I am 66 and was recently diagnosed with spondylitis. My symptoms were severe neck pain for most of my life, chronic diahrrea for last 12 years, plantar fasciatis for about 10 years, hip pain for past couple of years but the one thing that got me diagnosed was my swollen toe. I know the second day after taking the anti inflammatory that this was my diagnosis because all of the above symptoms disappeared. I woke in the middle of the night because I did not have neck pain.
My 33 year old son has all the symptoms for psoriatic arthritis and still has not been diagnosed by his managed health care provider. I just did his income tax and he had almost $5000 in premiums, copays, etc. with no diagnosis. I read that there is a genetic connection between spondylitis and psoriatic arthritis. I know there is no definitive blood test for these diseases but what tests should we be getting both for me( my doctor has not even taken an x-ray to see if mine is ankylosing) and for my son so he can be given treatment for his symptoms which affect every aspect of his life?
