Do you think stress could have triggered Axial SPA

I’m so glad you found your way to this site, getting that support has to be huge for you. The stress of being a caregiver has most definitely lead to my condition becoming life altering. I had about ten years where my life was in constant upheaval with my profession, losing jobs for various reasons, then my parents health and mental health became so difficult I retired. Initially, with no diagnosis. I stumbled through possible causes for pain and fatigue,but I was able to focus more time on my Dads issues after losing my Mom to rapid onset psychosis from Alzheimer’s. My first real clue was the heel pain. I had been diagnosed with IT band syndrome, and thought that was just my age and weight. But the heel was strange. Stress continued and of all things I got deep into working with our local garden club…lots of drama…Politics was the next player in the stress and finger pain and psoriasis with the low back pain continuing. Finally a chiropractor working on my SI joint said he thought I may have PMR. It clicked, psoriasis and joint pain…Psoriatic arthritis! So filling in a detail here, I am a retired Physician Assistant, and my forte was diagnosis…obviously I could not see the forest for the trees. My GYN, a smart woman who actually listened, started me on prednisone 20mg. Life got much better. The rheum she sent me to was awful but all my testing negative except hsCRP was 25, he did the following up testing and I was HLAb27+. He diagnosed me with Ankylosing spondylitis, and with that knowledge I found this SSA, attended a meeting in Chicago and have been on the treatment journey we all take. YES, stress kicked this into high gear. And subsequently I see worsening of my symptoms with every stressful event. Thank goodness I’m retired
, I have a wonderful counselor, essential to managing that stress, a supportive family and enough knowledge to advocate for myself. This organization is wonderful and moderators and folks like you sharing your story is essential to this community. Hang in there, it’s stressful with kids, but they add so much to your life, mine are in their 40’s and now the wild word of grandkids brightens my life. Hugs to you!

hi Glitterandglue
I am very sorry for your experience.
The heel pain was the decider for me and my doctors by the way.
And YES, I absolutely believe that stress has triggered my disease.
I have always had lower back pain that radiated to my hip, as well as neck pain. My doctors and physical therapists provided support and did the best they could. The pain was there, but manageable - never debilitating. And because I am active, sporty, etc... I could manage it. I could not have a natural birth as my pelvis did not spread enough. And at one point I was contemplating a hip replacement but opted instead for infiltration. (the hip doctor was adorable and admitted to me after my forceful prodding that my osteoarthritis was not so bad as to really merit a replacement, so I should keep investigating the source of the pain).
During all of this, one of my doctors must have run a test which came back positive for HLA-B27. But as things were bearable, I did not seek a serious diagnosis.
Then, in 2019, I had some very bad experiences with my business partners and my workload doubled. I was killing myself for my company, while dealing with constant conflict. I had not been sick since 2017 - no cold, no flu, no nothing. This was helpful since I was always "on call", but perhaps unusual (no colds from 2018 to 2020?? I now think my immune system was in overdrive to help me cope). When the pandemic hit and my business became in dire threat, I started to feel the AS in other areas.... elbows, knees, and heels. Once I sold my business in late 2020, the pain (and other symptoms) became unbearable. A few MRI's and 2 rheumatologists later, I got a real diagnosis.
By the way - what started in my SI joint did NOT appear on the Xray in the SI joint. However, I have serious damage in my upper spine, C2 to C6 - which is untreatable.
So yes, I do believe that the severe stress manifested my disease, which was manageable up until that point. Once on biosimilars, I started to get colds again. Nothing serious, just normal head colds from time to time.
Now my project is trying to find a medication that will be the longest effective.
I wish you luck with your diagnosis - don't give up! Find a good doctor and come back to this site for valuable insight.
Best
Alicia

Hi


First off thank you for sharing with us and second I am sorry to hear what you have been through. You are such a fighter with everything you have gone through. I hope you are able to get answers at you rheumatologist appointment coming up.


I know our bodies when going through any change especially stress, at least for me can bring a flare up. This can be so hard to do not to put our bodies into stress. I am still learning on this one. But with any autoimmune disease it can be easy to make it go into a flare.

I am sending you all the warm hugs and please give us an update on how your appointment goes. Sending you all the positive vibes your way,


Nicky (Team Member)

Congrats on your new baby, and thank you for sharing your experience here in the community, . I just wanted to say hang in there. You've been through/are going through a challenging ordeal.


Stress is known to affect the body in various ways, including the immune system and inflammation levels. Inflammatory conditions like spondyloarthritis involve an immune system response, and stress can potentially exacerbate inflammation and trigger or worsen symptoms. Stress can also indirectly affect spondyloarthritis by leading to muscle tension, poor sleep, and reduced coping abilities, which may further contribute to pain and discomfort.


I haven't had this type of experience you speak of, but I do know that my disease process worsens when stress is present. And it is difficult to manage on my own. I've had to take steps in treating my stress and anxiety with a professional. So far it is helping me. Have you considered seeking help to balance out your mental health?


Hoping others in the community speak up about their difficulty with stress and how it affects their overall well-being.


With warm regards, Rebecca (community moderator)