Rheumatoid Arthritis Support Group

Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic, inflammatory, multisystem, autoimmune disorder. It is a disabling and painful condition which can lead to substantial loss of mobility due to pain and joint destruction. The disease is also systemic in that it often also affects many extra-articular tissues throughout the body including the skin, blood vessels, heart, lungs, and...

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ANKYLOSING SPONDYLITIS

deleted_user
deleted_user
Anyone know anything about it? At my first Rheumy apt. today the Dr. mentioned that she was concerned about my SI joint being inflammed and this was more a sign of AS then RA, but what about my hands and feet being swollen then? That is not common with RA, so do I get both??!! So I was wondering what anyone here knows about AS?
Thanks
Crys
thinksRAstinks
thinksRAstinks
sorry crystal I do not.
Maybe you can Google it.
deleted_user
deleted_user
I did already google it and have read 8 different sites, I like to her first hand experience accounts though, That is what I love about this place! Thanks.
deleted_user
deleted_user
I have that, diagnosed in 1998 by my spine specialist. I suggest you go see a spine specialist, there are a ton of them here in town. Just be sure you find a good one. I also have RA and OA. You can have all of these at once. I have always had a low back ache, so that must have been the cause. I did have two lower spine fusins, so I really don't know if that was "fixed" or not.

The swelling in your hands and feet sound like it could be OA.
deleted_user
deleted_user
My husband was diagnosed with AS last year. He used to play soccer and chalked his hip and back pain up to that (he was a goalie). He had been sent for X-rays and told to take anti-inflammatories for about 5 years before he had to see a new Doc in his practice and she figured it out. She sent him him for blood work and to a Rheumatologist. Some people with AS have a genetic marker (HLA-B27, which my husband had. When the RD saw him, she confirmed the AS diagnosis and started him on Enbrel right away. It has been a wonderful thing for him. He can now play with our kids and is able to build and do things around the house. He still has pain sometimes, but it's pretty rare and usually when he's been doing A LOT of work. He will usually just take some Advil and rest a bit and he's feeling better. He had lost a lot of mobility, but has gained a good bit of it back.
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