Sjogren's Syndrome

[Guest guest]

Dear ,

From: shelly smiegal

Welcome to the group, Dodie, and I look forward to hearing from you in the future. Take care and keep smiling!!-

Thank you for the welcome !!!

Best Wishes, Dodie

Northwest PA

[Guest guest]

Dear ,

From: shelly smiegal

Dodie, I live in NE PA!! Nice to

meet you neighbor!!-

It's nice to meet you too !! Have you

been on this list long? NE PA is nice with the

mountains!

Best Wishes, Dodie

[Guest guest]

Dear ,

From: shelly smiegal

Dodie, I've been on this site for about a year now. We live outside of Kingsley, how about you?

Oil City. Glad to be aboard. Best Wishes,

Dodie

[Guest guest]

This is for anyone who doesn't know what Sjogren's Syndrome is and what

it does to the body. This is just a brief synopsis.

Sjögren's syndrome is an autoimmune disease in which the body's immune

system mistakenly attacks its own moisture producing glands. Sjögren's

is one of the most prevalent autoimmune disorders, striking as many as

4,000,000 Americans. Nine out of ten patients are women. The average age

of onset is late 40s although Sjögren's occurs in all age groups in both

women and men.

About 50% of the time Sjögren's syndrome occurs alone, and 50% of the

time it occurs in the presence of another connective tissue disease. The

four most common diagnoses that co-exsist with Sjögren's syndrome are

Rheumatoid Arthritis, Systemic Lupus, Systemic Sclerosis (scleroderma)

and Polymyositis/Dermatomyositis. Sometimes researchers refer to the

first type as " Primary Sjögren's " and the second as " Secondary

Sjögren's. " All instances of Sjögren's syndrome are systemic, affecting

the entire body.

The hallmark symptoms are dry eyes and dry mouth. Sjögren's may also

cause dryness of other organs <javascript: bodyDiagram();>, affecting

the kidneys, GI tract, blood vessels, lung, liver, pancreas, and the

central nervous system. Many patients experience debilitating fatigue

and joint pain. Symptoms can plateau, worsen, or go into remission.

While some people experience mild symptoms, others suffer debilitating

symptoms that greatly impair their quality of life.

--

Peace, love and light,

Don Quai

" Spirit sleeps in the mineral, breathes in the vegetable, dreams in the animal

and wakes in man. "

[Guest guest]

I was re-reading the page Nina, it does mention the possibility of involvement of internal organs. I wonder if the emphasis on eyes and mouth is because of the predominance of those symptoms.

Hugs, Jacy

~Of all the things I've lost, I miss my mind the most.

jacymail@...IM: jacygal - ICQ: 96949087www.geocities.com/mtn_rose

Want a signature like this?

----- Original Message ----- From: Nina

Rheumatoid Arthritis

Sent: Thursday, March 24, 2005 16:14

Subject: Re: Sjogren's Syndrome

----- Original Message -----From: Jacy> Excellent info on Sjogren's Syndrome:http://www.midwestarthritis.com/html/sjogrens.htmExcept they are wrong about several things. If you have Sjogren's and any other autoimmune disease, it is consideredSecondary Sjogren's. They state some diseases (specifically arthritis typediseases). That is incorrect. They do sort of correct themselves later inthe article.Also, researchers now believe that you inherit a gene from "each" parent.That's why siblings will get it, but mother and daughter probably won't.Also, they don't even go into organ involvement. They talk about it as ifit's dry eyes, dry mouth and parotid and salivary gland involvement only.It's much, much more.Nina