Welcome to KA, JP!!
I'm B27 negative, and have had AS (?) for at least 29 years - quite possibly longer - but only got my positive dx 4 years ago! (If I'd been B27 positive, I'd have got it at least 5 years before that - as it was, I got a Fibromyalgia dx instead!) I have a family history on my mother's side of IBD, and on my father's side of Psoraitic Arthritis, uveitis/iritis, and probable, but undxd AS. I've had Crohn's-type symptoms since my 'teens, and spinal problems triggered around age 19 by a car accident. I had spinal surgery in 1991 (L4/5 laminectomy/discetomy and partial fusion), and the orthopedic surgeon remarked at that time that I had a "70 -year-old spine in a 30-year-old body", but didn't test me for, or even mention, the possibility of anything other than "mechanical back problems", although he did warn me that the surgery wouldn't cure me, but should prevent me ending up in a wheelchair within 18 months, due to permanent sciatic nerve damage!
I grew up, and have always lived in towns, or suburbia, and have never really spent much time in the country. Any changes in drinking water (and diet?) have always brought on bouts of "gastritis" since I was a child though. 3 years ago I got my first (and so far, only - touch wood!) bout of iritis, and was started on methotrexate, as it wouldn't clear up with normal steroid treatment, and the docs were afraid I might lose the sight in my right eye. I've been on it ever since.
My daughter was dxd with IBD (probably UC, but the specialists still aren't 100% certain), and also has a lot of problems with her hips, knees, spine and neck.
Hope this helps. You've certainly raised some very interesting questions here, and sparked-off some new (and old!) theories and debates!
Best wishes,
Sue
