Spondylitis Association of America Forums General Discussion Men Only Message Board Anybody get embarassed?

Second post here, just found the forum today and it's great to see/read others have similar experiences. I've been diagnosed since 1988. When I was diagnosed years ago, I had a lot of pain and swelling in my lower back and neck. I've gotten somewhat worse over the years and gotten stiffer as time has gone on.

Yes, I've tried to exercise and I've taken a number of NSAIDS but finally settled on Celebrex (seems to help the most).

Again, I get REALLY self concious about my neck being so stiff and get really embarrassed when people ask me about it. Not sure why that is but I do. Fortunately, most people are polite enough not to ask but it does come up from time to time and to this day, I still get extremely embarrassed about it.

Have you guys ever felt that way? Am I being hyper sensitive? Should I just get over it?

I don't know if I would say if I was embarrassed, but maybe more self-conscious. I was really having problems with stiffness until my doc put me on Sulfazine and Sulindac. They really helped me out. I think that part of having AS is just getting use to people talking. The worst thing that I've had said is that I was faking. I have my family, close friends and this board to help me deal with everything. So don't let it get you down we are all in this together. Bobby

Sure, I felt that way. It's a completely natural reaction.

I used to be very self-conscious, but after awhile, that faded.
I came to a realization that it was pointless to worry about the part of my appearance over which I had no control.

Plus, the truth is, most people aren't being polite, it's much more likely that they are just unaware. Most people are so caught up with what's going on in their own lives, that they don't notice a lot of the details of anyone else's life unless there is some kind of figurative neon sign attached to it, pointing out to them what seems blatantly obvious to you.

I used to apologize to people for my neck being fused, until sooo many people gave me that puzzled look that says, they hadn't even bothered to notice. Now I only explain when someone asks or comments on it.



Spenser23

i get embarassed all the time. it is pretty hard for me to bend over most days. a few of my friends know whats going on so when i drop stuff or they see me bending over they get what it is i am reaching for. but, i few of the other not in my circle just call me a lazy ass or fat ass when i ask them to help me.

My neck is not fused yet, but I have to "pop" it quite often or it freezes up. When I do that it makes a sound that freaks people out. Whatever. You just learn to cope. Everyone's body goes downhill eventually. I am just glad for all the problems I don't have.

Picking up on what Mark said about how everybody's body goes downhill eventually ... I look at it this way. We are pioneers for our age group, exploring the future.

By the time the rest of our generation starts dealing with the symptoms of old age, we'll have been dealing with it for 30 years or more, and will be able to show all of them how it's done.



Spenser23

Spenser, for you the cup is definitely always half full. (Or is that half empty?? I guess it is depending on what cup you have to drink!)

I've been saying for a while that I'm going to join the circus as a side show entitles "World's Youngest Old Man".

Yeah, I don't know if its embarrassing, or I'm just self conscious, but I am uncomfortable when asked about my stiff neck. I usually just shrug, and say "yep, I have a stiff neck". I think I'll continue to do that for people I don't know, and for those that do, I'll tell them I have a form of arthritis and leave it at that. My neck stiffness is a real problem in business meetings. I try to pick a seat that allows me to limit my neck motion so its not as noticeable.