Before my diagnosis, I felt like I was living in someone else’s body.
My eyes were constantly dry and irritated. My mouth felt like cotton. I was exhausted in a way that didn’t make sense. I’d wake up tired, go through the day tired, and crash the moment I got home. I kept thinking, what is wrong with me? Why can’t I just push through this?
I went to doctors. I explained my symptoms. I got tests. I got shrugged off. I got told it was stress, dehydration, hormones, “just getting older,” or that I needed to sleep more.
But I knew something deeper was happening.
The turning point came when the dry mouth was getting a little ridiculous. The doc ordered some bloodwork.
Finally, came the answer: Sjögren’s syndrome.
I remember feeling two things at once: Relief — because I wasn’t imagining it. Fear — because this was real, and it wasn’t going away. Then the news that there is no cure!
Now that I am really feeling the effects coming to me all at once, the diagnosis also gave me direction. It gave me language. It gave me a starting point.
And it gave me a mission: To understand my body. To advocate for myself. To build a life that works with my illness, not against it. To share my journey so others don’t feel alone like I did.
This is the story of how I got here — and why I’m choosing to keep writing, keep learning, and keep finding my zen, one day at a time.
“Healing yourself is a revolution. It is the ultimate act of self-love.” – Cleo Wade
Well said