late diagnosis of AS? | Arthritis Information

Hi

I am 47 years old; suferred from severe low back pain on and off for 13 years; sometimes flareups so bad can't get out of bed. when not suffering a flareup no real problems apart from

ache + stiffness in low back first thing in the morning. Improves throughout the day; recent shoulder problems and Knee pain which does not improve with rest. Also heavy sensation in chest like not being able to get a deep breath. recent bloods show raised crp (varies between 16 and 40) but rest within normal range; also isotope bone scan shows abnormal activity in both shoulders and knees plus bilateral difuse activity in both wrists and ankles which have no focal points. Also suffering from fatigue badly no matter how much sleep or rest I get.

Anyone out there recognise these symptoms etc; could this be AS or rhuematoid arthritis?

 

Ironically, I was undergoing a flare up in various joints [knee, wrists, shoulder] and happened to have Kenalog [cortisone] injections in those joints. Within 48 hours ALL my pain was gone, including that in the lower back and cervical spine. And normal breathing returned.

 

I have also been diagnosed with degenerative disc disease but I don't believe the symptoms for DDD include difficulty breathing.

 

I also have psoriatic arthritis, osteoarthritis, CPPD. I'm seronegative.

 

What you might do is ask your doctor, just as an experiment, to give you a 21-day  4mg  Methylprednisolone dose pack just to see if it helps with the pain.

 

Another option would be to see an orthopedic surgeon who specializes in spine.

 

Good luck! Keep us posted.