Yesterday was my first World Sjogren's Day since getting diagnosed. It has been over 8 years since I went to my doctor about postpartum symptoms that wouldn't go away and they asked "Have you tried looking it up online?" I was very much on my own until my doctor left the practice and I got assigned a nurse practitioner who took me seriously. Most of my symptoms were related to histamine responses to scented products. To get into see an environmental allergy specialist, I had to be screened for autoimmune diseases. It took about two years from the blood tests to the biopsy that confirmed Sjogren's. Now I am being monitored for systemic involvement and other autoimmune diseases. I eventually got into the environmental allergies clinic and got diagnosed with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity. More diagnostic adventures await as we figure out what's going on with my mast cells. The good thing is that while there's no cure for Sjogren's or MCS, I am doing all of the things I can (My doctor says I am the perfect patient who goes above and beyond!). The main guidance - "Don't get sick!" so I mask up around others. Ironically, Sjogren's prescribes low impact exercise and MCS high impact so training 80-20 for ultra marathons is a perfect fit. Running is my medicine!
#Sjogrens #SjogrensDisease #Running #AutoimmuneDiseases #MultipleChemicalSensitivity #UltraTrail #GetOutside #Zone2Running #MaskUp #CovidIsNotOver #ScentFree