I'm new here.

[vivacall]

Could anyone suggest a Doctor in Geelong or Melbourne who could definitely give me a diagnosis on whether I have Sjorgens or not? My current GP had a blood test done about a year ago which came back negative and he said it was a definitive test but I read now that there is no definitive test and my multitude of symptoms continue and are making my life miserable. Any advice would be very much appreciated.

[paulamari]

Hi Vivacall, I too was diagnosed by my GP via a blood test as having Sjogren's Syndrome - in Geelong. Unfortunately tests to confirm this diagnosis were not done until I got a referral to a specialist Rheumatoligist in Melbourne by another GP some years later! The Rheumatologist I saw in St Kilda Rd Melbourne was Dr Frank Laska. He was an expert in Sjogren's and even though x-rays of my salivary glands seemed to confirm the diagnosis, on closer examination they were fine! An oral specialist who worked in with Frank Laska performed salivary gland biopsies of my inner lip which showed no sign of Sjogren's!! I admit I'd prayed lots of prayers :). So apparently a person can have the SS Ro antibodies (I can't remember what they're called) but they can lie dormant. It turns out that anti-deppresant and anti-anxiety medication I was taking was the cause of my dry mouth and eyes!! I wish you all the best.

[Megansheart in reply to paulamari]

Hi PaulaMari,

Do you know if this Dr Frank Laska is still practising? I would be interested to know how he responds to someone who has all the symptoms of Sjögrens but is seronegative, like vivacall is experiencing.

If he is really a Sjögrens expert I expect he should take the symptoms as they present and weigh up on the balance of probabilities whether it's likely she has SS and treat her as such.

It really is terribly annoying (and inconvenient 😉) the way SS can remain seronegative for so long.

[mariero in reply to Megansheart]

He is still practising, or was last year, with an office on St Kilda Rd near the Alfred Hospital, from memory. I found him to be very thorough. He did seem to belong to the group of Rheumatologists who believe you must be sero-positive for Sjogrens despite whatever symptoms you might be suffering and does refer for lip biopsies to a colleague in the same

building. I think he describes himself as having an interest in SS. rather than a specialist in this area.

[Dynamic63 in reply to Megansheart]

I see Dr Laska and I have my different opinions however he is meant to be the best

[vivacall in reply to paulamari]

Thank you Paulamari - I really want to get to the bottom of all this so will ask for a referral to Dr Laska. If its not Sjorgens I just want to KNOW. I'm currently not on any medication so side effects from that can be discounted.

[merriwin]

I went to a lovely Rheum in Geelong... Joanna Hall. She did 19 pages of blood tests and nothing came back positive even tho I have about 15 symptoms of SS .... she did not want to put me on any medication and I was happy for that as I am just dealing with each symptom that comes up. If things get worse I will go back but at the moment i can deal with it all.

[vivacall in reply to merriwin]

Thank you Merriwin. I was sent to a rheumatologist about a year ago in Geelong but I don't think he was very thorough. Its good to have an alternate name.

[Megansheart]

Vivacall, I became ill with Sjögren's Syndrome in July 2007. I was tested for it several times in those early years......which indicates to me that the doctors strongly suspected it as a possibility. However it was not until 2015 that I went to my GP and requested/politely demanded to be tested for ANA's ENA's etc, that they came back strongly positive.

In the intervening years (between 2007-2015) I continued to experience many symptoms, including some pretty awful neurological ones. I just knew that there was a 'label' out there under which I fitted but basically I had to be content with being treated for the individual symptoms as they presented. I have to say I think I was well managed. I had a bevy of very good specialist doctors (mostly at the level of Associate Professors or Professors).

Since 2015, I have been seeing a Rheumatologist in Melbourne, who perhaps I could not say is an SS expert but she's getting there.

Have to go now but I hope you get some satisfaction regarding an SS aware Rheumatologist.

[vivacall in reply to Megansheart]

Thank you Megansheart - I have so many symptoms (like you) that my current GP just says I'm a mystery. I've been unwell for about 4 years now and just want to KNOW and that I'm not going mad. I know Sjorgens can't be cured but a diagnosis would just explain so much and not make me doubt my mental health!