She I seek a 2nd opinion?

[Mellymell]

I am a 35 year old women with chronic low back pain since I was 20 yrs old.  I have been going to the doctor for this back pain now for 6 months because it has been getting worse and affecting my life to a greater degree.  Here are my symptoms:

Back pain and stiffness after inactivity
Morning stiffness
Cant stand up straight after getting up from a chair
Back below my waistband is always tender to the touch and warm
Painful feet, ankles and knees
Entire body is painful to the touch
I have lost range of motion in my hip, shoulder and back
Frequent tendinitis in achilles tendon

My testing has shown the following:

Bone scan showed increased uptake in the lower left SI joint as well as the upper and lower parts of the right SI joint.  Increased uptake in the heel and a bone spur is present.  Knees have a small amount of uptake.  Significant uptake in talus bone and in the mid-foot.

Lumbar xray showed loss of normal lordotic curve and minimal degenerative changes.  SI joints showed no problems.

Blood work all comes out normal.  I am however HLA-B27 positive.

My doctor says there is nothing wrong with me, except that I fibromyalgia.  Do you think I should get a 2nd opinion?

[srolf11]

Hi there,

I was just diagnosed with ankylosing spondylitis after over a year of seeing rheumy after rheumy. The current rheumy took all my symptoms and lab/x-ray/mri work into account and diagnosed me with AS. It's pretty rare and it took me 4 rheumy's to get them to do the HLA-B27 test which can firm up a diagnosis of AS. Please continue going to a specialitst until you find one that does not dismiss your symptoms/lab work. You pay them to help you!

Good luck to you! Even though the pain is not gone and the fatigue is still there, it's nice to actually know what is wrong with you!

[txsilver]

ROFLMAO, yes!  I meant to write, " I cannot recommend getting a 2nd opinion enough!"  Thanks for catching and correcting me, D!

[Dnmh]

LOL! I think she meant to say YES - get a second, third or fourth opinion!
I did and found a team of doctors that are looking at ALL my symptoms before they slap a label on me to give me a real diagnosis. They want to find the problem so they can treat that and not just blindly treat the symptoms.
I was misdiagnosed as well as tested (heart cath - yuck) and treated for a condition I didn't have for 4 years! I had almost given up on doctors and was willing to just live with it. I'm raising my 3 yr old grand-daughter and decided to give it one more shot for her sake because I got tired of telling her "grandma's too tired/sore/sick" and seeing her disappointed.
There are good docs out there. Don't give up!

[txsilver]

I cannot recommend getting a second (or even or third, fourth or more!) opinion.  I started with a dx of fibro and went to other doctors and I have a list of dxs as long as my arm.  With your SI joint affected and being HLAB27 positive, try to find a rheummy who specializes or is very knowledgeable about spondylotharpies (a family of arthritis types that include AS, psoriatic arthritis, reactive arthritis and ulcerative colitis.)