Sjogren's: how I was diagnosed, my labs, tests, & lip biopsy

Sjogren's: how I was diagnosed, my labs, tests, & lip biopsy
#Sjogren'ssyndrome #sjogren'sdiagnosis #sjogren'slabs #sjogren'slipbiopsy #livingwithsjogren's #sjogren'strouper #sjogren'swarrier #sjogren'sstrong #autoimmunedisease #hashimotos #livingwithlupus #fibrowarrior #lipbiopsy #chronicfatigue #rhumatoidarthritis

Blood Tests

SS-A (or Ro) and SS-B (or La): Marker antibodies for Sjögren’s. 70% of Sjögren’s patients are positive for SS-A and 40% are positive for SS-B. Also found in lupus patients.

CBC with differential: complete blood count: RBC, WBC, platelets (all blood components)
LFT - liver function test:
Lipid panel: cholesterol etc
renal panel: kidney function
Complete metabolic panel: measures electrolites & protiens in your blood
ESR: shows how much inflammation
CRP: Shows systemic inflammation

The following labs & descriptions are from the John's Hopkins Sjogren's Center web page
https://www.hopkinssjogrens.org/disea...

"The following tests are routinely performed in the evaluation of a patient with suspected Sjogren’s syndrome"

 "SS-A (Ro) and SS-B (La) antibodies: Antibodies are a large family of proteins in the blood that are capable of binding to molecular targets."

"Antinuclear Antibody (ANA): The ANA test is positive in the majority of Sjögren’s syndrome patients. However, a positive ANA test is also common in healthy individuals."

"Rheumatoid Factor: The rheumatoid factor test detects immunoglobulins in your blood that bind to other immunoglobulins, resulting in large protein complexes. Rheumatoid factor is a characteristic feature of rheumatoid arthritis, ... However, it is also common in Sjögren’s syndrome patients..."

imunoglobulins:
"The immunoglobulin quantitation test measures the levels of the most common types of immunoglobulins in the blood, known as IgG, IgM, and IgA."
Complement Proteins: "The complement proteins, C3 and C4, are part of a group of proteins that mediate tissue inflammation and damage in certain immunologic diseases, including Sjögren’s".

other testing for Sjogren's

https://sjogrens.org/understanding-sj...

Lip biopsy - to look for damaged salivary glands

Schirmer's test - places a special paper under bottom eye lid for specified period of time to see how much tears you make

Sialometry - checks to see how much saliva you produce

Rose Bengal- uses lissamine green, drops in eye used to see surface of eye to check for damage