Confused!

I had a conversation with my rheumatologist at the VA the other day about my ankylosing spondylitis (she now tells me is spondyloarthritis). She had wanted to order a CT scan of my neck because of the pain I have there. Her boss won’t allow that because AS rarely goes to the neck. I disagreed, but I’m not giving up on it yet.

She also thinks it could be Diffuse Idiopathic Skeletal Hyperostosis (DISH), which I’m learning is different than AS. DISH tends to fuse vertebrae in the upper back and neck while AS may cause symptoms in the lower back and hips. She ordered a HLA-B27 test, for which I've already tested positive, and I had X-rays of my neck this morning. I'm waiting for results now.

How my story began

At 20 years old, I began having symptoms of AS with pain in my right hip. AS was unknown at the time, so when I got X-rays taken, they saw nothing. Between then and now I’ve had 3 back surgeries: laminectomy in 1968, spinal fusion in 1970 - L3-4, and decompression in 2004. I’m nearly 84 years old now, and it seems to me that I have DISH and AS. Recent CT shows both SI joints to be fusing the right more than left.

So that’s my story for today. Anyone who can explain this is welcome to. I’m tired of the pain and failing balance issues, but not ready to give up.

Life is good!