You don't know what it is, but you might have it. The doctor's eventual diagnosis became known as Sjogren's syndrome. You' re not alone.
Many women ignore the symptoms because they often occur at the onset of menopause.
The series of diagnostic tests to determine if a patient is suffering from Sjogren's syndrome includes blood tests for autoantibodies, a lip biopsy and various tests for dry mouth and eyes. No cure exists for the syndrome. But these symptoms are not trivial. It's dangerous to ignore them. Approximately 200,000 cases of Sjogren's syndrome have been diagnosed in the United States, but many experts believe that up to 3 million people may be affected, about 90 percent of whom are women.