Do my symptoms seems similar to anyone else's?
Hi everyone, I'm brand new to this forum. I have been seeing a rheumatologist and I had a positive HLA-B27 result and have had a few intense episodes where my back was highly inflamed, and some pain in the joints of my hands, but all of my subsequent blood tests for inflammation looked good, and so my doctor thinks AS is "likely" but has not given me a confirmation. I just wanted to share that back story (pun!) first.
My question is: I seem to always have episodes (there have been 3, and I'm in one now) after a period where I try to start running / being more active - it's as if a bit of physical activity leads to some irritation, and then that snowballs into a full-on flare-up. The first two times it was my sacral area but this time it's my mid/upper back. The pain is pretty intense and all-encompassing, it doesn't just feel like a pulled muscle.
I was just curious if anyone else has symptoms like this, or if this sounds unusual or not AS-related at all? Specifically, I am asking about the fact that physical activity seems to "trigger" the onset of a flare-up. I think I just need to stop trying to run because I think it's the impact that sets things off. This third time I tried to run on a treadmill because I thought that would be lower impact and maybe not cause issues, but I woke up today unable to really move my back without pain so.. I'm going to just walk from now on.
Thank you in advance for taking time respond.
Sarah
This pretty much sounds like my typical experience with this disease, yes! If I do high impact intense activity, my body will definitely pay for it and I will experience pain. If I don’t do any activity, I will experience pain. There are other triggers, like certain foods or just high stress periods. But we are experiencing are called flares, and it’s very common to experience flares – which are times when disease activity ramps up and then slows down. Flares can be short or long and can be brought on by triggers OR just out of nowhere. You can have ankylosing spondylitis without having evidence of it on an MRI or x-ray as well. That’s called non-radio graphic axial spondyloarthritis. Hi, wow I'm sorry you're dealing with all of that. Sounds like we both need to stop running! I think I will be speed-walking on a treadmill and using a stationary bike for the future.
Hi.
Kind of similar but in the same boat as you regarding diagnosis.
Everytime I get about 8 weeks or so into get into shape at the gym and running I get injured.
This time round as been horrendous. My mid back severe pain came on in the middle of the night then a day later certain toes and the femur Bone below my hip bone was killing, ankle also swelled up, achiles pain came on, middle finger swelled up, right jaw has siezed up a little so struggle to eat. Back pain died down after about 2 weeks but feet are in bits still.
I tested positive for hla-b27 years ago as I had inflammation of my iris so part of the diagnosis for that they found me to have that bastard gene.
The rheumatologist I saw last week thinks it is spondyloarthritis but can't rule out ankylosing spondylitis until I have had an xray and mri and are going to put me on methotrexate but will change it to a biological type of drug if I'm shown to have inflammation in the sacroiliac joints.
It could be a coincidence it came on the same time as trying to get back into the gym, but ultimately think it was going to happen one day.
