Carrie Ann Inaba shares her struggle to manage hidden, invisible illness: 'It's real'

Longtime "Dancing with the Stars" justice Carrie Ann Inaba is spreading consciousness astir a information she’s been surviving with for decades.

The dancer and TV property has precocious been transparent astir her travel with Sjogren’s illness – an autoimmune information that tin commencement with seemingly tiny symptoms but has the imaginable to go debilitating.

Inaba, 58, was rushed to the infirmary past week aft her information triggered a aesculapian exigency mid-flight portion traveling to New York City.

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In an Instagram station featuring a video of Inaba being transported successful an ambulance, she described however she "suddenly felt rather ill."

"And portion it seemed similar nutrient poisoning, I besides abruptly broke retired into a acold sweat, got dizzy and my arms went numb," she wrote.

"Like galore radical who unrecorded with autoimmune disease, I question with a wellness instrumentality kit and americium prepared for the worst, but this frightened me."

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In an interrogation with Fox News Digital, Inaba revealed that she’s been silently struggling with the illness for years, since archetypal processing oculus problems erstwhile she was younger.

"My eyes were really, truly adust and I kept having injuries to my corneas," she said.

After consulting her ophthalmologist, who brushed disconnected her symptoms, Inaba met with a rheumatologist who directed her to a Sjogren’s specialist.

Carrie Ann Inaba has been a "Dancing with the Stars" justice since the ballroom creation competition's archetypal play successful 2005. (Courtesy of Carrie Ann Inaba)

Following extended bloodwork and a dry-eye test, Inaba was diagnosed with Sjogren’s illness successful 2013 – much than 10 years aft she archetypal experienced symptoms.

What is Sjogren’s disease?

Sjogren’s is simply a chronic, systemic autoimmune illness that tin impact antithetic parts of the body. If near untreated, the information tin worsen implicit time, successful immoderate cases causing harm to the lungs, kidneys and different organs, according to aesculapian experts.

An estimated 4 cardinal radical successful the U.S. are surviving with Sjogren’s, 90% of whom are women.

In a survey of much than 3,500 adults surviving with the disease, 48 antithetic symptoms were reported implicit the people of a year, per information from Sjout for Sjogren’s.

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Sjogren’s tin amusement up otherwise for everyone, making it hard to diagnose.

In Inaba's case, aft the archetypal dry-eye symptoms, she began suffering from "a batch of pain" successful her cervix and shoulders. As a dancer, this was hard to differentiate from the mean aches and pains, she shared. Extreme fatigue was different grounds she experienced.

Carrie Ann Inaba, pictured astatine the Deadline x Dancing with the Stars 20th Anniversary Portrait Studio successful November 2025, Following extended bloodwork and a dry-eye test, was diagnosed with Sjogren’s illness successful 2013. (Anthony Avellano/Deadline via Getty Images)

"I had nary vigor to determination guardant with things, which is dissimilar me," she said. "I've ever been a go-getter ... I was physically progressive my full life. And during this chapter, erstwhile I was starting to fig retired thing was wrong, determination were each these symptoms, and I didn't recognize however they were related."

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Other symptoms tin see adust mouth, encephalon fog, anxiety, swollen glands and lymph nodes, tegument rashes, fevers and nighttime sweats. People whitethorn besides announcement numbness, tingling oregon burning successful the hands oregon feet. Internal organ complications tin besides occur.

Managing the disease

Inaba said she relies connected a assortment of practices to negociate her symptoms, including keeping her eyes and situation moist.

"I ever person a batch of drinks. I'm ever spraying things successful the aerial to get moisture successful the air. I person a humidifier I slumber with," she told Fox News Digital.

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"I besides bash tons of meditation and reiki and assemblage enactment to marque definite I don't get excessively flared up, due to the fact that symptom is ever with me. I unrecorded with symptom 24/7."

Inaba said she’s learned however to perceive to her assemblage to pat into what it needs, particularly taking clip to remainder surrounding large events.

An infographic displaying symptoms experienced by much than 3,500 U.S. Sjogren's patients successful 1 year. (Sjoiut for Sjogren's/sjoutforsjogrens.com)

"I cognize that much than likely, I mightiness beryllium sick and I mightiness person a fewer down days afterwards, and it's worthy the risk," she said. "If I don't person to beryllium successful a crowd, I won't, due to the fact that I privation to instrumentality attraction of my wellness and prioritize myself."

"Don't fto radical archer you it's not real."

For others who are surviving with Sjogren’s oregon experiencing symptoms, Inaba’s proposal is to support "careful track" of the informing signs, to admit erstwhile thing doesn’t consciousness close and to advocator for due care.

This is the connection down the Sjout for Sjogren’s campaign, an consciousness question that Inaba hopes volition assistance dispersed much cognition astir the illness and trim stigma.

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"We privation radical to respect that it is simply a analyzable systemic autoimmune illness that needs care," she said. "There is nary FDA-approved attraction astatine this time, truthful it's astir managing symptoms."

"It’s important to besides person a assemblage – and portion of this run is astir gathering a community."

Carrie Ann Inaba appears connected "Dancing with the Stars" during the show's 20th day solemnisation that aired Nov. 11. (Eric McCandless/Disney)

The astir important happening Inaba wants radical to cognize astir Sjogren’s is that "it’s real."

"It's an invisible illness," she said. "I cognize erstwhile I'm retired determination doing immoderate amusement I'm doing, you don't deliberation I'm sick, but I wage a terms for doing that."

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"It's sometimes a lonely and isolating illness – and truthful I privation radical to cognize they tin scope retired … I privation radical to consciousness assured capable to outcry astir what they're going through."

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She added, "Don't fto radical archer you it's not real. And person patience for the friends who are trying to understand, but can't quite. Because, astir likely, you don't judge it unless you're really experiencing it."

Fox News Digital’s Stephanie Giang-Paunon contributed to this report.