Sjogren’s syndrome is an autoimmune disease that causes inflammation and dysfunction in exocrine glands. Symptoms include dry mouth, dry eyes, and/or vaginal dryness.
There is no cure for this condition. However, there are natural remedies to manage it.
Below are my recommendations:
For overall dryness relief:
- Sea buckthorn oil (2 g a day). This special oil from the berries of a cold-weather shrub has a special fatty acid called omega-7. It is very helpful at improving lubrication throughout the body – including tears, saliva, and vaginal secretion. You can start with 1 pill (0.5 g) twice a day with meal. If you do not feel any discomfort like upsetting stomach, you can increase to 2 pills (1 g) twice a day for the first month to boost the recovery. After 1 month, you can take 2 pills a day for health maintenance as suggested on the bottle. Many customers reported noticeable benefits after taking it for two weeks. https://www.neueve.com/products/sea-buckthorn
- B-complex vitamin (50 mg a day).
- Check for food allergies. Get blood tested for wheat allergy. Women with Sjogren's often have allergies to gluten. If the wheat allergy is an issue, stop eating bread and pasta and change to gluten-free foods may help relieve dryness symptoms.
- Take probiotics regularly, such as Dannon yogurt, Activia, etc.
- Drink plenty of water and use a humidifier in the house.
For vaginal dryness relief:
- NeuEve Balm Cream. https://www.neueve.com/products/cream
- NeuEve Silk Suppositories. https://www.neueve.com/products/silk
For using the balm cream, you may find these articles helpful:
Do I apply the cream outside or inside the vagina? Can I use it more than once a day?
You can start with the balm first once a day. Apply a tiny little bit (a 1/4 dime size) to the exterior vulva. If you do not feel burning, you can increase a little bit at a time, but never more than a dime size. Overapplication may cause intolerance.
After you are on the balm for 1-2 weeks and you feel there is some moisture, you can start the Silk suppository, twice a week. After 1 month on NeuEve Silk, you may move up a phase to NeuEve Silver. You may find good relief from vaginal dryness after you move up to the Silver phase.
https://www.neueve.com/products/silver
If you are sexually active, and painful sex is an issue, it suggests that you may have developed vaginal atrophy due to long-term vaginal dryness. You may find relief after using NeuEve balm and suppositories for 1 month. However, if you have used NeuEve for over 1 month and your painful sex is still not relieved, your atrophy may be a little more severe. You can start dilation exercise to help speed up the recovery. You can start with a smaller sized dilator that does not cause pain. Go up the size slowly and one size at a time. Once you reach the largest sized dilator without pain, you will find full relief from vaginal atrophy.
How does dilation combined with NeuEve help relieve severe atrophy
Dilators are not our products. For the convenience of our customers, we list their website here: https://www.neueve.com/pages/dilators
If you are not sexually active, you do not need to do the dilation exercise. Using NeuEve plus Sea Buckthorn Oil will be good enough for you to find relief from extreme dryness.
When you start using NeuEve, please stop all jellies like Replens because these products only provide transient relief but they actually accelerate your atrophy. Once you are on NeuEve, you do not need any jelly any more.
https://www.neueve.com/blogs/blog/why-is-neueve-better-than-a-lube-or-jelly
If you have any additional questions, click on FAQ, Learn, and Blog on the banner, and type your question keywords in the search bar of FAQ, you may find many answers to your questions.
I hope that you will find relief soon.