Reply to I suspect that I have ankylosing spondylitis. My GP is dismissing me.

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Reply to "I suspect that I have ankylosing spondylitis. My GP is dismissing me. "

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]If you have a normal x ray at your age and a normal HLA-B27 you don’t have it.[/quote]

This is not accurate.

First, OP did not give her age. AS usually occurs before age 40 but some dismiss the pains as just getting older and so are not diagnosed until well after that.

Second, as explained above, it can take years for AS damage to show on X-Rays.

Third, if you are HLA-B27 negative, it is very likely that you don't have AS, typically the most severe form of spondyloarthritis, but you certainly can have another form of spondyloarthritis, which can be as painful as AS.

OP, have your GP run tests for ESR and CRP. One or the other or both is often, although not always, high in those with spondyloarthritis. These are not specific tests but can be a clue.[/quote]

Right so [b]as I said if you are HLA B27 and normal X-rays it’s not AS.[/b] ESR and CRP are extremely non-specific inflammatory markers and can be elevated in everything from infection to cancer.[/quote]

I don't know why you are insisting that if you are HLA B27 negative and have a normal X-Ray you don't have AS.

AS is commonly used to refer to spondyloarthritis, of which there are several types, more generally. The only type for which the vast majority (but not 100%) are HLA B27 positive is the ankylosing spondylitis type. The damage often does not show up on X-Rays because it usually takes years for that happen, and this is as true for ankylosing spondylitis as it is for the other types of spondyloarthritis. Many with the latter are not HLA B27 positive.

Of course ESR and CRP are non-specific--as I said in my post--but taken together with other symptoms it can point to good reason to investigate further spondyloarthritis, or as many would refer to it, AS, as a cause.[/quote]

Again, OP is specifically asking in her post about Ankylosing Spondylitis, not any other arthropathy. If she is HLAB27 negative with normal X-rays she does not have Ankylosing Spondylitis.

If she has questions about other diseases she can see a rheumatologist but for this specific question her GP is not wrong.[/quote]

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