I'm a newbee here. I've been diagnosed with spondylitis for a couple of years and am just now barely realizing that this stuff isn't going away. There is no surgery to fix this. And the loss (what I used to be able to do compared to what I can do now) is overwhelming. Even my pity party is winding down - so now what?? Those of you who are/were athletes....how do you deal with this?

I gave up on athletics when I was in college, due to back pain plus misinformation from an orthopedist (who thought the problem was congenitally-fused vertebrae that I was putting too much stress on). A good part of my self-identity was tied up in being strong and fit, so even aside from the thrills of sport, retiring was not easy. However I did have a really challenging major to throw myself into, and eventually I made friends with some other engineering geeks who enjoyed the occasional frisbee game but nothing more physical that would stress my back too much.

Sooner or later most athletic people get injury, illness, or just plain lack of time that prevents them from being a hotshot like when they were young, so now approaching 40 I'd probably be frustrated at how much worse I was anyways (despite all youthful resolutions to the contrary). Now I have a good excuse for being a wimp and just focus on things I can still be good at

I know your mood exactly. I tried everything I could think of to keep long range hiking.... but now I am content to swim and ride my strike most days. Come on over and goof off with the fitness team. We will encourage you in whatever new mode of movement you find. click here

growing up, i ran, rode horses, climbed trees. in the summer, we went to the ocean and the lake and i swam long and hard. loved ice skating in the winter. in high school, my friend and i took up tennis, i started running distance, even did a half marathon (well, it was a 20 K walk-a-thon that 2 friends and i ran). rode my bike everywhere too, as my main form of transportation until my late 20s. either walked or biked everywhere.

but as i got older, the running turned to walking only. the tennis fell by the wayside. didn't swim as much. didn't ride my bike as often, as the 5 years in maryland, never felt safe on the roads (too much traffic). and too far south to ice skate.

i got older, got busier, got involved in other things.

and then the inflammatory arthritis hit at age 35. i took up yoga. found a therapeutic pool. started walking every day. got out my bike again after many years of not riding.

so for me, getting busy had me giving up all the activity i once enjoyed, but getting sick, got me moving again. you might say the inflammatory arthritis reintroduced me to healthier habits.

do i miss some of the things i used to do? sure. but they've been replaced by other things. still, sometimes i yearn for certain things, but then i just focus my mind on something else.

Well I use to play many sports from when I was about 5yrs to 23yrs old. Hockey mainly. Never anything beyond High School and after that Pick up twice a week. I miss it a lot; especially Ice Hockey.

Now I play NHL 2012, or other sports games on my PS3 while pedaling my recumbent for 60 minutes, everyday. Its not as fun but its the best thing I have found that my body could handle and still be enjoyable. I found the recumbent is easiest on me and on my feet. I try to get a combined 2 hours of riding in per day with bit of resistance at the pedals. I have bad days so at times this can vary.

If you go the PS3 recumbent route get a more expensive Dual Mic noise cancelling Blue tooth headset. More so if you get on a league team. It will save you any questions about heavy breathing and the like.

Thanks for your note. I appreciate your last line...it's very very difficult for me to feel "weak" - although I am in my 50's. But there's something of a relief to read that you're OK with being a wimp and still finding things to enjoy. It's time for me to let go, I think.

I went to the fitness team - but it looks like noone has posted anything there since2010. I thought maybe everyone had just given up on fitness.

Oh, I don't know that "acceptance" is the answer. I'm in my 50s, and I think that I will continue to battle this disease until I die. I have found that being in good shape greatly helps to offset the effects of AS. I was much more distressed when I was 70 pounds heavier. Losing the excess weight, cycling, hiking, and weightlifting has greatly improved the quality of my life. The trick is to find low-impact activities and to not overly stress yourself.

--Greg

Greg -
Thanks for your perspective. On many levels. Under your name it lists your diagnoses, etc - and I'm amazed that you still hike with SI joint fused - and with pain. That is so encouraging. I hike a lot but get really discouraged because I can go about 1/20th the distance that I used to go - it makes me want to just give up on it. But I guess I've got nothing to lose, really, if I keep at it. Sometimes I'm a big baby when I don't get to do what I want to do when I want to do it!
Thanks again. Receiving these posts has helped so much. I don't know anyone with this disease except me.
Brenda

i think you were on a middle page and not the last one. several people still post every day. very active. just make sure you're on the last page of the thread.

I was never an athlete, but I did used to walk miles - and I mean miles. 10 miles in one go was nothing, and I have done more than 40 miles in a day. I also did a few 7 day long distance hikes. Now I can barely do 25 yards. It kills me. I keep hoping that if I can get inflammation under control I might get back to being able to walk a couple of hundred yards or so. The only comforting thought is that I could probably have got like this 5 or 6 or more years earlier if I hadn't pushed myself to keep up regular walking, but I do feel like an old woman now. Part of my fight is to make sure that I push to get on the absolute best treatment, as well as making sure I don't allow my muscles to completely waste away, and keep up the range of motion stuff.

I played tennis competitively in college. A couple of years after college I developed a really nasty case of bicipital tendonitis. Little did I know that was probably my first warning sign about the insidious spondy beast.

When recovering, I ended up picking up hiking. Then social dancing. Then yoga. Things that I never thought I would enjoy because I spent so many years playing tennis, I started exploring and loved it.

Throughout the years, I dealt with numerous tendon and muscle injuries, all which were frustratingly slow to heal. Eventually, I had my first major flare that pretty much crippled me. Moved back in with my parents. Couldn't drive without my arms being in complete pain afterwards. Ended up going on medical leave. It was a low point.

But with a lot of luck and the information on this forum, I learned how to manage the disease. In my initial stages of recovery, I would go outside and walk around the block (10 minutes). I attended a qi gong class.

Over time, I was able to stretch my walks to 30 minutes. Eventually, I started a Pilates based physical therapy program. I started taking a restorative yoga class because I wasn't strong enough to take a 'regular' class.

With slow and steady progress, I was able to strengthen. My walks increased to 60 minutes. I was responding positively to the strengthening exercises.

Last summer, I played tennis for the first time. I can now attend a 'regular' yoga class without hurting myself. I did my first push-up in ages in January this year. I now feel comfortable hiking up to 3 hours. On shorter hikes, I run for little bursts. I'm now social dancing again.

One of the things that I took away was that it's critical to focus on what you can do and not what you can't. If you focus on the latter, it'll be so demoralizing you'll never have a chance. While what you can do now may not be fun, you may discover that it can serve as a spring board for better days.

I do feel that you need to get the inflammation under control if you are to observe sustained improvement. There lots of different ways to do this; you just need to find something that works for you.

Never give up. Keep an open mind. You may not be able to do what you were capable of previously, but you may end up finding something new that will enrich your life.

Good luck!

recent Fitness Team posts

PS - we also have a ninjas! Right Ladybug?

to cemc -
I'm sorry to hear how you feel. This is such frustrating stuff. and I hate the "old lady" feeling!!

Former_Foodie -
Thanks for all of your thoughts! It is very encouraging. I also love your quote from Princess Bride!
Thank you!

My Rheumy told me that there will be stages with the illness - his newly diagnosed patients usually are very upbeat and positive about the illness and take it 'too well' - then they get to about 8 - 10 years and they realise its going to stay around, is incurable and in some may gradually get worse and they tend to get depressed. He says he sees this pattern often.

I came down with it and another autoimmune problem with i was 26 and having an awesome year up until that point. I denied it away for years before it got too bad to ignore and started impacting on life and work bigtime.

Contemplating TNF alpha meds or a NSD to try and stem the tide at least for a while.

Hi mcbee and welcome to KA!!! First, let me say that there's always the chance that you will go into remission, whether it be brought about by diet, treatment, occur naturally or for reasons unknown, it does happen... never give up that hope!! As to the exercising, I was very athletic when I was younger(as many of us here were), swim team, track team, basketball, raquetball, tennis, I had horses, dirt bikes,(wow, you just brought back a lot of good memories for me!! ) but my AS has limited what I can do these days, so for now, my main source of exercise is swimming and when I'm having 'better days', I take several short walks everyday, I'm lucky that my knees have been spared in all of this...hang in there, you'll find a regimen that works for you... Big hugs and again, welcome to KA!!! Michelle