AS Wrist Pain, The Endless Advice, and What Works for Me

Sitting in the pub, enjoying a pint and I am visited by an ache. Or is it a pain? I no longer know the difference.

The aching-pain (let’s call it that for now, shall we) makes its slow way across my right shoulder down into my forearm, where it settles in the joints in my wrist and hand.

It's invisible to everyone, save for my wife who sees the tiny shifts I make as I raise my pint to my lips. I have learned, over 30 years, to mask what goes on from moment to moment.

New peripheral pains have snuck their way in

I have become skilled in the art of deception. The aching-pains in my shoulder are relatively new. They have joined forces with the other aches and the other pains, so that they have become part of the AS family.

Much like my beautiful cat, Claude the Magnificent, who seems to take up a lot of my time, is very demanding, and has me wondering where he has got to when he’s been gone for a bit.

The endless AS advice...

The well-meaning advice from well-meaning people rolls in and out.

Someone says, ‘Put something warm on it!’
And someone else says, ‘No, no, no. Not warm, cold!’
Another voice says, ‘Try resting it this way!’
Followed by, ‘No! Not that way, the other way!’
And then, of course, there’s the, ‘I didn’t know you had – what’s it called again?’
And you say, ‘Ankylosing Spondylitis.’
And they say, ‘Anky what? How do you spell it?’
And so you start to spell it, ‘A-N-K –‘
But before you even get half way in, they butt in, ‘Ankle? In your neck? Are you sure about that?’

When my regular medication routine isn't helping, a wax bath helps

I try remedies to help accommodate the latest additions to my AS.

Pain killers, gels, and ointments that I massage into my skin in the hope they will go deep enough to find the angry nerve endings that are determined to give me grief.

Weekly anti-TNFs help with the AS in my neck and spine, but are no help at all when it comes to peripheral pain. It’s as if the new aching-pains are immune. Which is ironic, given that AS has lots to do with the immune system.

I sometimes do find the right position, and placing something warm on it can and does work. Pain killers and anti-inflammatories can help. Recently, I experienced the heavenly feeling of plunging my aching wrists into a warm wax bath while attending an appointment at my local hospital. Something that certainly worked for my aching-pain relief.

Coping with AS isn't a perfect journey

Sometimes the advice works, and sometimes it doesn’t. I should know that by now. But here I am, still trying to figure it out.

Escaping the pain is a bit like tightrope walking. You’ve got to find the line and stay on it. Any wobbling and you are in trouble. But at the same time you have to keep moving forward.

If you stop, well, we all know what happens if you stop moving for too long.

Alongside my treatment, the emotional coping is draining

I try very hard to stay positive, but that’s not always so easy. I get mad at the AS some times. I cope well enough when that happens, but once in a while I allow myself to be angry. After 30 years, I think I’ve earned the right.

I’ve called my AS every name under the sun, turned the air blue with my curses, shaken my fist at it, threatened it, cajoled it, bargained with it, and pleaded with it! Just like Claude the Magnificent, my AS doesn’t listen. It goes about its merry way and does exactly what it wants.

I can hear Claude the Magnificent meowing at my door so I’d better be off. He can be very demanding – which is another thing he has in common with AS. Until next time – go steady.