Sjogrens and the colon

[Weffette]

Can anyone say, for certain, that Sjogrens can affect the function of the ascending colon?  Mine seems to be extremely sluggish...as if it's paralyzed. Are enzymes in the digestive tract affected by Sjogrens?  I do have diverticulosis and I am on a high fiber diet...but I am not able to "move" until its "right there".  Sometimes this can causes problems if there is not a rest room near by. Any info would be greatly appreciated.  I can't seem to find any info in relation to this.  Thank you :)

[mollyadelaide]

Indeed, duly noted:)

Sounds like you may need some new docs?! How disrespectful and rude of them. Obviously you have something going on and it needs to be figured out. If they see that as an annoyance and not the challenge of their job well then......

And btw I'm originally a Michigander:)

Molly

[Weffette]

Hi Molly,
Thanks for your reply!  I do the "acu pressure" to my belly too. It REALLY does seem to help...as if its "waking up" my colon. I also need to take MiraLax every night or other night to help with these issues. At least its tasteless and clear! :)

Pooped out is EXACTLY the best description! LOL

Never thought of Scleroderma...my docs would shoot me if I mentioned one more ailment! They don't believe me with the problems I DO have now...I can just see them rolling their eyes with another! :(  But I will research that   sine scleroderma.  Thanks for the heads up!

Take care of the "pooper"...we only have 1 !!

Weffette

[mollyadelaide]

I do not know for sure if sjogrens can cause what you are describing or not. I do think I can relate to what you're describing though. I just started taking an otc probiotic daily. You can buy them at Walmart and it really does seem to be helping. It's basically the helpful flora found in yogurt only ramped up as if you were eating bunches of it;) Now I run the risk of sounding kind of ridiculous here but I'll also share with you anyways in case it's helpful. Each night when I lay in bed I try to push on my abdomen and if I feel a hard section I just push on it a bit back and forth and it usually (not always) seems to help by the next day. The only thing I can figure is like you described it's as if the colon is sluggish or just "pooped out". Haha! Sorry that was a horrible pun! I think I need to go to bed I'm getting loopy:)

One more thing, I've been doing a lot of reading on scleroderma lately since my bloodwork seems to indicate that. Anyways I know the inspire scleroderma site peeps talk about the GI effects of scleroderma all the time. Scleroderma is kind of rare and not everybody knows tons about it. There's a kind of sclero that has no skin involvement called sine scleroderma. Just an fyi.