Stories

Hello, my name is Simon, and I am 45 years old. Since 2019, I have been suffering from spinal arthritis with the B27 antigen. It all started with swelling in...

Today, I am a disabled Marine veteran in my 70s, experiencing pain in my lower and upper back that began in 1975. I became aware of the pain while at...

Last week the temps were in the 50s, then the 30s, and on Sunday, it was 77! It’s going to be 20 and 22 then slowly warm up 🤷‍♂️ Today...

Hello everyone! I'm from Volgograd, Russia. I'm 39 years old. I was diagnosed three months ago, but it was a very difficult journey. It started in January 2024. I felt...

Late in 2020, full into the pandemic was when I finally got the courage to look up ankylosing spondylitis (AS) online. This was a diagnosis I’d had for almost a...

I have a dual diagnosis plus a genetic diagnosis: ankylosing spondylitis (AS), Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS), and secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (MS). I do not let my diseases define me. Friends...

I finally found a spine pain management doctor who was actually interested in resolving my lumbar agony. He did a lot of testing with injections and imaging. He had a...

When I was younger, I was active and would rush to be around friends and family. We lived life like there were no worries. Then, I started hurting while I...

I'm a single mother of 2 boys. Before my diagnosis I worked as a full time carer for the elderly 8 days on to get 2 off. I loved everything...

I used to be an extremely busy, anxious, workaholic. I was a high school Drama teacher & head of my school’s Music and Drama departments. I would beam when people...

I will be saying farewell to this amazing group. I have been battling what my doctors and I thought was advanced AS. I am 65 years old and was diagnosed...

I think I’ve had AS forever. When I was 16 or so, my hips clicked all the time. I was told I have the gene HLA-B27 in my early 30s...

In a land shrouded by melancholy’s embrace, there dwelt a man whose spirit had succumbed to shadows. His once agile frame now burdened by an affliction, an unyielding pain that...

Before I had a clue of this awful illness my back was killing me. Out of options, Ithought I would try a chiropractor as my wife swears by them. So...

This is my condensed story on how I got AS, diagnosed and live with it on an hourly basis. I am now 63, retired and submitted for disability, refused, resubmitted...

I find myself envying those with a diagnosis. I am pretty sure that I tick all the boxes for non-radiographic axialspondyloarthritis. It stated 50 years ago with back pain and...

I was just recently diagnosed with AS this week. I'm 24 soon to be 25, I've had symptoms since I was 13 but it feels as long as I can...

In my world we use the words "a bit at a time" because we do not hurry and don’t need to. I just turned 72 and a lot of days...

The pain has brought a different flavor to my life. Much as seasonings bring out different flavors in foods. It's like not having the normal ingredients to make a certain...

I am 67 years old. I have been diagnosed with AS since 1982. I experienced great pain in my hips, SI joints, chest, wrists and other bones. I never believed...