Dry, Dry, Dry

One of the things that I have been struggling with is dryness. Dry eyes and dry mouth are the most common symptoms of Sjögren’s. With me it has been dry eyes, mouth and throat, skin, hair, nasal passages and a persistent dry cough, just dry everything. If I do not apply lotion a couple times a day on my skin, I feel like my skin is crawling with bugs. With my mouth being so dry, my teeth are prone to cavities and tooth decay, I use a special prescription toothpaste.

A few years ago, before being diagnosed with Sjögren’s, I started losing my eyebrows. By 2020 they were just about completely gone. Made me sad because I thought I had the most perfectly shaped eyebrows and it was one of my favorite features about myself. My husband’s Aunt Dolly is such a positive person, and is a big believer of the “If you believe it, you can acheive it” She inspires me. I want to be just like her when I grow up.  While visiting Aunt Dolly in Florida a couple years ago, I was telling her about my eyebrows going away and she said to me “will them to come back!” “You keep thinking about how you lost them, start thinking about how wonderful it is that they grew back!” Everyday instead of dwelling on how I lost all my eyebrows, I would wake up every morning saying “look at how thick my eyebrows are growing”. I started to grow back a few hairs which made me very excited. Positive thinking – I am a true believer!

Well after my Sjögren’s diagnosis, I found out that losing my eyebrows was from the dryness.

About 5 months ago, I read Good Bye Lupus by Dr Brooke Goldner, who cured her battle with Lupus by changing her diet. It is a plant-based diet, and I thought I would try it. Now, I love my chicken – so I decided to start small, and it has made a big difference with just small changes at a time. I eat about 60% plant based and have seen changes in the way my skin feels, I’ve lost a little weight and . . . my eyebrows are growing back! I get so excited with each new little hair that comes in – like a kid in a candy store. I religiously drink my plant smoothies throughout the day and I try to make a plant-based dinner – with a little itty bit of chicken of course! My husband, who is one of my biggest cheerleaders, also started eating the same way and he lost weight and says he feels the better than he ever has in his life! Life is grand!