Hello My name is Gillian Eames and l am 59, l live in Bromley Kent in the United Kingdom.
l have two sons Mark who is 36 and Lee who is 33.
l started to get pain and stiffness in my lower back and neck in my early 20′s. Then soon after my youngest son was born in 1978 it was getting worse
Over the next few years l was constantly at my GP’s surgery complaining of this unbearable pain and terrible fatigue l was feeling. He was in his early 30′s and not long out of medical school , so looking back now how come he did not suspect Ankylosing Spondylitis as l had all the classic symptoms. Click here for more
You know, sometimes that’s just the way it is! We’ve all been there. I remember when I totaled the very first new car I had ever owned. Long story, but in the midst of a July move, I inadvertently left a deep freezer worth of poultry and beef in the back seat of my new Saturn…for a week. Needless to say, there was nothing that could be done. The insurance company said, and I quote, “We have to handle this just like a dead body.” Gross.
But what I remember most is how many people said to me, gosh, you got another new car out of the deal! Yes, I guess I did. Click here for more
May 162011
By Kelly Johnston
“Ankylosing Spondylitis is very hard to diagnose. It is widely misunderstood and inaccurately thought of as a “man’s” disease. Sadly, because it is so unknown, and because there isn’t any concrete diagnostic testing available, people with AS tend to wait a long time before getting any treatment. Without effective and aggressive treatment early in the disease process, permanent damage can occur to the spine, peripheral joints and even organs. Had I known the above information when I was first diagnosed, I may have been able to avoid permanent damage to my body. Click here for more
May 102011
When you live with an invisible illness, you learn to live with constant pain and defeat. No one knows you are sick, surely you couldn’t be sick, when you don’t look it…right? Wrong! Imagine this scenario : You are perfectly fine one day, then the next your entire body hurts. The pain is so bad, you go to the ER, crying, begging, and screaming for something to take the pain away. But instead of the ER helping you, they look at you suspiciously and they don’t believe you. They tell you the pain is a figment of your imagination, it is not real, so they discharge you with an antidepressant and a script for therapy. What would you do? Continue on in the scenario…after the ER you decide maybe you really are imagining the pain, but you decide to go for a second opinion…this pain is overwhelming and controlling every thought and movement you make…only when you get the second opinion the doctor blows you off again. You look fine, it is depression tricking your body into thinking it hurts, says the doctor. How would you feel? Click here for more
