u/Honeycombe_s

So, the past week I've been getting increasingly more itchy. Like it started on my neck, then my arms, then my legs, now it feels like my whole body is itchy. Some places have redness but I'm not sure if that is due to me scratching or not.

To reiterate, this has been going on for a week or so, today I started my first dose of plaquenil, so not a reaction to meds - will this help the itching? My doctor told me the medication could take 8 - 12 weeks to be effective and see benefit, but if this itchiness does not go away I'm not sure what to do. I scratched the first spot on my neck so much it looks like I have a hickey and I'm having to cover it with a band-aid. I have put hydrocortisone cream on the spots that do have a circle shape and redness, but I haven't really seen too much of a change.

So, I got my diagnosis by my primary care provider on Monday. I am very fortunate, in a weird way, because my levels were so high it only took 5 months to get diagnosed. I know people struggle for years, and I am very thankful to not have had to fight like that. My mental health was already beat into disaster mode 3 months in, I would have been a mess waiting that long. That being said, I look back at my life and realize how many things were probably sjogren's all along. The weird off and on vaginal dryness starting at 23, all the extreme pain I thought were fibro flares, the many "diagnosis of exclusion"'s I got, all the cavities that I haven't been able to repair after already getting like 12 filled to the point my teeth snap in half and crumble, the random bouts of thrush I'd get that were hard to get rid of. Mid to late January is when I started having increased pain and fatigue, and I honestly at first thought it was a fibromyalgia flare up. It continued to get worse, it didn't feel the same as what I'd experienced in the past, and it wasn't letting up. I went to the Dr, I waited, I met my out of pocket maximum for my insurance with all the tests. I wanted to cry with relief that I had a diagnosis, an answer that meant I could start getting help. My mom has Lupus, so when all of this started and I went to the doctor I pushed for the labs and testing, knowing the genetic component. It was worth it. Especially considering I didn't even mention the dry eyes or mouth as a potential leading symptom because I take too many medications and thought those were medication side effects. It could have taken a lot longer, but thankfully didn't. However, despite this answer and diagnosis, I am still missing work, still struggling to keep up, still stressed with everything. I don't think I'll lose my job, me and my amazingly supportive manager are working to find a way for me to do something else and not have as much physical strain day in and day out, as currently I'm a kennel technician. So lots of physical exertion, quick movements, bending, lifting, walking, standing. We're working on it, it'll just take time. While I wait for that, as well as the rheumatologist appointment for actual treatment, is there anything I can do to make it easier for me? Any advice. I need to work at least full time hours so I can maintain my insurance, which has been nearly impossible with the long breaks, missed days, and half days I've had to do. It's either that or me being unable to get up the stairs to my room, unable to stand for a shower, not have the energy and be in too much pain to go get something to eat downstairs after work, not be able to take my dog outside to use the bathroom and downstairs to feed him. Sometimes I'm in too much pain to even get dressed in the morning, it hurts to brush my hair, to put clothes on. I need something. Some sort of life hacks, tips and tricks, advice. Something. I am lucky to have already been seeing a pain management doctor for my fibro and back issues, so for full transparency I have as good pain management as possible, probably way better than most. I have an amazing support system in my family and work family, so there is little extra stress with that aside from what I create with my anxiety. It still is hard, and I still need help getting through this while I wait to hopefully get better. What has helped some of you in the past? I don't care if it sounds outlandish or eccentric, let me hear it.