Sarah Schafer, MD
12 Reasons People With Sjogren's Don't Get Diagnosed
Most people with Sjogren's remain undiagnosed due to lack of clinician training and awareness.
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Sarah Schafer, MD
- Aug 20
- 6 min
SSA and Sjogren's
A negative SSA doe not rule out Sjogren's. There is no one test for diagnosing Sjogren's.
3,115 views
Sarah Schafer, MD
- Jun 10
- 6 min
Gastrointestinal (GI) Manifestations
Sjogren's often impacts the gastrointestinal tract. Many symptoms are neurologically based but mistaken for IBS.
5,218 views
Sarah Schafer, MD
- May 26
- 3 min
Liver disease and Sjogren's
Every Sjogren's patient should have routine screening for liver disease.
3,379 views
Sarah Schafer, MD
- May 18
- 4 min
Celiac disease, gluten, and your health
Celiac disease is common in Sjogren's patients. Every Sjogren's patient should be screened for celiac disease, regardless of symptoms.
1,856 views
Sarah Schafer, MD
- May 11
- 3 min
Pulmonary hypertension
Pulmonary hypertension is no longer considered rare in Sjogren's. Early detection and treatment are critical to improving outcomes.
3,273 views
Sarah Schafer, MD
- Dec 12, 2022
- 4 min
My POTS diagnosis: worth the struggle
Learn how self-advocacy helped me get diagnosed and treated for POTS, an autonomic disorder.
3,586 views
Sarah Schafer, MD
- Aug 5, 2022
- 5 min
All in your head?
Many people with Sjogren's are told they have functional disorders, when their symptoms are direct, physical Sjogren's manifestations.
4,703 views
Sarah Schafer, MD
- Jan 3, 2022
- 3 min
Why doesn't my doctor understand Sjogren's?
Clinicians who believe the" nuisance sicca disease" myth are being led astray by outdated assumptions about the disease.
2,642 views
Sarah Schafer, MD
- Sep 18, 2021
- 5 min
Do you have antibodies?
Everyone with Sjogren's, including seronegative patients, should be routinely monitored for systemic manifestations of the disease.
9,597 views
Sarah Schafer, MD
- Jun 22, 2021
- 4 min
Sjogren's symptoms can look like fibromyalgia
Once Sjogren's is diagnosed, the fibromyalgia label should be dropped.
13,843 views
Sarah Schafer, MD
- May 17, 2021
- 4 min
So what is Sjogren's, really?
Sjogren's is called autoimmune, but it is not that simple. It is a complex, systemic immune-mediated disease.
4,813 views
Sarah Schafer, MD
- Feb 16, 2021
- 3 min
Sjogren's is Sjogren's; it is not secondary to any other disease you may have.
The term "secondary Sjogren's" is inaccurate and misleading. Sjogren's is Sjogren's, alone or with another disease.
3,255 views
Sarah Schafer, MD
- May 31, 2020
- 4 min
How to educate clinicians
Patients are often confused about how to advocate for better care. Because so many clinicians are not up to date with Sjogren’s,...
1,356 views
Sarah Schafer, MD
- Jul 19, 2019
- 4 min
Words matter: problematic Sjogren's disease terms
Medical terms used to describe Sjogren's are often misleading, and reinforce dismissive attitudes about the disease.
1,195 views
Sarah Schafer, MD
- May 11, 2019
- 3 min
Neuropathy: Maybe it's all connected... Updated 09-19-2022
Do you have any of these? 1. Relentless, profound physical fatigue 2. Brain fog: Mental fatigue/cognitive changes 3. Dizziness or...
8,213 views
Sarah Schafer, MD
- Apr 26, 2019
- 2 min
What are all those numbers in parentheses?
You have probably noticed that a lot of numbers inside parentheses are scattered throughout the website and blog. These are citations....
937 views
Sarah Schafer, MD
- Apr 12, 2019
- 3 min
Do you have dysautonomia?
Dysautonomia, or malfunction of the autonomic nervous system, is estimated to impact more than half of Sjogren's patients.
11,536 views
Sarah Schafer, MD
- Mar 12, 2019
- 2 min
Misperceptions about Classification Criteria
Many patients are told that they cannot have Sjogren's because they don't meet the Classification Criteria. This is simply incorrect....
668 views
Sarah Schafer, MD
- Jan 28, 2019
- 1 min
Misleading NYT Article
Earlier this month, I posted an online comment regarding this New York Times Article: He Thought He Just Had the Flu at First. Then His...
766 views
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