Living with AS (ankylosing spondylitis)

Once, I was agile young man with fine posture and athletic body. Now, every morning, when I wake up, I feel like my spine is like a bamboo. My backs should be painful but I just don't feel any pain no more. I use to it, so my tolerance to pain has been extended. My life is a little bit different than others around me. It took different path about eight years ago, when I was 23. That morning I woke up with stiff neck. I couldn't rotate it a bit. Same day I felt pain in my knees, and a slightly pain in lower part of my backs. I thought it would pass for a day or two. I thought it was caused by storm. it was rainy and cold back then. I didn't know that I was a lucky one who is carrying an antigen HLA B27.

The pain grew every day more and more, so I went to my doctor, and he sent me to do some blood tests and MRI of neck spine. Then, I went to see a rheumatologist and that was a day that changed my every view on life. I was diagnosed with ankylosing spondylitis... I didn't know what is that mean, I never heard for something like it before.

What is ankylosing spondylitis (AS)?

Ankylosing spondylitis is an inflammatory disease that caused some of the vertebrae in my spine to fuse together. This fusing made the spine less flexible and resulted in a hunched-forward posture. My ribs are slightly affected, sometimes it is difficult to breathe deeply. Ankylosing spondylitis affects men more often than women. Signs and symptoms of ankylosing spondylitis typically begin in early adulthood. It is also known as Bekhterev's disease, Bekhterev-Strümpell-Marie disease, Marie's disease, Marie–Strümpell arthritis, Pierre–Marie's disease. In some people, ankylosing spondylitis can affect joints outside of the spine, like the shoulders, ribs, hips, knees, and feet. It can also affect entheses, which are sites where the tendons and ligaments attach to the bones. It is possible that it can affect other organs, such as the eyes, bowel, and—more rarely—the heart and lungs. There is no cure for ankylosing spondylitis, but some treatments relieve symptoms of the disorder and may possibly prevent its progression. In most cases, treatment involves a combination of medication, exercise, and self-help measures. In some cases, surgery may be used to repair some of the joint damage caused by the disease.

Fighting a disease

Strengthening exercises, performed with weights or done by tightening muscles without moving the joints, build the muscles around painful joints to better support them. Exercises that don’t require joint movement can be done even when your joints are painful and inflamed. Range-of-motion exercises improve movement and flexibility and reduce stiffness in the affected joint. If the spine is painful and/or inflamed, exercises to stretch and extend the back can be helpful in preventing long-term disability. I found it helpful to exercise in water.

Kickin my AS

I exercise two times a day about 90 minutes every time, so it makes about 3 hours every day just to stay flexible. I do it in the morning and in the evening. Swimming in general is a great way to increase flexibility in my spine without jarring it. It also helps to increase flexibility in my neck, shoulders, and hips.
Deep breathing helps me to increase and maintain my lung capacity, and can help keep my rib cage flexible. Practicing good posture techniques impacts the way a person with spondylitis looks and feels.
Individuals with spondylitis often are painfully aware of the strains imposed by gravity. A vicious pain / poor posture cycle begins because of a tendency to bend over when experiencing pain in the spine, further increasing the amount of strain on the spine.

Bone fusion does not occur in everyone with spondylitis, yet fusing in a non-upright position is a valid concern. It is encouraging to know that we can influence the pattern of fusion through good postural habits.

Quality of my life

I'm sill young and want to keep up with my friends. The thought that I can’t do what others can do because I have AS could be disheartening and could have a negative effect on my self-esteem. But I was stubborn and walked bravely in new battle in my life with positive attitude.

So, I accepted my diagnosis and a fact that I can't fight it. Treating AS reduced my pain, inflammation, and other symptoms, but my neck is still stiff. I still can't rotate it nor to left, nor to right side. It is quiet screwed when I drive my car and cannot turn to see backwards.

Making jokes on myself

Positive attitude is the most important way to kick my AS. When someone asks me why my neck is stiff, I just say that I took a Viagra, then it stuck in my throat, and stiff me permanently. Or something like that. This situation made me a true fighter and most active man I know.

I work as a math teacher, but that is just a part-time job. I cannot work sitting on a chair all day, it makes my back more painful. I'm trying to make my living in my recording studio doing some music production. I live my life as a normal man, even more active then others. And, of course, I'm planning to buy some Steem-s... and patiently wait to see what will happen!