u/WorriedMath689

Hi everyone,
I haven't seen a rheumatologist yet, but my functional doctor ran bloodwork for Sjögren’s and it came back positive. My symptoms (severe eye/nose/throat dryness and lack of sweat) a few years ago. After C o v i d I figured it was just a symptom from that.
I’m posting because I feel crazy trying to explain one specific symptom and hope someone recognizes it:

My throat and mouth are extremely dry, especially in the morning. Whenever I drink a glass of water or use a Neti pot in my nose it instantly triggers a thick, sticky, gooey saliva/phlegm film that comes up from my throat that I have to spit out when drinking or coming out of my nose when using a neti pot.

My theory is that my esophagus and throat are so dry that old, dehydrated saliva is stuck to the lining, and adding water "wakes it up" or rehydrates it into a gooey film that I have to spit out. Once I clear it, I'm fine, but it happens reliably every time I hydrate or rinse.

It’s almost as if my throat esophagus area and nasal cavity doesn’t get moisture until I put water is this sjorgen symptom?

Does anyone else experience this? Is this typical for Sjögren's?

I’m fairly new to the Spider Farmer ecosystem and have a question about their soil moisture sensor setup.

Can you set a minimum soil moisture threshold in the app so that when the moisture drops below that percentage, it automatically turns on a smart outlet with a water pump plugged into it?

Basically, I want to know if the app allows soil moisture level to act as the direct trigger for powering the outlet/pump on and off.

Hi everyone! After developing severe Sjogren's symptoms post-COVID, my blood work just came back positive for Anti-SS-A (Ro) and Anti-SS-B (La). No lip biopsy done yet.

Main symptoms: Severe dry eyes/mouth/throat and nose, no sweat, chronic fatigue, PEM, and bad joint pain, brain fog, Tried LDN in the past, but couldn't tolerate the side effects.
I have a follow-up with my functional/naturopathic doctor in a month, but I'm feeling stuck and disabled.

Quick questions for the group

1. Rheumatologist vs. Functional Doc: Should I get a referral to a rheumatologist, or stick with my functional doc? Can a rheumatologist offer better medication options?

2. Medications: If LDN didn't work for you, what prescriptions or treatments gave you your quality of life back (especially for severe dryness, PEM, and joint pain)?

3. Biopsy: Is a lip biopsy necessary, or are positive antibodies enough to get moving on treatment?

My NP doctor is pretty chill and usually will give me things to try if I ask because she does want to help the amount of muscle mass that I’ve lost and the inability to do small chores around the house is pretty sad considering how my life was prior.
I know there’s gotta be a way to get some type of quality of life back.
But my NP is young and I’m not sure how she stands with this disease anyone see any good doctors in Eugene/springfield Oregon area
That might be worth seeing?

Thanks so much for any insight!