Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Standing Tall

 My reasoning behind "still standing or standing tall" comes from the perception of people who suffer from Ankylosing Spondylitis. The disease can tend to cause a person to become hunched over or have poor posture. AS is an autoimmune disease that basically causes the body to work against itself. It cause inflammation in the joints in the spine and also pelvis, neck and chest wall. What I have learned is that will cause each person different symptoms. It can cause great stiffness limiting walking , lifting and daily activities. The hardest part for me is actually wrapping my head around the fact that there is just no getting rid of it. Depression can play a big role in AS it can be very difficult to deal with,BUT there are allot of things you can do to help make life a bit easier. AS is generally found in men and rarely in women. There is a genetic marker that can be found through blood test which can usually determine if it is AS. Although it took some time to get diagnosed at least we now know and can make the changes in my life style now rather then later.
 I found myself looking for answers when I got diagnosed. I went to a couple different specialists and doctors to finally get the results I needed. Coming from a healthy background of  dancing, playing sports and being active I honestly could not wrap my head around "why me". I hopped on the Internet looking for anything I could find. I found myself so overwhelmed with the different stories and articles it made me very scared for my future. I felt really alone. I started to branch out online and meet some others who suffered from the same thing and I found a bit of relief in this. I think the initial shock of knowing I would have something like this that would be with me the rest of my life was tough. It was not til recently I started to think about a family, marriage and where my life and my arthritis would take me..........I will touch base on these issues tomorrow. I have so many topics to cover......

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