Hello to everybody.
I'd like opinions on whether this sounds like AS - from some people who actually experience it - as I'm deciding whether to go and ask my doctor to investigate.
I'm male, 53, have had lower back pain intermittently since my 20s. I always get fatigue with it and when it is worst I usually get pain in my ankles too. I'm worst in the morning and slowly improve through the day, but if I sit watching TV for long in the evening I can hardly get up due to stiffness. The periods of greatest health in my lifetime have been when I've been eating a low-carb diet, done lots of exercise. Hot baths make me feel better for a while too.
Two other things make me suspicious - I have a very high level of Klebsiella in my gut (stool test) and although I don't know my HLA-B27 status, my ancestors were Finns. I've just remembered a couple of other things - I was diagnosed with IBS about 15 year ago and my mother has had Rheumatoid Arthritis for 30 years +.
Any thoughts? (I'm not looking for diagnosis, just whether this sounds familiar to you)
