I'd really appreciate any help on this...
I've had symptoms since 1999 (23 yo), but wasn't diagnosed until 2006 (30) after the typical uphill battle with doctors telling me I was crazy, etc. The AS diagnosis was a blow, but ultimately good in order to treat my disease properly. I've taken Humira and pain meds and fare pretty well, all told.
Recently, I moved and my new rheumy had new MRIs done (which I'd been wanting for a while). The MRI doesn't show inflammation, fusion, or degeneration. Nor do the x-rays. Before, this "lack of evidence" was considered acceptable because I was in the early days of the disease. But now...
...now I'm afraid they're going to throw me back into the crazy pile, where I don't get proper care and suffer needlessly. All my symptoms are classical AS (worse in morning, or after staying in one position, flares, exhaustion, typical patterns of AS pain, etc.) I don't have HLA-B27, nor iritis. But the rest? AS is the most relevant diagnosis, and I've never had it called into question until now.
My question to you guys: Have you dealt with a similar situation? How long did it take for anything to show up on imaging, *especially* if you are a woman?
Thank you for any stories you can share -- deeply appreciated
-M
