Peyton Morris
Peyton Morris unknowingly dealt with symptoms of Sjögren’s for at least fourteen years before finally being diagnosed with this autoimmune condition.
“I have been seeing doctors forever, giving them the same spiel over and over, explaining that I don’t have energy no matter what I do, regardless of how much I sleep,” she said. “I’ve explained my symptoms, like fatigue, widespread pain, migraine attacks, brain fog, recurrent sinus infections and dental issues, and insomnia to so many doctors, so many times”; however, despite the ongoing articulation of these symptoms, healthcare professionals never suspected Sjögren’s for one simple reason: She wasn’t displaying the so-called ‘key’ symptoms associated with Sjögren’s - dryness.
“It was so discouraging to go through that process. It made me feel like I couldn’t trust my doctors or my own body. I would tell doctors about my ever growing list of symptoms, and then I would just get tossed like a hot potato from specialist to specialist, constantly being told that I was fine according to their tests” she said. “Essentially, because I wasn’t experiencing dry eyes or dry mouth, it took me forever to get diagnosed.”
Peyton’s day-to-day life also didn’t help redirect doctors to the more rare, complex presentation of this diagnosis because she was a high-achieving graduate student and healthcare professional. “Doctors blamed my symptoms on stress, anxiety, depression, and my menstrual cycle, and put me on medications for those diagnoses, but the medications didn’t help because I did not have those issues,” she said. “I even started to gaslight myself because my doctors kept saying that nothing was wrong with me since my labs were normal. I kind of started to think this must just be how people feel all the time. But then, I got deeper into graduate school, which was a very high stress environment, and that’s when my symptoms got severe enough for doctors to at least hear me, instead of just brushing me off.” She began to develop more and more symptoms as time passed: fatigue, myalgia (muscle pain), joint pain, dysautonomia (a disorder affecting the autonomic nervous system, which controls involuntary functions like heart rate and digestion), dysphagia (difficulty swallowing), brain fog, frequent skin issues and rashes, neurological and GI issues, and eventually widespread dryness.
After finishing graduate school, Peyton passed her board exams and was able to jump fully into her career as an Occupational Therapist - but that didn’t last long. After working for two years as an OT, “my symptoms got so bad, I genuinely couldn’t function. I started out working full-time, and had already reduced my hours to part-time due to my symptoms, but even part time hours were too much. I knew this wasn’t normal,” she said, “ so I started the whole process over again – with a new round of doctors in a different state. They’re the ones that got things rolling for me.”
In January 2023, at the age of 29, Peyton was finally diagnosed with Sjögren’s. She was ultimately diagnosed by her second rheumatologist, but it took seeing a third rheumatologist before she felt like her experiences were truly being heard.
Soon after receiving her diagnosis, Peyton was put on a new medication to help control her immune system. Ultimately, this new medication caused her to experience one of the worst flares she’s ever had; she was completely bed bound for four months, and was unable to complete basic self-care tasks without help. This – combined with her rheumatologists telling her that having children would be unsafe for her, and realizing that her body was no longer in any condition to continue her work as an OT – was devastating.
During those four months, “We lived in a two-story house…and I basically lived on the second floor most of the time. It was difficult to go up and down the stairs, even with help. My husband acted as my caregiver during that time, and I genuinely would not have made it through without him,” she said. “That was one of the hardest and darkest periods of my life. That new medication was supposed to fix things for me – and it made it worse.”
Understandably, many of Peyton’s goals and aspirations have evolved since receiving her diagnosis. While working as a full-time OT is not currently a sustainable option for her, her drive to support others is still in full force.
“Before I got diagnosed, I was working in a neuro clinic which was my dream. Now that my body cannot sustain that anymore, my goals have changed. Specifically, I want to start my own business serving people living with complex chronic conditions,” she said. “Helping them take back the reigns in their lives, and improve their independence and quality of life – that’s what I’m looking forward to. But that is on hold until I can get my various conditions into remission or at least under more control. My health is the most important thing right now.”
In the meantime, Peyton’s able to provide similar support on social media. “I originally started posting on social media because I felt alone in my own experience. You don’t exactly meet people on the street who are willing to tell a stranger - I’m chronically ill, too,” she said. “I started out seeking a sense of community, but it has since evolved into providing education on various diagnoses, raising awareness for chronic illnesses, doing advocacy work, and helping others navigate the healthcare system and life with chronic illness in general. I think that’s a part of anyone who goes into the medical field: We want to help and support people. I’m still doing that, just in a different way.”
Since receiving her Sjögren’s Syndrome diagnosis, Peyton, now age 30, has been diagnosed with multiple other conditions as well, including: Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS), chronic fatigue syndrome, Celiac Disease, and Fibromyalgia, further complicating her health and livelihood. Thankfully, her support system is significant. “My husband has been the foundation of my support system. I am very grateful for him, not everyone has a partner who is understanding about all of the things that come along with being chronically ill, or a partner who is able to financially provide for us while I am unable to work. He does so many things to keep me from exacerbating my symptoms and ultimately making things harder on myself,” she said. “My family also actively tries to understand my situation and often plans family meals around my specific dietary restrictions. They are more accommodating than most support systems out there.”
Despite all these challenges, Peyton maintains an impressive perspective on all of her health changes. “I think it took me experiencing these low-lows for me to really shift my perspective and fully believe that my health is more important than my career goals. I’ve always been a very career driven, type A, goal-oriented person, but now, I can’t go and go and go and, honestly, I’m better for it. Even though I do feel like Sjögren’s took a lot away from me, it has also given me a balance in my life that I had never had before.”
