New to AxSpa from PMR!

[GingerK]

I’ve recently been diagnosed with Axial Spondyloarthropathy at the age of 48 having been treated for Polymyalgia Rheumatica with steroids for 18 months. I have been prescribed methotrexate (although I’ve not started taking it due to vaccinations, etc) and hope to go onto a biologic treatment too; but at the moment I’m struggling to believe that anything could take away the pain and genuine misery I’m going through. What is everyone’s experience? I need some perspective please!

[oldtimer]

Sorry to hear you have had problems getting a diagnosis and treatment. You will see from the many comments on here that it isn't an unusual journey for lots of people. But treatment does make considerable difference - although sometimes it takes time to find the right one as it's still trial and error. Methotrexate suits some people and they can go on to lead a nearly normal life on it. Others find the side effects unacceptable, as for most effective treatments unfortunately!

There is lots of information on the NRAS website about various treatments and about how to manage your disabilities. Worth spending a bit of time (in short bursts) studying the pages.

Best of luck with finding the correct treatment for you and post any specific questions you have. The search box is useful too for finding answers to previous questions here.

[Collielover]

I’m sorry you’re feeling this rubbish at the min. I take the self injectable Methotrexate and after only 5 weeks I’m starting to feel more like myself. I still have joint aches which I can manage but the debilitating fatigue has gone . Methotrexate isn’t always the answer for everyone but am susceptible to a dodgy tummy on certain tablets because they attack the tummy . I chose to inject once a week and I’m happy with that . It’s very easy and not really painful..

Please don’t give up , we all on here understand fully .

Good luck in finding what is right for you .