I have not been officially diagnosed with Sjogren’s Syndrome, but both my eye doctor and my dentist are suspicious that I may have it. What can I do to relieve the symptoms without taking medication? My eyes are VERY dry, but doing better since we put plugs in the upper lids as well as the lower ones… but my tongue is AWFUL!! Very dry and painful and sensitive. Your input would be appreciated.
We are not sure what causes Sjogren’s Syndrome, or why some people have extremely dry mouth and eyes. When the sympathetic nervous system is stimulated, we do get dry eyes and mouth. I’ve only had limited success trying to reduce the sympathetic drive and increase the parasympathetic nervous system to increase mouth and eye secretions with a frequency generator. In those people who have an auto-immune disease causing the problem, the reversal of auto-immune disease is not an easy fix, and will require long-term follow-up with an alternative medicine clinician. It is critically important that the mouth get moisture some way, whether it is constant water sipping, ice chips, saliva solution. Without mouth moisture, your teeth will get cavities quickly. Check with your dentist on any ideas he may have.
My doctor says I can get all the vitamins and minerals I need from my food. What is your opinion on this?
I used to say the same thing to my patients, back in the days before I studied healthy alternatives. It is the party line of allopathic medicine, although that is starting to change. Here's the bottom line, and I'll follow up with some info on what allopaths are now doing:
4 responses so far ↓
1 Wanda Copier // Apr 12, 2010 at 2:40 pm
Thanks for taking the time to answer my question. I DO try to keep my mouth moist during the day… the hard part is at night. I use the Biotene mouth spray just before bed but it doesn’t last all night. I wake up and have to take a sip of water. I find one of the best things is to suck on a sugar free Ricola but I worry about what it might do to my teeth dissolving in my mouth all night long. Do you think it will cause problems?
2 Regina Faresin // Apr 12, 2010 at 2:52 pm
Wondering about the mold / mildew connection I see in a friend’s situation: anyone have experience with this being part of their story?
3 Gaynor Wells // Apr 12, 2010 at 2:56 pm
I have Sjogrens syndrome have had it for 15 years, my dentist has me brush my teeth with SF 5000 ( prescription) and I go for cleanings every 6 months, stay off sugar. My eye Dr. has me on Restasis (prescription) every 12 hrs 1 drop. Then inbetween use over the counter moisturing eye drops. I have tried different things for my mouth, but sometimes it makes it worse. I chew gum (sugar free) when it get’s to bad, but I carry a bottle of water with me at all times. You just have to try different products to see what works for you.
4 ph // Apr 19, 2010 at 6:19 pm
I know you prefer to not use medication, but the dryness in your mouth is the same dryness that is in the rest of your body. In sjogren’s you are also missing and enzyme that starts digestion in the mouth. Sjogren’s is nan inflammatory, connective tissue, autoimmune rheumatic disorder. Early treatment of the disease( as opposed to the symptoms of dry mouth) can minimize effects on quality of life. Water, should not be bottled. the lack of substances in the water tends to create cavities along the gum line.
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