Digestive System and Axial Spondyloarthritis
Sometimes I feel like the number of ways AxSpA can affect my body are endless. It’s extremely discouraging. But as a systemic disease, the truth of the matter is that AxSpA can potentially disrupt the operations of most major organ systems in the body.
For the past year and a half, I’ve been managing some gastrointestinal issues that may or may not be directly related to my axial spondyloarthritis. The verdict is still out. But while I wait for results and answers (a wait that, if my decade and a half wait for my AS diagnosis is any indication, may last several more years), I thought I might explore what my experience has been like, what I know already, and what the research says.
My recent experience with GI discomfort and ankylosing spondylitis
It’s almost as unpleasant discussing gastrointestinal issues as it is living with them...almost! So I held off talking to my doctor about my stomach issues for nearly a year, hoping they would resolve on their own. When they didn’t resolve, I discussed the issues with my rheumatologist.
I’ve been dealing with periodic stomach pain and constant, daily bouts of loose stool that borders on diarrhea at times. At first, I thought these symptoms could be associated with my switch to methotrexate, to the point where I willfully believed that a change in medication would be a simple solution to some very frustrating symptoms.
My rheumatologist assured me that methotrexate could cause the GI symptoms I described, but since I was only taking my dose of methotrexate once a week, I should not be experiencing GI issues every other day of the week as well. So, she referred me to a gastrointestinal specialist.
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