Spondylitis Association of America Forums General Discussion Young Adults - The 20-Something Club Hi new here from Alberta

I found this site by accident and am grateful i only wish i found it sooner.
I never ran right from early on not fluid movement and it always felt so hard to run. i was not out of shape or anything
I have had bad pain since i was eight. not able to turn over in bed, crutches that sort of thing. Went to several doctors got everything from the faking it to, its not that bad, growth spurts, arthritis was not even mentioned till i was 16 or 17 i think. 2009 spent most of the summer in a wheelchair as doctors thought i might of fractured my hip. that lead them to a rheumy finally got properly diagnosed spring 2010. at 22 and it was like a huge curtain was opened, no longer felt alone in my pain.

quickly started with methotrexate worked up to 1cc injections for 17 weeks i felt bronchitis sick for 3 days and bad flu for the next 4 then next injection. it worked and my joints were better, but my quality of life was less then before cause i couldn't do much feeling sick all the time. it took the swelling down so i didn't have the minor (slow up) flare ups. i ended up with the full on flare ups that put me in wheel chairs. my knees swelled up so bad the skin was tight and bigger then my thighs. then lephlunomide which did nothing. i was on steroids prednisone for my swollen knees for 3 months starting at 25mg and working down. next was humira i got a nose bleed the first week along with head aches. doctor said keep going, next injection lots of nose bleeds and huge migranes. so quit that. went off drugs minus pain killers for 3 months for my body to recover from all the side effects. i am now on enbrel start my 3rd injection tomorrow. but i dont think i am going to take it. since starting the enbrel my joints have flared up more intensely then the few weeks prior and really suddenly and for no reason at all. and i am having some weird mood swings. really depressed then normal then angry like my mind is confused and jumping all over the place.

I am a full time artist i paint pin ups, mostly old cars and hot rods. I also have my own line of t shirts. and have done logos and do designs for my local antique and model club. i am on disability. as of last fall. i work as much as i can and try to do as much as possible. i am building a car from a 1929 ford model a. built my own custom chassis and suspension parts. i built a custom 4x4 go kart roll cage and all from a old quad.

I would recommend that you and your doctor have a chat about Remicade.

Welcome.

Thank you Whitecell i am starting to feel like a hypochondriac. i had a similar problem when i was on humira i was getting mood swings. I think he wanted me on Enbrel because i started to have Iritis and Uvitis and a serious case of it and for the first time. just before the humira.

Welcome.

Welcome, LittleArtist. Glad you did finally find us! I'll be 22 this week and am an artist as well (graphic design & photography for a retail company, as well as my own business), so I imagine we have much in common. Also, I have zero car knowledge, but am a total sucker for antique cars. I want desperately to own something from the 1950s or earlier. Love the lines of cars and trucks from that era.

Sounds like you've had a rough go of it, between the disease itself and the medication side effects! It may very well be that going off the Enbrel is the right course, but I do implore you to discuss it with your rheumatologist before ending the treatment. I only just started Humira so have little personal experience, but I've heard many, many people say that their unsavory TNF inhibitor side effects went away after a month or two of treatment, as the body adjusts to it. Of course it's your decision, but that's something to consider.

Hi iviary

Well don't be too jealous of my studio. I make hardly any money, but I am sure it has been just about as much for self powering and fighting depression then anything. Its been a huge source of therapy for me.

I would love to see some of your work you can email me at tom@jthomasstudios.com

Welcome! I hope the Enbrel works for you, it works pretty well for me.

Hey, sucks that you had to go searching for a place like this but I am glad you found it. It has been great for the time I have been here.

I totally get where you are coming from with the depression and the feeling like maybe your a hypochondriac or its all in your head, as far as depression goes. Its really easy to blame things on the AS i have come to figure out.

Either way I hope the enebrel works out for you if you choose to continue taking it. I am on humira and just now after my third shot I am starting to feel a lot better. The second shot made me fell like hell and I almost gave up hope. I really thought that it would not work for me but now I dont feel the same way. I mean the depression is still growing rampant day by day but its for other reason not directly related to AS. None the less, it is definitely next on my plan of action.

Yeah i was really hoping for the Humira to work but the nose bleeds and heavy migraines, along with psoriasis of my scalp. I am still on the enbrel The effects are not as severe this time but i seem to run a pattern of how i feel physically and mental depending on how many days after the last injections they are not as severe this time and i am able to manage them more. I have noticed my hunger has gone from eating a whole plate of food and not feeling full to a 1/3 of a plate or less and any more i eat i feel like throwing up and feel like i ate way to much. dont know if its related but just things that happen after you start a drug that you never had before at things to make you wonder.