I thought this article was interesting, I never knew Shogrens could cause
all this stuff.

Dr. Paul Donohue

http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/lifestyle/columnists.nsf/drpauldonohue/story/FB
C68DAA7E1DFB388625735D0070E5ED?OpenDocument

     Dry eyes, mouth only part of Sjögren's
     By Dr. Paul Donohue

     Monday, Sep. 24 2007

     Dear Dr. Donohue: I have had Sjögren's syndrome for more than five
years. I
     never have had much of a problem with it other than dry eyes and dry
mouth.

     Recently I have had pain in my shoulders, arms, wrists and fingers.
The doctor
     says my Sjögren's is "off the chart." He told me to take Tylenol Extra
     Strength. I need stronger pain medicine. The doctor says there hasn't
been much
     research on Sjögren's, so I have no idea what kind of treatment I
should be
     getting. Can you give me any help? I was also diagnosed with lymphoma.

     Dry eyes and dry mouth are the classic Sjögren's (SHOW-grins) syndrome
symptoms
     due to an immune-system attack on the tear and salivary glands. There
are
     medicines for both.

     Sjögren's can bring on joint pains, swollen lymph nodes, lung
involvement,
     inflamed blood vessels, kidney and liver trouble, neuropathy and
muscle
     inflammation. About 2.5 percent of Sjögren's patients come down with a
     lymphoma.

     Yours is a complicated case that needs the direction of experts — a
     rheumatologist for whom Sjögren's is part of his or her area of
expertise and
     an oncologist for the lymphoma cancer. Furthermore, other joint
diseases —
     rheumatoid arthritis and lupus — can coexist with Sjögren's, and
either could
     be the reason for your pain. Those illnesses call for the attention of
a
     rheumatologist specialist.

     Contact the Sjögren's Syndrome Foundation. The foundation's toll-free
number is
     1-800-475-6473, and its website is www.sjogrens.org.

     Dear Dr. Donohue: For three and a half years, I was diagnosed as
having
     inflammatory bowel disease, but the doctor was vague about calling it
either
     Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis. I had to use the bathroom 10 to
15 times
     a day. I did not fit the picture of a person with IBD, since I gained
weight. I
     got a second opinion and was told I had irritable bowel syndrome. I
took
     Lomotil and it helped, but I still had accidents. I mentioned to the
doctor
     that I had had my gallbladder removed, and he put me on Colestid.
Today I lead
     a relatively active life, eat salads and fruits and have my diabetes
under
     control. People should know this side effect of gallbladder surgery.

     The gallbladder stores bile and shoots it into the intestine after a
fatty meal
     to aid in digestion. Without a gallbladder, bile drips into the
intestine more
     or less constantly, and most people get along quite well with that
arrangement.
     For a few, however, the constant drip irritates the intestine and
brings on
     diarrhea.

     Colestid and another medicine, Questran, absorb bile, and either often
ends
     bile-induced diarrhea.

     Write Dr. Donohue at P.O. Box 536475, Orlando, Fla. 32853-6475.‚

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