Stories

I'm not a native English speaker. Please forgive my mistakes! I've been mistreated so many times with "professional" help, so I would like some advice from people that are going...

I had a few symptoms before I even knew I had AS. All these things that led up to where I currently am, doctors not knowing for the longest time...

I loved my friends, I loved my job, I loved life. I worked for our state, Alaska, for almost 17 years. I found my husband at this job, and also...

My pain started when I hurt my back working at a nursing home. The doctors told me that I have had it for a while. My back would get sore...

The day after Superstorm Sandy, I twisted my knee. A few days later it had gotten worse, so went to the doctor. Sent to a ortho, and April 19, 2013...

I was my doctor's mystery patient for a total of seventeen months or longer. Here is my story before I got diagnosed. In April 2015, the lower right side of...

I have been diagnosed, but due to loss of insurance I can’t go back to the doctor, I can’t afford the meds nor can I get a prescription. I have...

I graduated from hygiene school in 2012, and within four years I needed bilateral carpal tunnel release surgery. I was also having back/hip/buttock pain and was waking up so stiff...

I was diagnosed about 3 years ago, after my pain management doctor couldn't help me with my pain anymore. So he referred me to a rheumatologist. I went to see...

I’m 50 now. I’ve been having weird pains for about 26 years with random explanations from different doctors. "You’re overweight" (I was not that overweight at the time). "You need...

I was diagnosed with ankylosing spondylitis in 1980. I was 18, I had excruciating low back pain to the point I could not walk sometimes. I was having trouble working...

I have had serious back and hip pain for several years. My pain management doctor said I have arthritis. The pain is getting worse and sometimes I can hardly get...

I grew up with a dad who had an extreme case of AS. It was the 60’s and nobody knew what was wrong. For years he chased cures. Endured barbaric...

I don't tell my AS story very often. It seems so long to me and I never know if anybody really wants to hear it considering there are so many...

My dad was struggling with pain for twenty years before he was diagnosed. Luckily, as a triathlete, he was somewhat managing his pain without ever knowing anything about the disease...

I've dealt with back pain all my life. Then it started spreading. A couple of years ago, I finally got a dx of AS. It is not a fun dx...

Started having pain in SI joint early 30s but pain management said it was my lower lumbar even burned nerve in that area along with steroid shots that never helped?...

As far back as I can remember, I’ve always had aches and pains. My aches, pains, and cries didn’t make my parents investigate further as they just dismissed it as...

At age 50, I had hand pain, back pain, and swelling and was told I had rheumatoid arthritis, w/o testing. Methotrexate was a drug that Dr. prescribed. After a year...

It's bad enough that I have fibromyalgia, Lupus and Hashimoto's disease. Then after tons of Xrays and MRIs, I'm told I have Ankylosing Spondylitis. Fusings is what is causing most...