes fuzzy concentration, and contributes to difficulty in problem-solving. Keep your stress levels low, and give your brain a workout with crosswords, puzzles, reading, adult coloring books, or online brain games.
Uncommon events include early and progressive hearing loss and symptoms related to neuropathy of the eighth cranial nerve. Approximately one-fourth patients suffers from high frequency hearing loss of cochlear origin, as detected by impedance audiometry or auditory brainstem procedures.
Constipation and diarrhea can occur with Sjögren's. Increase vegetables. Try magnesium supplement for constipation. The pancreas, which releases digestive enzymes, can have low-level inflammation (20-40%) in Sjögren's.
The neurological complications of Sjögren's syndrome are extensive and range from cognitive difficulties, to burning toes and feet.
Sjögren's (pronounced "show grins") syndrome is a chronic (or lifelong) condition that causes dry mouth and dry eyes. The syndrome also can affect any of the body's glands, including those that secrete sweat, saliva and oil.
The patients with Sjogren's had an overall lower quality of sleep [8]. All of the studies in the systematic review noted that there is an increased number of nighttime awakenings in Sjogren's patients.
Avoid foods that dry your mouth
You should also avoid spices and acidic foods such as citrus, as these can irritate a dry, sore mouth. You should also avoid sugary foods that can contribute to rapid tooth decay, which is already increased by lower saliva production in Sjogren's syndrome.
SjS induces disorders of the functions of mouth, throat and larynx. This causes disorders in swallowing and in voice [9]. Dryness in SjS patients leads to dysphagia, with the major impact on oral and pharyngeal transport.
Sjogren's Syndrome
According to Dr. Cram, the signature white spots of thrush may appear. Or, your tongue may become red and smooth if the little hairs disappear. Some people with Sjögren's syndrome also have a burning sensation and cracking of the tongue.
The diagnosis of SS remains a clinical challenge. In this study, we report a case of a patient with primary Sjogren syndrome (pSS) experiencing severe autonomic neuropathy symptoms characterized by dizziness and palpitations.
Hydroxychloroquine; first-line treatment. Methotrexate. Hydroxychloroquine plus methotrexate. Short-term (1 month or less) corticosteroids (15 mg or less a day); long-term corticosteroids (≤15 mg/d for more than 1 month) may be useful, but efforts should be made to find a steroid-sparing agent as soon as possible.
The condition may progress slowly, so the typical symptoms of dry eyes and mouth may take years to show. However, rapid onset can also occur. Symptoms can be mild, moderate or severe, and the progression is often unpredictable.
SjD should be suspected in individuals with persistent symptoms of dry eyes and/or mouth, parotid gland enlargement, an unexplained increase in dental caries, or abnormal results of specific serologic tests (eg, anti-Ro/SSA antibodies with or without anti-La/SSB antibodies, rheumatoid factor, and hyperglobulinemia).
Dryness in these organs can lead to irritation, soreness, and pain. Patients with primary Sjogren's syndrome report fatigue as one of the most difficult symptoms they have to cope with.
The CNS manifestations of pSS include diffuse abnormalities (psychiatric changes, encephalopathy, aseptic meningitis, and cognitive difficulties/dementia) and focal or multifocal involvement of the brain and spinal cord leading to motor and sensory deficits, seizures, aphasia, and optic neuropathy [12, 31].
Falk: What kinds of factors can make Sjogren's worse? What is the effect, for example, of stress? Jonas: Well, like all autoimmune diseases, patients who feel stressed or are under unusual stress will often have exacerbation of their symptoms. Learning to manage that stress in your life is very important.
This is the first quantitative study indicating that crying problems are more common in patients with Sjögren's syndrome than in the general population. Perhaps, patients who experience problems with crying could be helped to rely on other ways of expressing emotions than crying in tear-inducing situations.
Prevalence of inflammatory back pain and radiologic sacroiliitis is increased in patients with primary Sjögren's syndrome.
While many patients experience dry eyes, dry mouth, fatigue and joint pain, Sjögren's can also cause dysfunction of organs such as the kidneys, gastrointestinal system, blood vessels, lungs, liver, pancreas, and the central nervous system.
Sjögren's syndrome can also cause swollen or painful joints, muscle pain or weakness, dry skin, rashes, brain fog (poor concentration or memory), numbness and tingling sensations in the arms and legs due to nerve involvement, heartburn, kidney problems and swollen lymph nodes.
Results: SS-related dry eye is a progressive condition with major negative impact on the quality-of-life of afflicted patients, not only due to symptoms of ocular discomfort but also visual dysfunction. In addition, SS can lead to corneal melt/perforation, uveitis, scleritis, retinal vasculitis, and optic neuritis.
Patients with Sjögren's frequently suffer from decreased mucus/nasal secretions and dryness of the nose and sinuses.