Kickas.org Forums Ankylosing Spondylitis General Discussion #1 AS Web Support Group Where Did Your AS Come From???

Hi Lisa,
Hope you had a good weekend with Tiffany and her family. Don't overdo it with all that traveling. Of course when our babies need us, we have to be there.

I came across this web site the other day and thought it was real interesting. http://www.emedicine.com/oph/topic721.htm . I don't know if it has anything to do with your question, but it was interesting.

The following is a quote from that site. " The first human leukocyte antigen (HLA) haplotype association with inflammatory disease was discovered in 1972 correlating HLA-B27 with ankylosing spondylitis. This remains one of the strongest known associations of disease with HLA-B27. Since then, more than 100 disease associations have been made, including many ocular diseases and systemic diseases with specific ocular manifestations. These also include reactive arthritis, Reiter syndrome, inflammatory bowel disease, and psoriatic arthritis."

I'm the only one in my family that has been diagnosed with AS. My brother has psoriasis, my father had psoriasis and was also hunched for years before he died at age 73. My sister has back problems(has had 1 surgery already) and arthritis, and my brother has arthritis in his knees. He also has a 8 month old injury in one knee and has been sent to a specialist(in a larger city) to consider knee replacement. So far none of them have been tested or discussed the possibility of it with their doctor. I have 2 cousins(they are sisters) that have been diagnosed with fibromyalgia,and a nephew that has gout. I don't think either of those have anything to do with AS.

Take care, Wanda

Hi Lisa

Great to here the little one is getting the treatment he needs and gaining weight. I seem to be the first in my family with AS - my Dad and brother are very stiff spined and legged and have been since a young age and my Maternal grandmother had quite a hunch and definitly shrunk as she got older but no diagnosis and no major disability or pain. I figure - am hoping- that perhaps our line does not get it badly. My sister and I were talking about it the other day - she lives in Australia and she is going to ask for a HLA-B27 test and one of her daughters has had knee pain and L back pain for some time so she may get her tested as well. My oldest daughter is 2 years old and has some exzema, so I am hoping that no psorisis appears and hoping that neither of my children get it, but i will certainly be alert to any symptoms. So far my worst symptom is iritis and a little discomfort at night. My hip discomfort only appeared after my first pregnancy - so who knows what pregnancy stirs up as well.

all the best

Kylie

My AS was passed down only through my mothers side of the family. There are 5 living relatives who have AS and perhaps 3 others who also had AS but not confirmed.

George

My mom has AS and IBD symptoms. My dad has psoriasis.
I didn't have a hope! I still swear my sister was switched at birth - she's not expressing any of these nasty genes!!! Lucky me to get them all.

Hi Lisa,

when I first got my dg. I went looking for someone in the family, who has it,.........didnt find anyone! We are quite big family, my father has 11 broth. and sis., and my mom has 4. Grandparents come from a big families as well.
Most of family has some problems with the spine, but none the AS.
So I guess I did something really wrong in my past life

Maybe it has something to do with the way of life, sitting a lot, junky food,............ or just my horoscope for this life

sanela

No-one else in my family has AS or had AS. For years it was assumed I got the HLA B27 from my Dad who has very bad psoriasis, as do several members of his family, however in conversation last year my told me she has had iritis before very badly and has had two episodes of what appear to be reactive arthritis - the first when she was in her teens/early twenties after an injury at school, many of the symptoms matched my early days of AS, and then again about 5 years ago after an insect bite on holiday that lead to months of swollen and painful joints, mainly her ankles. So who knows, high chance both my parents are HLA B27+, I prefer that, my poor Dad was riddled with guilt for years thinking it was down to him. My brother hasn't shown any symptoms of anything and i do worry for his daughters, my brother barely acknowledges my AS so it would be a huge learning curve for him if one his girls started showing symptoms.

Great question. I make it myself very often.

I tested negative to the HLA-B27. My parents don't have AS. I have a very large family. My dad as 5 sisters and 4 brothers, all of them with many kids. I don't even know all of my cousins. All I know is that at least one my ants has AS.
My mother has 1 sister and 2 brothers. None of them as AS.
None of my grandfathers had AS.
But my great-grandfather (mother's side) had a very bad case of psoriasis.

As for me, I still remember a very strange inflamation I had on my mouth when I was about 21. My mouth was full of ulcers for almost a month. I could'n even eat. No doctor could diagnose me then. Now, after reading I think it was an episode of Behcet's (?) syndrome. It went away after I took out two of my wisdom teeths and two-week of antibiotics.
By the same time - some weeks after or previons, I don't really remember - I also had a severe gastroenteritis, wich came from nowhere.
About one year after I had two big falls, that hurted my pelvis and ankles very, very bad.
And about an year after I started feelling my first AS symptons.
I also remember having some episodes of candidas, since teenager.
Where did it came from? I don't know. Maybe all things mixed up my imunne system.

Zélia

I got it from my Dad's side of the family. My Grandfathers brother had it. No one that we know of in my dad's generation. Two of my cousins from my dad's side have it. My sister has had symtoms iritis, sore back, but never been diagnosed.

hi
This post does make me wonder about the diagnosis process at times.
I know i have AS, i am sure my mother has it but in a much milder form than me as she has sacroilic fusing. Point bein neither my mother or any other member of the family has had an AS dx, there is a history of back probs tho. As it can be so difficult to get a dx does a family history like mine and already mentioned in these posts mean the chances of havin it r higher?
Secondly with so many of u havin no family history of it, how can they use the guidelines of family history in the dx criteria?
Sorry just an inquisitive mind, but i cant make sense of it!
take care
heather

Seems Greek mythology provides the answer. It appears it comes form the Greek demi-god Ankus Ankus was part mermaid part chocolate sponge cake. Seems she lured one of my mother's early early relatives over for a bite and AS has persisted ever since.