Hope I don't have it.

My eye doctor tried to clear up corneal inflammation with steroid drops.  I have a history of dry eyes.   It didn't help, so he said he thinks I have sjogrens and told me to tell my Family doctor to test for it?  He referred me to an Eye Specialist who is taking a 3 treatment approach and told me to get Family doctor to test for sjogrens, and said whether I have sjogrens or not, her treatment is the same. She prescribed Steroid drops, plus restasis drops which I can't afford, even with the subsidy cards I was given to give the pharmacy?   I still have to come up with a $135.     If I manage to buy out one or 2 fills of restasis, will it be enough to fix my eyes?  Are these drops continual or do they fix the problem up and then quit taking it?  She has 6 refills written down, and I go back to see her in July.  Anyway since I started taking the steroids and the liposic gel and systane and doing the warm compresses and massage, my eyes feel even drier or more irritated.. I was telling her, the more I fuss with them and the more I put in them the worse they get. 

I never mentioned anything to my Family doctor just yet?  Is there a blood test they use for sjogrens, and is there any treatment to fix it? 

Thanks for your response. Sorry it took me so long to get back to this Forum. The Pharmacy got back to me and said a mistake was made and our insurance will cover restasis afterall. Good thing because I called the Dr.s office looking for an alternative, and by the time I pay for the blood test and slightly cheaper eye drops, it comes out to the same thing. I've been using a restasis vial for for a drop in each eye and then the instructions tell you to throw the rest out. Well, for 30 vials and I have to use 2 vials a day, my RX is only good for 15 days, which is very expensive? I can't see why I can't use the same vile for morning and night, there is enough in those vials for 4 drops and it can be capped???? I temporarily stopped using the lotemax and will have to get that filled in a day or 2. I read that a side effect of lotemax may be irritation, and dryness, (Lol, the very condition it's supposed to treat) so maybe that is what is happening, but it seems okay, if I wean off for a bit, and then start all over again, and I can use it for a few days without problems. I quit using the liposic gel, it only lasts about a half hour and my eyes burn again, so I find Systane Anytime Gel much better. It lasts much longer.
My mouth is very dry as well, but I have crohn's so I keep telling myself it's dehydration but the doctor said it's not dehydration, she said my eyes are not producing tears. Thank you for advising me on the tests, no thanks to the lip biopsy, that is the only place that still seems moist, my upper lip sticks to my teeth and it hurts to swallow. I was sucking on candy before bedtime, but I have to buy some sugar free candy so I don't lose my teeth (not laughing) .