It’s common for people with Sjögren’s disease to have other diseases or health conditions. These diseases or conditions can pose challenges with diagnosis and treatment.
When a person with Sjögren’s has other autoimmune diseases, they have overlapping diseases. Having both rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and Sjögren’s is an example of overlapping diseases.
There are also other non-autoimmune diseases or health problems that people with Sjögren’s frequently have — these are known as associated conditions.
Autoimmune Diseases That Can Overlap With Sjögren’s
It’s common for people with autoimmune diseases to have more than one. The following autoimmune diseases may overlap with Sjögren’s:
- Autoimmune thyroid diseases (including Hashimoto’s thyroiditis): This is a group of diseases where the immune system attacks the thyroid gland. One type, Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, can cause fatigue, weight gain, constipation, muscle weakness, and an enlarged thyroid gland.
- Lupus (systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE)): Lupus is a long-term autoimmune disease that can cause inflammation and pain in any part of the body. Common symptoms include feeling very tired, joint pain or swelling, and skin problems.
- Rheumatoid arthritis: This is a long-term autoimmune disease where the immune system attacks the joints and causes pain, swelling, or stiffness.
- Scleroderma: In this long-term autoimmune disease, the body produces too much collagen, which causes connective tissues to harden or tighten. It can affect the skin, heart, lungs, kidneys, or other organs.
Talk With Your Doctor About Diagnosing and Treating Overlapping Diseases
If you have Sjögren’s and think you might have another overlapping disease, it’s important to talk with your doctor.
Many of the autoimmune diseases that overlap with Sjögren’s can cause the same symptoms. For example, overlapping diseases like lupus and rheumatoid arthritis can also cause fatigue or joint pain — symptoms that are common in Sjögren’s.
These similarities can make it challenging to diagnose overlapping diseases. And because some doctors believe Sjögren’s to be less common than other autoimmune diseases, they may attribute symptoms to another disease and miss a Sjögren’s diagnosis.
Although getting diagnosed with overlapping diseases can be challenging or take some time, keep in mind that it’s very important to determine all the underlying causes of your symptoms. That’s because treatment for each disease can be slightly different, and having one disease can affect how you manage another.
Some strategies that can help you and your doctor determine if you might have an overlapping disease include:
- Keep a close record of your symptoms. Write down what you experienced, when it started and how long it lasted, and how much it bothered you. It’s also helpful to include information about what you were doing or how you were feeling before the symptom started — like what you ate or if you took any medicines. When you visit your doctor, review your symptom log with them.
- Learn about overlapping diseases. Knowing about diseases that may overlap with Sjögren’s can help you know what symptoms to look for. Share what you learn with your doctor.
- Advocate for yourself. Keep in mind that you know your body best. If you think that something’s not right, tell your doctor how you’re feeling. Keep in mind that it’s okay to ask them to check for an overlapping disease again, even if they’ve reviewed your symptoms or tests before.
Keep in mind that a doctor who specializes in diseases like Sjögren’s (called a rheumatologist) might be in a better position to diagnose overlapping diseases than other types of doctors. Your primary care doctor can refer you to a rheumatologist.
Conditions Commonly Associated With Sjögren’s
The following diseases and conditions commonly affect people with Sjögren’s disease:
- Anemia: A condition where your body doesn’t make enough red blood cells to carry oxygen around your body. Anemia can make you feel tired, weak, or short of breath.
- Dysautonomia: This is a broad term for when the autonomic nervous system (the part of the nervous system that controls body processes you don’t have to think about, like making your heart beat or regulating your body temperature) isn’t working as it should. Dysautonomia can have a wide range of symptoms, including trouble balancing, brain fog, or sleep problems.
- Fibromyalgia: A long-term condition that causes muscle pain or soreness. It can also cause other symptoms, like tiredness, trouble sleeping, or brain fog.
- Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD): In this disease, stomach acid works its way up into the throat, causing heartburn or chest pain.
- Heart disease: Heart disease is a broad term that includes diseases or conditions that affect the heart’s ability to pump blood throughout the body.
- Hypertension (high blood pressure): This is when the pressure of your blood against the walls of your arteries is too high. High blood pressure can damage your arteries and puts you at a higher risk for other health problems, including heart attack or stroke.
- Interstitial lung disease (ILD): ILD includes a range of conditions that can damage or scar the lungs. This damage can make breathing harder.
- Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS): This condition causes abdominal pain, bloating, or cramping. It also affects bowel habits by causing diarrhea, constipation, or both.
- Kidney (renal) conditions: The kidneys work to filter waste products out of your blood. When they’re not working as they should, it can cause waste, toxins, and extra fluid to build up in the body. There is a range of kidney problems a person can have.
- Lymphoma: This is a type of cancer that affects the lymphatic system, which helps to keep the body’s fluids balanced.
- Neuropathy: This is when damage to the nerves causes symptoms like tingling, pain, or numbness.
- Postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS): In this condition, a person’s heart starts beating extremely quickly within 10 minutes of moving from a lying down position to standing or sitting upright. It causes lightheadedness, dizziness, or fainting.
- Raynaud’s syndrome: This condition causes blood vessels in certain parts of the body to tighten, which means they don’t get enough blood flow. It can be triggered by the cold and most commonly affects the hands or feet. It can cause the fingers or toes to turn white or blue and can make them feel numb, tingly, or painful as they warm back up.
- Sinusitis: This is when the sinuses are inflamed. Sinusitis can cause a blocked or stuffy nose, pain and tenderness around the face, and mucus drainage down the back of the throat.
While any of these conditions can affect people who don’t have Sjögren’s, some of them — including ILD, POTS, and Raynaud’s — can indicate that a person may have Sjögren’s. Because a large proportion of people with Sjögren’s also have these conditions, there’s a particularly strong association between these conditions and Sjögren’s.
If you have a condition associated with Sjögren’s disease and think you may have Sjögren’s disease as well, talk with your doctor about your concerns.
Learn More — and Get Support
Managing Sjögren’s is challenging, and that challenge is only greater when you’re dealing with other health problems in addition to Sjögren’s. The Sjögren’s Foundation is here to support you with high-quality information to help you understand and live with Sjögren’s disease.
Explore these resources to learn more:
If you’re having trouble managing your condition, it may help to talk to others with Sjögren’s disease. You can share how you’re feeling with people who are going through something similar and learn from their advice. Use this resource to find a support group: