Systemic

It appears that the Renal Tubular Acidosis listed below is due to a condition named Sjogren'g Syndrome. Sjogren's is an auto-immune disorder. One member of the family is formally diagnosed [as of August 2005]. At least one other certainly has it but hasn't gotten a formal diagnosis yet. Although many symptoms are listed most people who have the syndrome only have some of them, in various degrees of severity.

If you are a member of the Ohio branch of this family and think that you see yourself in this description, you should probably discuss getting tested for it with your doctor.

Symptoms:

1. Dry eyes. Very Common. May have very dry eyes, or just gooey eyes. Eyes might be very light-sensitive.
2. Dry mouth. Very Common. May produce less saliva or none. This leads to dental problems because saliva helps protect the teeth. Swallowing may be difficult. Voice might be hoarse. Might get mouth ulcers.
4. Dry sexual organs in women: Damaged glands can make lubricants necessary, as well as being the cause of severe itching and an increase in yeast infections.
5. Dry ears: May cause severe itching and ear pimples.
6. Pain in the joints.
7. Dry Skin: Dry and itchy, may be sensitive to strong sunlight
8. Weakness or numbness in the extremities
9. Migraine like headaches
10. Bowel Pain
11. Liver abnormalities. These are not very common.
12. Lymph glands in the neck, armpits, or groin may be swollen. [If this happens call your doctor.]
13. Confused thought.

Related Medical Issues:

1. GERDS
2. fibromyalgia
3. fatigue
4. Renal Tubular Acidosis
5. Rheumatoid Arthritis
6. Raynaud's Syndrome
7. Irritable Bowel Syndrome
8. Lymphoma
9. Hypokalemia

Common Misdiagnoses:

1. Lupus
2. Mumps

Other Facts:

90% of people with Sjogren's are female.

Links

A good site that goes into more detail on some of the symptoms
Another informative site


Renal

Currently one member of the Ohio branch of the family has been diagnosed with renal tubular acidosis, and at least three other members of the family have at least some of the symptoms.

Some of the symptoms are:
Potassium deficiency
dehydration
muscle, bone, & joint pain
altered state of thought: fuzzy thinking, forgetfulness, confusion
exhaustion
frequent drinking of liquids
frequent urination
numbness and tingling in the extremities
nausea and vomiting

If you look this up on search engines, some of the good terms to use are:
"proximal renal tubular acidosis"
"Hypokalemia"
"hypercalciuria" or "hypercalcuria"

Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome

The Ohio branch of the family has at least 3 individuals with ovarian cysts. Here is a link with information.

Feet

Okay, this is just silly, but some of us in the Ohio branch of the family have come up with extra bones in our feet. This is only really important if you have a foot injury. It takes longer to heal certain injuries with these extra bones, and may require surgery to remove them.

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