Hello and welcome to this episode of The Ankylosing Spondylitis Podcast. How is everyone doing? I hope everyone is having just a fantastic week. So if you're on my website spondypodcast.com, you'll notice a link on the main page called Buy Me A Coffee. And that's a link that I used for anybody that wants to provide, you know, a donation to help keep the show going. And I have a fantastic message that I got last night through that link. Lisa, who is from Ireland sent a donation, which is fantastic and much appreciated and on it she wrote,

 I've had AS for 22 years, everything you describe is true. And I cry when I listen. I cry because I'm so sad for myself and because I'm not alone. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. Love Lisa, the cat lady from Dublin, Ireland.

Well Lisa, I'm glad you like the show. I'm glad you find some benefit to it. Also Lisa and many others have done on spondee podcast comm you can sign up for the newsletter that I occasionally when I feel like it when I get around to it create. So I'd encourage you to go there to spondypodcast.com sign up for the newsletter and join Lisa and all the others receiving information when I get around to sending it out. This last one I sent out had pictures of Bandit in it, my service dog and training so you never know what I'm going to include in there. 

Now on to today's show, I see a lot of questions asked online every day about Ankylosing Spondylitis and these questions ranged from real basic, I've just been diagnosed, what do I expect? What should I expect? Should I take medication? Can I cure it? To very detailed questions specifically in relation to is this part of Ankylosing Spondylitis or not? So I put together these nine questions and some answers to them that hopefully this will help you as you start off your journey with Ankylosing Spondylitis. 

Number one is Ankylosing Spondylitis an autoimmune disease? Ankylosing Spondylitis is both an autoimmune type of arthritis and a chronic inflammatory disease. An autoimmune disease develops when your body attacks its own healthy tissues. Ankylosing Spondylitis is also an inflammatory condition that involves inflamed or swollen joints. It often affects joints and bones in the spine, lower back spinal bones confused together over time, and this is what is known as bamboo spine and, and how the name developed. 

Number two, what exactly is Ankylosing Spondylitis? Ankylosing Spondylitis is a type of inflammatory arthritis that affects the spine and the sacroiliac joints in the pelvis. Like many types of arthritis, Ankylosing Spondylitis can cause pain and swelling in the joints. This condition affects the bones of the spine, the vertebrae, and joints in the lower back. It also causes swelling were the tendons and ligaments attached to the bones in your spine. Your doctor might call this and Enthisitis pain and discomfort from Ankylosing Spondylitis can lead to symptoms in other joints such as shoulders, hips, you know, basically, if there's bones that come together, or there's muscles or ligaments AS can affect those areas. 

Number three, how is Ankylosing Spondylitis diagnosed? The doctor will likely start by asking about your symptoms and family history of AS. An exam can reveal symptoms like pain, tenderness and stiffness of your spine. The doctor then might send you for an X ray or MRI, or maybe even both, though generally not on the same day. Both tests can show damage to bones and soft tissues in your spine. An MRI creates more detailed images, and it can show damage earlier in the disease than an X ray can. Another way to diagnose this condition is with a blood test for the HLA-B27 gene. Now, some people don't have this gene, but have...