Hi everyone,

My name is Scott Havill, 36 yrs old, just diagnosed with sacroiliitis. I live in Eugene, Oregon.

I will be seeing a Rheumatologist for the first time on Wednesday, the 26th. I was recently diagnosed with sacroiliitis (July 2015) through a hip MRI. I have all of the symptoms that lead me to believe that I has AS; currently with hip, spine, and rib pain. My pain history was mostly associated with hip(glutes/hip bursitis) and low back soreness for the past 10 years. I recently took a leave of absence from work(May 2015) due to the complete loss of mobility associated with my hip pain and the flare ups happening only weeks apart, as historically, there were long stretches between pain cycles or low level pain which did not inhibit my daily activities that much.

For the past year or so, most of the pain was associated with my hip and glutes. Early June (2015), I was in a car accident. A month after the car accident my spine is very inflamed and my low back and ribs have been bothering me. At the beginning of my leave of absence, I had a MRI of my low back because the orthopedic surgeon thought that my back might be referring the pain to my hip. The back MRI in May (2015) came back completely normal with only a little arthritis. The back MRI was before the accident, which as I stated, I have not been experiencing inflammation along my spine, which hurts to the touch and is directly in line with my rib pain.

I would like to ask the community for advice on what I should pay attention to or ask the doctor during my Rheumatologist appointment.

My digestive history, was that I contracted a stomach issue during my Guatemala trip during my early 20s. Because of that, I had digestive issues for much of the time since that episode, Though I have had great digestion over the past 2 years. Before the Sacroiliitis diagnosis, I ate no gluten and very little refined carbs. I did eat rice and corn tortillas, but most of my starches came from fava beans or garbanzo beans. Food combining has always been a problem, so I had strict standards on when I ate certain foods. I am currently on the No starch diet, which I began this Tuesday (8/18/15).

I just found a naturopath (Dr. Lindsey Jones-Born) in the Alameda, CA, that has AS. I have a consultation with her next week. Any other naturopath recommendations would be appreciated, as I feel that I will need to meet with alot of different people before I find the right person or group of people work with.

I realize that I am moving faster than I should, as I have not received a AS diagnosis, but I feel that it is important to begin this process and if i end up with something else, I can laugh this off(I am praying that this is the case).

Any advice or help from the community would be much appreciated

thanks,

Scott