The Road to Wellness

It's been a bit of time since I've written and I've gone through much. At least one of my physicians seems convinced I have Sjogren's. After a stumble in confidence and an additional visit to the rheumatologist, I feel confident that I do not have Sjogren's. It IS possible that I have Sjogren's but at this point, there is no reason to believe that I do.

While it is possible that I have Sjogren's, my blood test results have all been negative for indicators and I have no dental or saliva problems. No cavities, no gum disease, my last dental visit was, as usual, a fabulous experience (yes, it's true, I'm one of those weird people that actually love going to the dentist). I feel blessed, I'm persistant, I'm ornery and I have the intelligence and resources to continue my search, even though many of the medical professionals I've encountered are less-than-enthusiastic in my pursuit to find a cause for my dry eye that resists traditional treatment, including glaucoma-inducing Lotemax, hourly preservative-free tears, Restasis, warm compresses and more.

One of my best resources has been my dad. A retired physician, he's been willing to weed through various websites and other information to help me determine what's worth pursuing and what's not. Dad has been a huge support for me when I wanted to give up and when I just didn't know where else to look.

Last Tuesday, I returned to the rheumatologist. She said I *might* have Sjogren's but I definitely *might not* and there was no reason to presume, at this point, that I do have it. The following day, I went to an allergist. My primary was placating me when she wrote the referral and no one else seemed to think it was necessary either. The allergist, himself, told me that under normal circumstances he wouldn't test me but given what I've gone through (I brought all of my medical records), he was willing to do the scratch test for me.

The results were in some ways surprising and others, not so much. I'm very allergic to just about every pollen out there -- that was not surprising. I've always had hayfever, particularly grass, although I was a little surprised that I was allergic to pretty much ALL pollens, year round. I knew I was allergic to cats and dogs but not the degree to cats -- through the roof. And then we tested major food allergies. THAT was the surprise.

I think I wrote that the naturopath I visited over the summer declared me sensitive to wheat and a number of other things. Well, the allergy test showed that I was NOT allergic to wheat but I AM allergic (and strongly) to casein, a milk protein, and almonds. We didn't test all tree nuts so he said to be safe, I should eliminate tree nuts, in general, to see if it makes a difference or not. Milk. Butter. The naturopath's test said those were free and clear and here I was, experiencing a pretty big reaction from the scratch test FROM MILK.

This time around, removing a food product doesn't seem so bad. I don't have the anger I did when I thought I had to remove gluten. It's not because gluten is more important than milk; it's because the possibility of a food allergy, as a solution, is SO MUCH more appealing than an auto immune disorder. Sometimes you have to go a lot further before you realize how lucky you really are. I still *might* have Sjogren's but for now, I'm going dairy & tree-nut free. Some of the physicians I've spoken too feel confident there would be other symptoms besides dry eyes (and inflammation) if dairy / nuts were the problem; I'd be remiss if I didn't try though.

I realize that I may not have any symptom relief for at least 8 weeks and it is possible that eliminating dairy and tree nuts may not make a difference but it's worth a try and the prospect of a diet change making such a big difference in my health, makes me feel pretty good. Plus, it turns out, there's a lot of good dark chocolate out there that contains neither dairy, nor nuts!