Chronic Pain and Sjögren’s

Chronic pain is one of the most common symptoms associated with Sjögren’s. I have the interesting position of working as a healthcare provider in the field of comprehensive pain medicine as well as being a Sjögren’s sufferer.

My role working as a Physician Assistant and Chiropractor is to help patients manage their pain. In our practice, we treat a variety of diverse conditions with a continuum ranging from carpal tunnel syndrome to abdominal pain and everything in between. While this can be a challenging area of medicine to practice, it is also quite rewarding to assist others in living a more enhanced quality of life.

Prior to being diagnosed with Sjögren’s, I rarely experienced pain. Recently, I was reminiscing back to a time not many years ago in which I only used ibuprofen once or twice over several years’ time. My own personal struggle with Sjögren’s causes me to endure discomfort in various areas of my body every day. I experience joint pain, especially in my knees and fingers. The nerve sensations in my muscles are also very discomforting. Additionally, only since the development of Sjögren’s, I suffer from debilitating pelvic pain. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medications ibuprofen and Celebrex seem to help the greatest for my pain. Heat is also quite effective. When I make more anti-inflammatory diet choices, my pain is absolutely better. This includes avoiding excessive sugars, flour, dairy, red meat as well as processed and fried substances. When I regularly take vitamin D and eat fresh cherries the pain also improves. If I have poor stress management and sleeping habits, my pain worsens. Finding motivation for regular exercise can be difficult as I also fight significant fatigue, but I know that movement is necessary to keep my joints and muscles mobile. I also use a TENS unit from time to time as well as over the counter lidocaine products.

It is fulfilling to assist in improving the quality of life of others that suffer from chronic pain. This is especially meaningful being that I endure pain daily. I encourage anyone experiencing chronic pain to seek out a comprehensive pain management specialist for evaluation.

by Rebecca Hosey, DC, MSPAS, PA-C

Dr. Rebecca Hosey is a Board Certified Physician Assistant and Chiropractor. She has practiced interventional pain medicine for many years and was diagnosed with Sjögren’s in 2015.

This information was first printed in the Foundation's patient  newsletter for members.