SSF: How I Found a New & Happier Life with Sjogren's

I really hope that you routinely read the excellent Sjogren's Syndrome Foundation's blog - Conquering Sjogren's: Follow us on our journey to change the face of Sjogren's. The blog features individual Sjogren's syndrome patient stories, posts in which doctors answer frequently asked patient questions, and articles containing all kinds of useful information from reputable sources.

This month's post is outstanding: How I Found a New & Happier Life with Sjogren's by Janet E. Church.

My Sense of Humor is Dry, and so is Everything Else! I’ve always had a dry sense of humor coupled with an optimistic personality. But I must admit, when I was diagnosed with Sjögren’s, it took me quite a bit of time to go through the grieving process and create a bold life with my sense of humor intact. 

I love those stories about people who are able to accept the diagnosis and immediately say, “Sjögren’s, I may have you but you will not have me.” That was not my experience. In fact, I found that that more I challenged my Sjögren’s, the more it did have me! 

Like all of you, I now can look back and pinpoint when I was presenting early Sjögren’s symptoms. My early symptoms began in 1997 as ongoing sinusitis and exhaustion. For a decade, symptoms escalated until I was hospitalized for two weeks.  Nine-months after my hospitalization I was finally diagnosed with Sjögren’s January 2007. 

I was relieved to have the diagnosis and excited to look Sjögren’s in the face and tell it, “You will not have me! I am a fighter, an optimist, a model patient and I will knock you down.” 

Although it turns out a fighting attitude was not what I needed and it took three years for me to find my way after my diagnosis........continue reading here.