Spondylitis Association of America Forums General Discussion Military & Veterans Board Newly diagnosed with AS

Most insurance companies will want to see that you have tried other meds and Physical Therapy before getting to the big dogs. It sucks but thats the way it is. I'm sure you will see noticable improvement when you start enbrel. I did and I know the diference when I go off it when I get sick with the winter crud. Keep your head up and do what the docs advise but also check out the information on this site about teaching your doctor. That may give him some good information and help arm you as well.

Well, if you have active AS, the sooner the bettter would be my take on TNF's. Since you are very young, it's more likely to become severe. I don't think a couple of months is to much to make sure enbrel is the right thing if its to vet out medical concerns. I don't like the try everything cheaper mentaliity. Enbrel will prevent damage but not fix damage.

"Well, my appointment on the 21st has clairfied a few things. First off, My Rheumy can't fully diagnose me with AS. He states I am probable to have AS, but since it is hard to prove, its hard to diagnose. He told me that it is very hard to prove to the base doctors that I have AS. Since it can take up to 10 years for any X-ray changes, the base doctors are skeptical on any diagnosis like AS."
You have a bad Rheumy. They can diagnose AS through blood tests by testing your C reactive protein levels in your blood.

From Riplinger "You have a bad Rheumy. They can diagnose AS through blood tests by testing your C reactive protein levels in your blood."

I don't think I have a bad Rheumy. The signs point to AS with the tests. However, its too early to diagnose it as AS as there is no evidence in X-rays as of yet. Officially I was diagnosed with AS. However, he tends to lead to USpA for the time being. But he is treating me for AS(which isn't much different from USpA).

My last appointment doubled my dose of Sulfasalazine. He said my next appointment He'll try Enbrel. Unfortunately, thats not until March 9th.

Today, I went to the podiatrist about my flat feet issue. The podiatrist said he doesn't know what to do for the pain, and believes that it is related to AS since the nerves for my feet go into my lower spine. The Orthotics I got back in July seemed to have not done anything either. I also had an MRI done of my lower spine. Since I don't know how to read them, I gotta wait for the next appointment. I might call up and try to get it moved up two weeks just to get this going quicker. I don't want to wait until after I get kicked out of the USAF to get on Enbrel. Plus, I need to stand for almost any job I do. I am a mechanic, and it sucks that I can't do it just because I can;t stand for more than 5 mins without being in pain. The foot pain is getting worse than the back pain. I can deal with the back pain anyday over the feet. But whats the use if you can't walk?