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Joined: Feb 2012
Posts: 8
New_Member
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OP
New_Member
Joined: Feb 2012
Posts: 8 |
Hello,
My name is Mike and I suffer from AS.
About me:
30 yo. Male DX w/AS last year by Landstuhl Rhumy. Non responsive to Humira, recently switched to Enbrel 2 wk ago. Uses cane to walk.
I am in the U.S. Army, was involved in 2 IEDs back in '07, developed significant pain in the SI region after disc replacement (l4/l5) surgery in '08. I was on Humira for a year with little response. Paper pushers are working on my Med Retirement. DC wants to give me 20% and a kick out the door. Fighting it.
As there a lot of AS sufferers here on this site, did any of you have a manifestation of excruciating "popping" in your SI joints? Mine are completely debilitating. Everytime it pops (30+ times daily) the pain is so massive that I can't do anything for several seconds. Is this a "normal" thing with AS?
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Joined: Nov 2011
Posts: 74
Active_Member
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Active_Member
Joined: Nov 2011
Posts: 74 |
Welcome Mike OMG yes my SI joint more so the right side pops all the time especially when I lean back on it. For me it hurts very bad but at the same time I get a sense of relief after its popped. I hope you find relief soon and that you win your case with your employer  Nat
When you live with chronic pain, you never tell the truth. When someone asks you how you are or how you feel, you lie & say, I'm fine or I'm OK, & you smile.
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Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 265
Third_Degree_AS_Kicker
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Third_Degree_AS_Kicker
Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 265 |
Popping? I can't say I ever experienced any popping in my SI's. Just heavy pressure and inflammation, resulting in feeling like my hip had something lodged between the sockets and causing me to limp and basically barely move.
Lauren S.
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Joined: Sep 2011
Posts: 175 Likes: 5
First_Degree_AS_Kicker
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First_Degree_AS_Kicker
Joined: Sep 2011
Posts: 175 Likes: 5 |
Welcome Mike. Pressure, pain and a heavyness for me. Mostly on the Left. I've had great luck w/ NSD/LSD.
Hang in with your Med Retirement. Don't give up!
Where your mind goes your life follows
HLA-B27+
Dx'd 2011
manage with diet and supplements
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Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 6,928 Likes: 3
Addicted_to_AS_Kickin
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Addicted_to_AS_Kickin
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 6,928 Likes: 3 |
Hi Mike and welcome. Oh yes the popping is normal. I snap, crackle and pop with every move. The pops are not always painful for me. I am so sorry you are having this pain. I appreciate what you are doing for us. I do hope you can get your disability worked out. Blessings. Possi 
![[Linked Image]](https://www.kickas.org/images/flowers/Smilingsun.gif) Possi ********************************************************* RUN WHEN YOU CAN, WALK IF YOU HAVE TO, CRAWL IF YOU MUST, JUST NEVER EVER GIVE UP! "A FRIEND HEARS THE SONG IN YOUR HEART AND SINGS IT TO YOU WHEN YOU CAN'T REMEMBER THE WORDS." "A FRIEND LOOKS THROUGH YOUR BROKEN FENCE TO ADMIRE YOUR FLOWERS."
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Joined: Jan 2012
Posts: 55
Active_Member
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Active_Member
Joined: Jan 2012
Posts: 55 |
Hi Mike.....
That popping sounds painfull as hell.
Sorry to hear that you have been dx with AS......
I was dx in late 2010 after i got back from Afghan ......im in the Australian army and i have a med review next week to see if its worth keeping me or kicking me....im hoping i can do a few more yrs sevice befor they kick me ...
Well i hope the popping can be stopped and your pain reduced..
Train Hard... Work Hard... Play Well... Live Well........... Jeff
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Joined: Feb 2012
Posts: 3
New_Member
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New_Member
Joined: Feb 2012
Posts: 3 |
Hello Mike, sorry to here the Government treats you like crap after you found out you have AS. I really wish normal people could just suffer an hour of our pain, then they would understand! We look normal most of the time, knowone understands the pain and suffering! Hang in there!
Angela
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Joined: Oct 2001
Posts: 2,576 Likes: 5
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Joined: Oct 2001
Posts: 2,576 Likes: 5 |
Hi Mike,
Just wanted to say hi and welcome you to Kick AS. I'm very glad you found us, but very sorry that you needed to find us, which I'm sure you'll understand. Sorry to hear that you're experiencing so many problems with your SI joint. I wish I could offer you more advice, but I did not experience any of the popping that you describe.
I hope you find the help you need here at KA and I also hope you are able to get the medical discharge you are seeking. Don't let them bully you out of what you completely deserve; AS is on the list of "automatic" qualifiers for Social Security disability (if you meet a certain list of criteria, but most illnesses, etc., are not part of that automatic list, so it is considered to be particularly debilitating), so you absolutely should qualify for the medical discharge I would think.
Finally, I'd just like to offer a heartfelt "thank you" for serving our country and helping to defend the freedoms I have here in the United States. Every serviceman and woman is a hero in my eyes.
Again, welcome to KA, and good luck.
Brad
He who has a 'why' to live can bear with almost any 'how'.
--Friedrich Nietzsche
Sounds like everything takes time, discipline, and patience, and those are seven things I don't have.
--Jon Dore
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Joined: Nov 2011
Posts: 256
Third_Degree_AS_Kicker
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Third_Degree_AS_Kicker
Joined: Nov 2011
Posts: 256 |
Everything pops, but like Nat I get a sense of relief after, even when it hurts. Try to eliminate starch, it has helped many of us immeasurably. Also thanking you for your service... and welcome to KickAS.
Iritis first diagnosed in 1991, presently recurrent and steroid resistant.
Tested HLA B27 positive in 1996.
AS diagnosed October of 2011.
Putting most of my eggs in the NSD and exercise basket, using only TENS, massage, heat and ice, and NSAIDS (sparingly) for pain. Drops for iritis as flare necessitates. Looking back I feel I would have been diagnosed with AS years ago, if I had found a rheumy earlier than 2011.
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Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 123
Journeyman_AS_Kicker
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Journeyman_AS_Kicker
Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 123 |
Mike,
About six years ago the Army threw me out with 10%. But I filled in all the issues from my medical records into my VA Claim (VA Form 21-526), I received a 90% rating. It is the VA that you have to get right. The Army will use only one issue to chuck you out. Get complete copies of your medical records, fill out the VA Claim form and claim every issue that is in your medical records. AS is systemic claim it but also claim each SI joint seperately. Claim you back and each affected vertbrae seperately. Put down every little stinking thing you can find in your medical records. (This can not be stressed enough). There is a VA program that provides your benefits at seperation called "Benefits Delivery At Discharge (BDD)" See: "www.vba.va.gov/VBA/benefits/factsheets/general/bdd.doc". Don't wait on the Army!! Get your claim form done and ready and get a VA appointment at Landstuhl as soon as you get the word that they will be chucking you out. Don't Delay! Get Started Today!
Cheers
May Pain Freeness be with you!!
First Signs 1992
Sacroilitis DIAG 2001
AS DIAG 2002
Now on:
Celebrex, Tramadol, Nexium, Hydrochlorothiazide, Lipitor, Percocet
Previously on:
Sulfasalizide
Methotrexate (Yuck)
Remicade
Embrel
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