Hi all,
Before I make a fool of myself by suggesting Sjorgren’s syndrome to the neuro, can anyone tell me if dry painful eyes and swollen bottom lip are also MS or NMO symptoms?
Background:
For a long time (2+ years) I have had a sore, swollen bottom lip. I thought this was an allergy to washing up liquid, so rinsed and rinsed all my cups and glasses. It still came and went so I stopped using various lip salves which was hard because I get very dry lips , but that made it worse, so I was at a bit of a loss. Then, suddenly it flared up badly and my lip was so swollen it was hanging forward, at which point I was just going to go to the doctor about it, when… Transverse Myelitis struck on C3C2. At which point, obviously, my lip was the least of my probs, so I didn’t say anything about it.
My eyes have been blurry for ages. I put it down to tiredness, although I did see an optician and get glasses for reading, However, this May, when the first symptoms of TM suggested ms to my GP, she sent me for a PEARS referral, but the optician couldn’t see ON. Then after the TM dx my eyes got more painful and gritty and blurry. I let the neuro know and when I went for my LP, his Registrar checked my eyes. She couldn’t see anything.
Still they were getting more painful so I referred myself for another PEARS at a different optician. She asked if they were clear when I blinked and then blurred, which they do and she said I have dry eyes. She told me to get drops. The drops work and they aren’t blurry anymore and are less sore, although still painful and I use the drops much more than I am supposed to.
My lip was better for a week or so, but is sore again now so I googled, and came across Sjorgren’s. There are lots of symptoms I don’t have, but it would also explain my difficulty swallowing which the neuro said wasn’t related to the C2C3 and possibly my frequent sore throat. I’m wondering if the Gabapentin has made everything worse.
I read that DMDs can exacerbate Sjorgren’s, so I want to make sure the neuro has all the info when I go for my LP results but I also want to make the most of my neuro consult and don’t want to waste time on red herrings if I am just imagining this correlation of symptoms. I realise it is really rare for Sjorgrens to cause TM.
Any thoughts anyone?