Carrie Ann Inaba Raises Awareness for Autoimmune Disease

When Carrie Ann Inaba suddenly felt her arms go numb on a flight to New York, she knew something was seriously wrong. The Dancing with the Stars judge, who has been managing Sjogren's disease for over a decade, was rushed to the hospital in an ambulance last week.

Sjogren's is a chronic autoimmune disease that affects an estimated four million people in the U.S., with 90% being women. It can show up differently for everyone, making it notoriously difficult to diagnose.

For Inaba, the journey started with severely dry eyes in her twenties. Her corneas kept getting injured, but doctors initially brushed off her concerns. It wasn't until she saw a rheumatologist and Sjogren's specialist that she finally got answers in 2013, more than 10 years after her symptoms began.

The 58-year-old dancer then started experiencing intense pain in her neck and shoulders, along with extreme fatigue that was completely unlike her normally energetic personality. People with Sjogren's have reported 48 different symptoms, including dry mouth, brain fog, anxiety, and in serious cases, damage to organs like the lungs and kidneys.

Today, Inaba manages her condition through a combination of keeping her environment moist with humidifiers, staying hydrated, and practicing meditation and reiki. She travels with a health toolkit and has learned to listen carefully to what her body needs. Pain is something she lives with 24/7, but she's found ways to work around it.

Why This Inspires

Inaba is using her platform to lead the Sjout for Sjogren's campaign, an awareness movement aimed at helping people recognize symptoms and reducing stigma around invisible illnesses. She wants others to know they're not alone and that building community matters.

Her message to anyone experiencing mysterious symptoms is clear: keep careful track of warning signs, trust when something doesn't feel right, and advocate loudly for proper care. Most importantly, she emphasizes that there's currently no FDA-approved treatment for Sjogren's, making symptom management and support networks essential.

"It's an invisible illness," Inaba shared. "You don't think I'm sick, but I pay a price." Her courage in speaking up is helping millions of others feel seen and validated in their own health journeys.