Kickas.org Forums Ankylosing Spondylitis General Discussion #1 AS Web Support Group "Generally, AS progresses for about 10 years..."

I do believe the "Nays" carried the motion.

My father has had for 30+ years, he is fused and still lives with stiffness. AS has not spread much further than back, neck and ribcage for him.

Mine has not "fizzled out", but diet has made life very manageable.

Tim

Sorry, Greg, that's a fallacy.

I've had signs of AS for over 20 years now (hindsight being 20/20 and all). Took about 20 years before I had visible signs of fusing in 2001. Since then, through major lifestyle changes involving diet and exercise, and with the help of some pretty potent meds, I've managed to hold it where it was in 2001.

Hugs,

I hope this is true! I have had back problems since the age of 16 and at that time I had suffered from hair line fractures to my pelvis. This was a hockey injury that dropped me from AAA to AA level that season. Now at 38, I've been suffering with back aches since that injury or at least that is what I thought was causing the back problems. The last 5 years my body started developing so called flare ups! Which include fatigue, back stiffness during the night, tingling in my legs, red eyes,diarrhea,trembling and the worst of not being able to deal with STRESS! Three weeks ago I started a sinus infection and was prescibed antibiotics. The following the week I was skiing Black diamond run at Lake Placid's Whiteface Mountain! During my trip I had the runs the first morning but then cleared up. The next day I woke up with a huge cold sore on my lip! This cold sore continued to grow in size until the following week!! Back to work (with lots of stress) with a cold sore and I noticed my spine started to stiffen up!By the end of the week I was in a full flare up stuck in bed on Tylenol #3's and started my NSAID's. I have booked off work this week and I scheduled an appointment with my Rheumy for tomorrow wich is a 3 hr drive away. To this day, I have not been clinicaly diagnosed with AS ( I guess they are still looking for clues) although my GP is convinced that I have the disease. I am HLA-B27 + and my father (who previously was an Iron Man Triathlete) is suffering from the same problems. He was previously diagnosed (25 yrs ago) with Osteo arthritis. I finally convinced him to see a GP to get tested for the HLA 27 gene. If he has AS then my chances of getting are increased 6 folds!! I'm axious to see my Rheumi because my symptoms are getting worst! The last time I saw him he was talking about prescribing Enbrel but I told him that I wanted to be sure it was AS before proceeding! The pain is so bad right now that I may consider it!! Thanks for giving me the opportunity to complain!

Good Luck!

I doubt that there is any truth to AS leveling off after 10 years. My AS started when I was 15 and the pain and stiffness went on for years. Calcification has spread throughout my body and even now, 55 years later and at the age of 70, there is an increasing level of calcification spreading over my Mitral valve in my heart.

My nervous system continues to be attacked to the point where sneezing seems to be the major pain of the day.

Maybe when I am 80, AS will go away???

OldGeorge