The following presents a case analysis of a patient with Sjogren's Syndrome. The case is presented followed by diagnosis criteria for Sjogren's Syndrome. Typical treatment is discussed along with three adjunct psychotherapies and a conclusion with implications.
The patient is an 80-year-old female who lives in a small town in Western North Carolina. She is one of nine siblings, all of who have died from heart problems. The patient lives alone but is functional and able to conduct routine daily activities. She spends her time reading books on religion. She considers herself to be a sociable person. She is currently seeking religious explanations to help her cope with life and death issues.
The patient complains of multiple physical ailments which are both real and imagined. She wears a pacemaker and fears inevitable death similar to her siblings. Her fear of death is resulting in feelings of terror. To alleviate her fears she makes many visits to the hospital emergency room, where she is examined, found free of medical causes of her complaints, and sent home. Despite this medical assurance, the patient continued to complain of ongoing and severe fatigue and joint pain, with dryness of the mouth and eyes. These ongoing symptoms range in severity on a daily basis. Each time the pain escalates and exacerbates her fears of dying, the patient again returns to the emergency room. Doctors have concluded that aging is associated with many aches and pains and there are no physical causes of the patient's pain. The patient has been told that she is imagining her state to be worse than it is.
At earlier points in the patient's quest to obtain a diagnosis of her symptoms, she was told that she suffered from Hypochondriasis, a common ailment for older adults who are experiencing many physical problems. Hypochondriasis criteria demands that the patient has a preoccupation with fears of having a serious disease based on a ...