HLA-B27 positive??
I'm a 40 year old male. I've been dealing with upper abdominal pain (chest pain with what feels like inflammation from the top of my stomach to my ears) the last 2 and half years. About a month into the abdominal pain I had a herniated disk in my lower back that that was the worse pain I've ever felt and put me out of work for almost 3 weeks. During the last 2.5 years, I've also had right shoulder pain that has gotten worse and MRI showed severe arthritis. I am constantly tired by the end of the day and now started having neck pain the last few weeks. I've seen many doctors over the last 2.5 years and have had multiple MRIs, cat scans, x-rays, and an endoscopy with nothing showing up except the bulging disk in lower back and arthritis in the shoulder. I finally got to see a rheumatologist. He believes I have AS. Blood test confirms I'm HLA-B27 positive. I'm just not sure I have AS. My blood work did not indicate Lupus or RA. When I read about symptoms of AS it doesn't seem like that is what I have. My symptoms don't get better with activity, working in the heat doesn't help. I'm usually better in the morning but get worse as the day goes on. Eating big meals makes me feel worse.
Is there anybody else with similar symptoms? Does a positive HLA-B27 test guarantee somebody has AS?
The rheumatologist told me to take 600mg ibuprofen 3x a day for a month and see if that helps my symptoms. That seems like way too much ibuprofen for that length of time and that it will cause internal bleeding or ulcers.
Thanks so much any help!
hope you are doing better, I found you as I'm an SS patient since 2016 and have been struggling with upper abdominal pain since my vivid vaccines. I was diagnosed with AS with an MRI of my SI joints, HLb27 negative. The other thing to look into it is IBD but I'm not sure you have all the symptoms. Hope you are feeling better now 
Hi
Like Rick has said, being positive for HLA-B27 doesn't necessarily mean you have AS. I am far from a doctor, but when I was getting diagnosed my first MRI scan did not conclude that I had AS because the radiographer found that I also had some slipped discs and wrote the entire report around this. I think there was a mix up and they were not aware that they were meant to be searching for signs of AS. However I had a second scan done and they were able to find the signs of AS and only then was I officially diagnosed. I'm not saying this is the same case for you but it may be worth checking that the MRI you had was specifically searching for AS or not?
Hope you find the answers you need soon,
All the best,
James (Community Member)
If you have questions about potential side effects that your ibuprofen may cause, you can reach out to your doctor,
. It sounds like you are a bit worried about the amount of ibuprofen that your rheumatologist requested that you take. If you talk to your doctor about your concerns, they may be able to give you guidance that will ease your worries.
- Cody (Community Moderator)along with NSAIDs ibuprofen is the never drug for me first time I use NSAIDs I ended up with a ruptured stomach or should I say I guess I had a little problem in my stomach. Been using CBD and a chiropractor and a little THC and I get along I hope you do too
Thanks so much Rick!
