Tennis superstar Venus Williams withdrew from the U.S. Open recently, regretfully relinquishing the fight against crippling fatigue caused by Sjogren’s Syndrome, an autoimmune rheumatic condition that mimics many symptoms of Rheumatoid Arthritis.
On the morning TV shows, Venus explained the long road to diagnosis, the worsening and debilitating fatigue, the joint pain and swelling, the deterioration of her superb athleticism, that finally led to her decision to give up tennis, at least for now.
The hallmark of Sjogrens (show-grins) Syndrome is the drying of body fluids, like saliva and tears ducts, as a confused immune system compromises the function of the exocrine glands which produce tears and saliva.
As a chronic inflammatory condition, Sjogrens has many features in common with its close relative, Rheumatoid Arthritis, and numerous other rheumatic disorders characterized by inflammation, pain in joints and tendons, bones and muscles, swelling, fatigue. All such disorders are of unknown origin; no one can say for sure where they come from.
Talking to Elizabeth Vargas, Venus seemed to feel the same disconnect that so many of us have when we tried to explain that overwhelming exhaustion is not the same as sleep deprivation:
“I had swelling and numbness and fatigue, which was really debilitating. I just didn’t have any energy,” Williams said. “And it’s not that you don’t have energy; you just feel beat up.”
The official medical treatment for Sjogren’s Syndrome is the same as it is for Rheumatoid Arthritis and a number of other inflammatory, autoimmune conditions: biologics.
Diet modification is the effective and safe alternative treatment for a growing list of immune system disorders, as mentioned in other posts on this site. It may very well be the right solution for Venus.
Our best to her.