Sjögren's Syndrome Symptoms

  • Dry eyes: Your eyes might feel as if they had sand in them or as if they were irritated.
  • Dry mouth:Your mouth might feel as if it were full of cotton or sticky.
  • Weak teeth: Teeth that get a lot of cavities despite good oral hygiene or break easily.
  • Joint pain: Painful joints such as knees, hips, elbows and other joints.
  • Blurry vision: Letters seem fuzzy, vision in general feels out of focus.
  • Mouth ulcers: Sores and bumps in your mouth.
  • Sore/dry throat: Feeling like your throat is dry even after you drink something, pills get stuck in your throat and/or a change in your voice (Sjögren's Syndrome can affect the vocal cords).
  • Swollen salivary glands and tear ducts.
  • Fatigue: Feeling very tired and without energy often or all the time, as if you have had the flu.
  • Dry skin and rashes: Such as sebhorrheic dermatitis, dandruff or eczema.
  • Vaginal dryness.
  • Difficulty chewing, swallowing or talking.
  • A sore or cracked tongue or a white tongue (dehydration).
  • Dry, peeling or cracked lips.
  • Dry nose and/or change in smell.
  • Peripheral Neuropathy: Numbness, heat, the feeling of something crawling on you or like a cat rubbed up against you and tingling in the legs, feet, arms or hands.
  • Acid reflux: heartburn, nausea, sour stomach.
  • Brain Fog (rare) - memory difficulty, inability to concentrate, feels like your brain is stuck in a cloud.
  • Raynaud's Syndrome - Painful reaction to change in temperature or stress, turns the fingers/toes white or blue the bright red as they return to normal.  Usually as and effect of cold or emotional upsets.
  • Recurrent lung diseases such as pneumonia or bronchitis.

      Sources:
      1. Sjögren's Syndrome Foundation
      2. Mayo Clinic
      3. Wikipedia

      Inspiration

      "Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional. " - M. Kathleen Casey

      "Oh, my friend, it's not what they take away from you that counts. It's what you do with what you have left." - Hubert Humphrey