u/ContributionLower377

Hi all — 25M here. I’ve been dealing with these symptoms for about 3 years now, and they seemed to start pretty randomly. I’m trying to figure out if this could be Sjogren’s or something else (like allergies, inflammation, or MGD).

My main issue is persistent very dry, red eyes. They feel irritated and tired, and drops don’t seem to help at all because my TBUT is 3 seconds. They make me feel very fatigued. I’ve been diagnosed with evaporative dry eye and MGD. I also have a dry nose and occasional dry skin, especially on my left hand. Not sure if it’s related but my dentist also noticed a lot of plaque buildup on my teeth no matter how I brush and said my teeth are getting shorter at the bottom.

Around the same time this all started, I also noticed significant hair shedding and was later diagnosed with seborrheic dermatitis.

Some other things that might be relevant: I have elevated IgE and get monthly allergy shots, but I don’t really have classic allergy symptoms like sneezing or a runny nose. My diet seems to affect inflammation — I felt a little better when I cut out dairy and gluten. But I didn’t test positive for a food allergy to these. I also sometimes feel more fatigued than usual.

For testing, my ANA is borderline positive (1:80, speckled), but SSA (Ro) and SSB (La) have been negative multiple times. But my ANA was negative last year before turning borderline. I haven’t had a lip biopsy yet.

Otherwise, I’m pretty active — I work out and walk a lot — and I don’t have major joint pain or obvious systemic symptoms.

I’m mainly trying to understand whether this sounds like early or seronegative Sjogren’s, or if it’s more consistent with something like allergy or inflammation-related dry eye. Would it be worth pushing for a lip biopsy or more testing, or does this not really fit?

I’d really appreciate any insight, especially from people who had similar early symptoms.

With the rapid advances in AI, science, technology and medicine, what changes do you actually think we’ll see for CP in our lifetime?

To start, I think it’s more than possible that we could see AI powered AFOs in the next decade.

AI-powered AFOs would use sensors to track your foot position, timing, and pressure while you walk. An AI system would learn your gait and adjust support in real time—like stiffening for heel strike or helping lift your foot during swing. Instead of a static brace, it would act like a smart, adaptive system that only assists when needed to make your gait smoother and more efficient.

Where do you draw the line between helping vs ‘too invasive’? Would you consider a brain implant if it improved movement?

I have mild cerebral palsy (spastic hemiplegia), mostly affecting my left side, and almost nobody would ever know unless I told them.

From the outside, I look normal. A lot of people probably just see a fit guy with maybe a slight limp at most, if they notice anything at all. But living in my body has never felt “normal” to me. Even when I’m functioning well, I still physically feel the differences every day — the tightness, the asymmetry, the imbalance, the way one side of my body doesn’t move or respond the same as the other. It’s invisible to most people, but it’s never fully invisible to me.

As a kid, I actually lived a pretty normal life. I played soccer, ran around, went to school like everyone else, and tried my best not to think too much about the fact that I was different. I wore AFO braces when I was younger, did PT, had serial casting, all of that. But I hated having CP. I hated feeling like the “disabled kid.” So a huge part of me became obsessed with hiding it and proving it didn’t define me.

For a while, I kind of succeeded.

In my teens and early 20s, I put it out of my mind for years. I stopped consistently wearing my braces. I stopped taking PT seriously. I just wanted to live like a normal person and not constantly think about my body.

Then a few years ago, it caught up to me.

The limp got worse. The tightness got worse. The pain got worse. Walking started feeling harder. I became way more aware of the imbalance in my body. It felt like all the stuff I had tried to ignore for years suddenly showed back up and forced me to look at it.

And honestly, it ruined a lot of my college years.

I was always hyper-aware of how much I was walking. I constantly felt like I couldn’t keep up. I was scared of being judged for my limp, scared people would notice, scared of looking weak or different. So instead of fully living the college experience, I kind of burrowed myself away. I stayed home a lot. I did classes online. I isolated way more than I should have. I missed out on a lot because I was so in my head about my body.

That part still hurts to think about.

Then something changed.

Instead of giving up, I kind of went to war with it.

Over the last few years I lost around 50 pounds, dialed in a high-protein diet, got serious about fitness, and got into the best shape of my life. I built a physique I’m genuinely proud of. I can do weighted pull-ups and weighted dips, bench 225, deadlift 315. For the first time in my life, people started complimenting my physique all the time, and I finally felt proud of my body instead of ashamed of it.

And for a while, I genuinely started loving life.

I started traveling. On my Asia trips, I was effortlessly walking 15k–20k steps a day, exploring cities for hours, staying out late, living in the moment, and feeling free in a way I never really had before. I finally felt like I was becoming the person I always wanted to be — not the guy hiding at home because he was scared of being judged, but someone who was actually out there living.

That’s what makes this all so hard now.

Objectively, I’m doing really well. In a lot of ways, better than I ever have. I’ve built a career as a software engineer, I stay active, I lift, I still walk a lot, and most people who look at me probably just see a strong, healthy, athletic guy.

But mentally, I feel like I’m constantly racing a clock.

I keep thinking: what if this is the best my body will ever be?

What if all the things I can still do now suddenly get harder in a year or my 30s, 40s, 50s? What if the mobility I fought so hard to keep starts slipping away? What if the pain and tightness eventually win?

It makes me feel this insane pressure to live everything right now. Travel now. Move to the city now. Go out more now. Take risks now. Find love now. Build memories now. Because some part of me is terrified that if I wait too long, I won’t be able to enjoy life the same way.

That’s what feels so cruel about it. I’m not necessarily falling apart right now. But I can’t stop fearing the possibility that one day I might.

I know everyone gets older. Everyone loses something eventually. But when you already have a neurological condition, it feels like the countdown is louder.

I guess I’m posting this because I want to know if anyone else with a chronic condition, disability, or even health anxiety has ever felt this same sense of urgency and grief for a future that hasn’t even happened yet.

How do you stop mourning a version of yourself you haven’t even lost yet?

I’m 25 and have mild spastic hemiplegic cerebral palsy, weaker on my left side.

Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about what the rest of my life might realistically look like, and I’d really appreciate honest input from people with CP, parents, PTs, or anyone with experience.

As a kid, I had what most people would probably call a pretty normal childhood. I could walk independently, and run and play sports, but I had the slightest of limps. I wore AFO braces on and off (which I absolutely hated) growing up and also had multiple rounds of serial casting. I did PT when I was younger.

I always hated my CP and honestly did everything in my power to hide it and not let it define me. I never wanted people to see me as disabled. I pushed hard to appear normal.

By middle school, I stopped wearing my braces consistently.

About 8 years ago, I also stopped doing PT consistently.

I remember doctors warning me that if I stopped using braces/PT, I could run into more problems in my late teens or 20s.

A few years ago, my health hit an all-time low (not necessarily just because of CP, but overall physically). My limp and tightness were getting worse and I felt like a shell of my teenage self. That scared me, so I completely changed my lifestyle.

Since then I’ve:

- fixed my diet

- lost 50 pounds (dropped body fat percentage from ~30% to ~15%)

- started lifting seriously

- started stretching more

- focused hard on staying active and athletic

Now at 25, I’m honestly in the best shape of my life and doing things I once could never fathom as possible. I graduated college and have a successful career in tech.

Current function/activity level:

- I walk around 20,000 steps a day

- I eat an extremely high-protein diet

- I lift weights regularly

- My left arm/leg used to be 2 to 3 times weaker than my right. Now they’re nearly identical in strength.

- I do calisthenics (weighted pull ups, dips, one arm dead hangs) and go bouldering

- I’m part of a rec soccer league

- People see me as extremely fit and no one even knows I have cerebral palsy

I push my body to its limit every single day. Even though I function really well, I definitely still have clear CP signs:

- my left leg is visibly thinner than my right

- I pronate

- I have a 1 inch leg length discrepancy

- I have reduced range of motion, especially lifting my left foot up (dorsiflexion)

- walk slightly on my toes

- I occasionally walk a little with my left hand held up

- I still have a subtle gait difference/limp (though not as bad as before)

My biggest question is:

Given all this, how mild does my CP sound to you, and what does the rest of my life realistically look like?

What I want most is to:

- maintain this level of fitness

- stay pain-free

- preserve as much mobility/gait quality as possible

- keep living a normal, active life

Is it realistic for someone like me to stay highly functional and active into my 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s+?

Or does CP always catch up no matter what, even if you train hard and take care of yourself?

I’m especially wondering:

- Can I realistically stay pain-free long term?

- Is it possible to avoid major decline if I restart being proactive now?

- Should I go back to AFOs/PT/gait work even though I function well?

- Have any of you with mild hemiplegia stayed active and mobile long term?

- What would you do now at 25 if your goal was to preserve function for life?

I think part of why I’m asking is because I spent so many years trying to outrun my CP and prove it doesn’t define me. Now I’m at a point where I want to be realistic and smart instead of just stubborn.

I’d really appreciate honest experiences, especially from adults with CP who are older than me. I just need some positivity and hope right now.

It’s been 6 days since I quit dairy. I already notice some good differences. More energy, less eye inflammation, less brain fog, etc.

I’m still consuming a high protein and high carb diet, taking my multivitamin, and eating a similar amount of calories but my body feels very deflated and hungry all the time. This is despite my weight staying roughly the same too.

I never realized how much dairy was bloating me and think I sort of got used to that feeling.

Could this just be a dairy withdrawal and my body taking time to get used to this new feeling?

Curious to know what everyone’s experience was with this.