Help need answers with sjogrens

Hi Whitethunder. You may already know this, but just to make sure we understand each other, Sjogren's syndrome symptoms involve dryness of the eyes, mouth, nose, and sometimes vaginal dryness. Eye symptoms include a gritty sensation, itching, redness and sensitivity to light. Mouth symptoms are caused by lack of saliva and may include difficulty chewing, swallowing, speaking, and progressive dental decay. Nose dryness can cause crusting with thick nasal/sinus secretions that can lead to recurring sinus infections.

Sjogren's syndrome is diagnosed (usually by rheumatologists) with positive blood antibody tests or lip biopsy plus the dryness symptoms I described. Many Lupus patients have Sjogren's dryness symptoms. If you have an autoimmune disease and also develop dryness symptoms, your autoimmune disease is considered Primary with Secondary Sjogren's. Usually the symptoms of Secondary Sjogren's are milder than those of Primary Sjogren's syndrome.

Sjogren's syndrome can cause chronic musculoskeletal pain. I'm sorry to hear that you also have SLE and fibromyalgia which also cause lots of pain. I can really relate because I have them too. Sjogren's can cause problems with the skin, nervous system, lungs, kidneys, liver, gastrointestinal tract, thyroid, and blood but I can't find any info that states it can lead to thyroid nodules. I'm so sorry that you must have thyroid surgery, but try your best to keep a positive outlook. It's been my experience that stress just makes recovery harder. Our Sjogren's forum doesn't get much traffic. Since you've been diagnosed with Lupus, you may want to check out the Lupus forum. There is always someone there to listen and you might find someone with problems you can relate to. Love, Butterflake