Thank you all so much for the encouraging words. I do feel fortunate that, as of right now, AS has not forced me to modify my lifestyle. The pain is always there - poke, poke, poke - and the quality of my sleep is very poor, but I'm still working full-time, still playing with my kids, still fishing and playing golf. Prayerfully, my AS will be of the "yappy dog" variety. I can live with that.
Regarding my Dx, x-rays showed "arthritis" in my lower vertebrae and my blood tests revealed high levels of inflammation. What cinched it for my rheumy, aside from my description of my symptoms and a physical examination, was the presence of the HLA-B27 gene. So far, there's no fusion in the SI joints or spinal column that he could detect on x-ray.
I've only seen my rheumy twice so far, but I am very impressed with him so far. My GP has been with me since I was a teen - though, as I mentioned, I went a great many years without needing to see him - and I trust him. Today, he switched my sleeping meds from Temazepam to Flurazepam, so we'll see how that works. I'm just so frustrated with feeling like I'm in a fog every day of my life.
I'm hoping my next visit to my rheumatologist in two weeks will help clear things up as far as the way forward because, obviously, hydrocodone isn't a long term solution.
Again, thanks to all of you who replied with kinds words of encouragement. It's nice to hear from folks who have been there and done that.
Someone on one of the AS forums I've read made a comment that has stuck in my mind and I'm going to respectfully steal it as my mantra:
I have AS. AS does NOT have me.
God bless and thanks again!
