Its easy with AS to go rund and roundwith questions and possibilities since it never runs the sme course and there are so many variable in how its treated ad how one responds.

My mother has AS. She is now in her 70's I have AS and am closing rapidly in on 50. Hard to believe since I behave and think much more like a 9 or 10 year old.

Her AS manifest more in back and pelvic pains that come and go and major gastro woes that ovet the years have actually become less problematic. So if someone asked her in her twenties when she couldn hold any food down and her pain on pain days was a 9 out of 10 the answer would be ...hold on its going to get a lot better. The only med she has ever taken is enteric coated sulfa.

I fused. My pain levels at their worst may not have pain as bad as hers but fusing presented its own ancillary pains. Befroe they replaced my hips in my twenties mobility seemed impossible with the new hips life got better but they have since also been replace. So my life got better for a substatnital time to but then my spine inch by inch fused. So things go tworse again.
Despite all tis my life is still pretty doggone good. Pain of some sort every day but its sorta like having made the mistake of getting a hostile dog like a pitbull and then as you and it age you know its there and troublesome but you deal with it.

As does not mean your life is going to be troublesome all the time and often as in my Mom's case things enhance greatly. If you fuse, problems are going to exist. SO fight the battle hard not to fuse.



L-R: Julianna, Jamie, Diane and Tonimarie

stevec-they also serve who stand and wait