Today I feel majorlly depressed. Here a month ago I had a bunch of blood drawn to try to figure out why I am hurting and feeling bad all the time. Well Monday I recieved a phone call from my Doctor and My blood work shows that I have my dads bone disease. It is called Ankylosing Spondylitis. It is aform of arthritis that mainly involes the spine and joints of the extremities, Such as shoulders, hips, ribs and knees.Normal tissue that connects the vertebrae is gradually replaced by bone-like fibers which will fuse the spine and other body parts meantioned. It can also cause inflammation of the eyes, lungs and heart. It is found most often in men in there 20's how ever in cases like my self women.
I have been in pain in all the areas listed above since I was 20, My doctor at the time laughed at me and told me that I was worring about nothing. He was a DO and every week until last Feb. he would have me come in and do adjustments on me and it never helped. Then I went to a diferent female doctor here in town and she has been very willing to help me find out why I have migrianes so often and why I feel sickly, and am hurting all the time. When I heard the results of this test my mind went blank and I think it has finally sunk in today. I always new it was heriditary and even knew that I had it for a long time. But actually hearing it from a doctor was kind of finalizing that I may be in a wheel chiar by the time i am 40. My poor Dad has walked with a cane since he was 34. He is now been in a wheel chair since his late 40s. He no longer has any hip joints, just whats left of his upper leg bone is floating around in pelvis. He is forever going to be bent over in his posture. And his ribs are so fused together that he cant take deep breathes, and he gets pneumonia alot. Once we had to put him on life support because he had pneumonia so bad and he could get enough oxygen. I dont think I will ever get as bad off as he is. But I know that anything I would like to do that requires me to be pyhsical I better do it now rather then wait, Becaus eI know if I wait to long I wont ever get to do it. The two hardest things about this is that I am a very active person and I know that I wont be able to do the things that I like doing like hiking and jogging, biking. And the other is I am scared That my kids will have end up having this disease when they grow up. I have had x rays done here about a year ago and it showed my pelvic bone showing some calcium setting in. I have to go have more xrays done so they can compare them together and see how bad it has spread and what areas are getting affected. It is just a hard pill for me to swallow. Knowing that I am getting ready for a long road of pain. I dont think I am as strong as my dad. And I dont know if I could ever live being disabled.
I have been in pain in all the areas listed above since I was 20, My doctor at the time laughed at me and told me that I was worring about nothing. He was a DO and every week until last Feb. he would have me come in and do adjustments on me and it never helped. Then I went to a diferent female doctor here in town and she has been very willing to help me find out why I have migrianes so often and why I feel sickly, and am hurting all the time. When I heard the results of this test my mind went blank and I think it has finally sunk in today. I always new it was heriditary and even knew that I had it for a long time. But actually hearing it from a doctor was kind of finalizing that I may be in a wheel chiar by the time i am 40. My poor Dad has walked with a cane since he was 34. He is now been in a wheel chair since his late 40s. He no longer has any hip joints, just whats left of his upper leg bone is floating around in pelvis. He is forever going to be bent over in his posture. And his ribs are so fused together that he cant take deep breathes, and he gets pneumonia alot. Once we had to put him on life support because he had pneumonia so bad and he could get enough oxygen. I dont think I will ever get as bad off as he is. But I know that anything I would like to do that requires me to be pyhsical I better do it now rather then wait, Becaus eI know if I wait to long I wont ever get to do it. The two hardest things about this is that I am a very active person and I know that I wont be able to do the things that I like doing like hiking and jogging, biking. And the other is I am scared That my kids will have end up having this disease when they grow up. I have had x rays done here about a year ago and it showed my pelvic bone showing some calcium setting in. I have to go have more xrays done so they can compare them together and see how bad it has spread and what areas are getting affected. It is just a hard pill for me to swallow. Knowing that I am getting ready for a long road of pain. I dont think I am as strong as my dad. And I dont know if I could ever live being disabled.
