Hey!
I've been around here for a while but for anyone who does't know... I was diagnosed with AS when I was about 15 and have battled pretty severe progressive arthritis from the onset. The are few days that go by that I don't experience intense debilitating pain. Tried almost all of the treatment options from biologics to NSD with sadly very limited success and/or relief. I haven't been here in a while and today I just turned 23 and I thought some people here may find this a slightly interesting/inspiring story. Or if anyone remembers me and is slightly interested in what I've been up to haha.
I had always wanted to study abroad but I felt like I was always too sick to take the risk. I had been working part time in jobs that suited my AS (where I am always moving) such as cafes and bars, and I saved up what I thought would be enough money. About this exact time last year I just made the decision to fly to Europe alone and travel the world. I spoke with my rheumatologist at the time and he said that the worst case scenario would be that I could just fly home if it's too hard.
I stayed in hostels around Europe and Asia for about 8 months and met so many incredible people and made a lot friends from around the world which I hope I will have for life. I ended up working in hostel bars in Portugal and Estonia. I had many many tough times with my arthritis where I just wanted to cry and give in, but I held on and I'm so happy that I did that. When I look back on the experience I don't really remember the pain, only the good times, friends, and experiences I had. It's by far the best thing I've ever done with my life and plan to do it again if I'm able
I'm still battling with this a lot.. at the moment it does dominate my life and my families to an extent, which is really sad. When I wake up, the first thing I do is grab a handful of either Tramadol/Codeine/Morphine pills and swallow them just to try take the edge off a little bit. It's not great to be doing this long term, especially since I'm still kind of young, but I'm positive that things can change for me in the future. I'm going to give Remicade a shot (which is the last biologic available to me), otherwise I guess I just gotta battle on and live with this intense pain and fatigue and do my absolute best in life.
Maybe no one will read this haha, but I thought someone might find this slightly interesting!
Cheers
