Venus Williams Opens Up About Having Sjögren’s Syndrome

Venus Williams is opening up about her experience with Sjögren’s syndrome after being diagnosed over a decade ago.

As an athlete, Williams is used to putting her body to work on and off the court, but the four-time gold Olympic medalist reveals that she dealt with a different kind of endurance while learning how to manage the syndrome.

She told Harper’s Bazaar, “I had all kinds of symptoms, but that was very challenging as an athlete. When you crash, you go so hard that you can’t get up, literally.

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“But I still got up, because I had to,” she said, as the disease is known to bring prolonged fatigue. “Lying in bed is not fun. There is no substitute for being well. I had to change my pace.”

Williams started to experience symptoms of the disease as early as 2004. While she had to publicly face other tennis athletes on the court, she was privately battling symptoms of exhaustion. After several trips to the doctors and multiple misdiagnosis Williams finally got an answer to her problems in 2011.

“It took seven years before I was diagnosed,” she said before later adding, “I hadn’t felt myself for a while.” It was a relief to know what was going on with her body, “But at the same time, it was hard to accept. I’m used to doing whatever I want, working hard and staying fit. To realize that it’s not something you can work through, that this is your life now…that was hard.”

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But Williams decided not to let the disease discourage her and instead she chose to make the best of it with a major pivot in her diet. A move she says has been extremely beneficial. The 44-year-old became vegan in order to help regenerate her body with the things the disease was robbing her of. “Knowing how important a role my diet plays keeps me on track,” she told Women’s Health in 2020.

That same year, Williams became so passionate about foods and exploring how it can benefit your body that she went on to co-found a plant-based protein powder company called Happy Viking. The powder can be used in shakes and smoothies, and according to the website, it takes only two scoops to get “all the nutrition you need each morning to boost lean muscle, sustained energy, brain power, immune support, collagen production, digestive health, hair, skin and nails and more.”

Sjögren’s syndrome is identified as an autoimmune disorder that, according to John Hopkins Medicine, “targets moisture-producing glands and can cause systemic symptoms.”

The most common symptoms include, dry eyes, dry mouth, swollen glands, prolonged fatigue, and a persistent dry cough. While the syndrome is more likely to develop in women who are 40 and older, Williams was diagnosed at age 31 after years of experiencing symptoms.

Women are 10 times more likely to get Sjögren’s syndrome than men.

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