New member have Sjogrens along with other health issues

Hi, I am new here so here is my intro:
I am 61, married, 1 child, 2 grandsons. I was dx'd with Crohn's in 1980. Was first treated with Prednisone. Got the usual weigh gain, hunger, moon face but my Crohns was controlled. Was taken off Prednisone after 3 years by new gastro Dr and put on Pentasa. Worked for awhile but then I had to have my gallbladder removed due to stones, appendix removed and a small bowel resection done due to blockage. I had to have the part of the small intestine that reabsorbs the bile back into the body. I had continuous diarrhea for 2 years that was pure hell. I moved to another state and my new gastro Dr. put me on Questran which changed my life. I did notice though that if I got into a flareup, mainly due to stress, the Questran didn't work as well. But still was amazing.

Over the years I developed the other health issues listed in my signature. RA and Sjogrens along with the Crohns got me approved for disability as I couldn't work any more. This was about 8 years ago.

I have had a total of 3 resections with all due to blockages and one included a fistula ready to open on my abdomen and a huge mass of Crohns scarred tissue.
I get Remicade IV inifusion every 7 weeks for the RA and Crohns. It works pretty good but my RA is getting worse and my Crohns keeps flaring. I tried Humira with no luck, can't take Prednisone due to cataracts and methotrexate damaged my liver by about 40%.

All my life I have had dry mouth and eventually developed dry eyes and skin. Was dx'd with Sjogrens Syndrome and over time lost all my teeth to cavities. I spent close to $20,000 on my teeth but two years ago had to have all my teeth removed. I am not doing well with dentures due to soreness caused by dentures and Sjogrens. So at home I don't wear them. When I go out I do for cosmetic purposes.
I can't eat with the dentures as the Sjogrens causes sores in my mouth and the dentures irritate them.

I have to use regular eye drops, drops for dry eye and also drops for the glaucoma.
I use coconut oil on my skin for dryness which works well.
I am having issues with lots of dry skin on my scalp which looks like dandruff but isn't.

I also developed Peripheral Neuropathy and Raynauds in my feet. I have cold feet all the time and have tried to wear socks all the time which helps a little. I get hot flashes and can't tolerate hot weather. it's so weird.

I discovered after my Mother passed away, that she had Sjogrens, Crohns and dentures. I guess I inherited them from her. My son has IBS which he must have gotten from me. Mom always said she had "cotton mouth". She had to have her teeth removed when she was 20 back in 1950.

Thanks for reading my post and I appreciate any comments, advice, etc.

I share some of your problems.  I had 2 1/ 2 feet on each side of my intestines removed in 2003 and had several months of diahrea before discovering questran.   Colestipol for cholesterol is also good for controlling it.  I do not need either now as long as I watch what I eat.  No cabbage or lettuce at all.  My surgery was due to what they said was a blockage, but we later discovered I HAD A C1 esterase deficiency which mimics a blockage in the way it effects the gastro system.  Now I am having problems with acid reflux and a constricted esophagus, waiting to hear what the Drs  want to do.  They are also checking out my heart.

I use restasis eye drops for eyes dryness, biotene mouth wash, and evoxac pills for saliva.  We need the natural saliva for our teeth, but I am hoping that with the evoxac it may help me keep my teeth longer.  I use a cream on my skin, lotion does not seem to help.  T-gel shampoo may help you with your scalp.  I try to get my 8 glasses of water in, but with my stomach problems right now I can't.  I use saline nose drops and that helps with the nose dryness, I also have prescription drops if I need them.  I keep a humidifier going at home and that seems to help.

I was taking predisone for the lupus as well as plaquenil.  I had managed to taper down to 5 mg, and plan to get completely off.  I found out last week that I have osteoporis, so the steroids have got to go. 

A lot is trial and error to find what works for us.

Hope you feel better soon.