Fatigue persisted and I slept most of the time. When I was awake I felt like I was running on adrenalin and if I slowed down I would fall asleep. The doctors continued to attribute this to the Sjogrens and said I would have to learn to live with it " and listen to my body" to determine what I could and could not do. Needless to say I was not happy about this.
I attended a conference on Sjogren's Syndrome about three years ago and met many persons dealing with the same condition. This experience was a turning point in my life...for even though most of us had the same diagnosis they could stay awake and attend the evening functions and I could not, plus I had to rest during the day. I demanded a sleep study when I returned...diagnosis SEVERE SLEEP APNEA. I'm thrilled with my new sleep partner, the CPAP machine, and am feeling better than I ever have in all my life. I can now plan to do something in advance and count on being able to accomplish it.
I was very angry with my rheumatologist and couldn't understand why he didn't attempt to determine other causes for my symptoms. His answer " you didn't fit the profile of someone with sleep apnea....you're not fat".
I hope that by sharing my story those of you with other medical problems who are also very fatigued might suggest to your doctors that they have a sleep study done...even if you're not over weight....it could change your life!
