THE ESSENTIAL
- The evolution of Gougerot Sjögren’s disease is slow and different for each person.
- Patients with this syndrome often have joint and/or muscle pain, as well as different dryness (ocular, oral, cutaneous, genital or bronchial) and are very tired.
50 to 200,000 people suffer from Sjögren’s syndrome in France, according to the Federation of Dysimmune Diseases, or 0.1 to 0.4% of the adult population. This pathology can be defined as an autoimmune disease responsible for dry mouth and eyes. At the beginning of the pathology, the diagnosis is generally difficult to establish by doctors. In question: the signs of the disease which appear slowly and are not very specific. This is precisely what happened to a patient, Linda Charles.
For nearly 30 years, the young woman suffered from chronic swelling around the eyes, gastrointestinal and dental problems, joint pain as well as chronic dryness of the mouth and eyes… Many years of suffering because the doctors did not give the correct diagnosis… They have first thought that the problem was his gallbladder and decided to operate on him. A partial success of this surgery because only some of his symptoms have disappeared.
Sharp eye pain
A few years later, the patient had severe pain in her left eye. A pain that pushes her to consult a doctor. During this appointment, the health professional explains to her that she could lose her sight because there is a lesion on her eye due to herpes. At the same time, her joint pain increases and she falls into depression. Moreover, as the weeks go by, the patient’s eyes become more and more sensitive to daylight… So much so that she can no longer go outside when it is sunny.
30 years of therapeutic wandering
Linda ends up going back to see an ophthalmologist. She then passes a series of tests, one of which shows that she has Sjögren’s syndrome. A diagnosis made very late, when the patient was already 50 years old… She had been suffering from these ailments for more than 30 years. But, according to doctors, it is this disease that explains all his symptoms: dental problems, lack of saliva, tears and fluid in the joints. The doctors have since put her on treatment, which has resolved all of Linda’s health issues.