Prednisone and Sjogerns

[hiandri]

I have had Polymyalgia for about a year and learnt a lot about this auto immune disease from the healthunlock site, however, this is my first post on the Sjogerns site following a regular visit to the dentist, who was alarmed at how my mouth had deteriorated, 2 fillings and a build up of plaque, very unusual for me! I have a dry mouth at times, a hoarseness in my voice, mild eye irritation all symptoms of Sjogerns. Have since been tested and all came back negative. My question is, can taking 14mg of Pred. a day cause these side effects as they do not seem to be listed as side effects for this medication?

[jaki1963]

sjogrens will affect yr mouth, eyes and glands in yr body. you will be dry allover. your at high risk for tooth loss. you have to keep yr eyes and mouth moist. i take a pill called pilocarpine. it helps my mouth stay moist. helps a bit with my eyes. i dont take prendisone because it masks the bodys reaction to the disease but really you need to get to the bottom of yr symptoms. i have lupus and sjogrens and rhumatoid arthritus. i wont take prendisone. also my eye doc specializes in eye diseases. research as much as you can.

[hiandri in reply to jaki1963]

Thanks Jaki1963, appreciate the reply. John

[Megansheart]

Hello hiandri!

As Polymyalgia Rheumatica is an autoimmune condition you are obviously more at risk of developing another autoimmune condition as you probably know.

Your question is, would 14mgs of Pred (which you are taking for Polymyalgia) cause the oral symptoms, hoarseness and eye irritation? One can never say for certain in every instance but you are correct, these are not typical side effects of Prednisolone (even though fourteen mgs of Pred is not an overly high dose, neither is it a particularly low replacement dose).

Just because your blood markers for S.S came back negative means very little in Sjögren's Syndrome because people can remain seronegative for many years with this condition.

I think you will have to take the 'wait and see' approach. Deal with the dry mouth with frequent sips of water, chew gum (not peppermint - try lemon and lime), and I'm sure there are other more natural approaches out there. With your eyes, an Opthalmologist may be willing to do a Schirmers test and Rose Bengal staining, both of which can be quite conclusive for Sjögren's.

If you are still in doubt or suspicious that you may have S.S, ask your GP or Rheumatologist every three or four years for an ANA test and the SSA-a (Anti-Ro) test to be done to see if you have seroconverted and are positive for Sjögren's Syndrome,

[hiandri]

Thanks Megansheart for your excellent comment and information which I appreciate. See my comment above re: using coconut oil on surfaces of the mouth before bed. Regards John