SPONDYLOARTHRITIS - What?

So I think most of you know I've been living with some pain over the last several months. To catch everyone up to speed here is the long story short.

The backstory...
I had Carter just over a year ago. When he was 3 months old I started to notice I was stiff and I had a lot of pain in my back, my butt (sciatic pain) and in my chest. I thought it was just my body trying to get back to normal after giving birth. After toughing it out for several weeks I finally saw the doctor who suggested physical therapy. A couple weeks of treatment I was feeling better but not great. At least the back spasms stopped (thank goodness!). A few weeks later the sciatic pain was worse, I had tennis elbow and the overall stiffness was worse. I seriously felt like I was 90 years old. So back to physical therapy I went. It didn't really help. The doctors and the physical therapists still felt it was because of the pregnancy and the stresses of lugging around such a big baby. I started taking anti-inflammatory medication. The pain got a little better, however, my tennis elbow was getting worse and my right knee started to swell significantly (for no reason). So once again back to physical therapy (2-3 times a week). After 3 more weeks of PT, my knee was only getting bigger and harder to move. I asked for a MRI. The MRI came back fine (other then inflammation in the joint). By this point I was frustrated, in pain for 8 months and wanted answers. The next step was running blood work and actually draining the fluid in the knee to test the fluid. Based on those results the family doctor recommended I see a Rhuematoligist. The Rhuematoligist could tell by the first visit I had some sort of inflammatory arthritis (perhaps Lupus or Rheumatoid Arthritis). More blood test and x-rays were ordered and I went on some meds to help the inflammation. The second day on the medication I started to feel a difference.

The latest news...
Kyle and I met with the Rhuematoligist this morning to go over the blood test and x-ray results. She ruled out Lupus and Rheumatoid Arthritis. However based on the arthritis damage in my SI joint (low back area) she diagnosed me with undifferentiated Spondyloarthritis (or spondyloarthropathy). I think it's well known that I'm a bad speller. What kind of luck must I have where I get a chronic disease that's this impossible to spell (and pronounce)! Geesh.

So what is spondyloarthropathy? I'm still learning myself. The term spondyloarthritis (also known as spondyloarthropathy) covers a group of closely related inflammatory diseases including arthritis of the spine (sacroiliitis or spondylitis) and peripheral joints; as well as inflammation in the area where ligaments and tendons attach to bones (enthesitis or enthesopathy). These diseases can cause pain in the spine, legs and arms as joints, ligaments, and tendons become inflamed and/or predispose patients to spinal vertebral fractures. There are 3 or 4 types of spondyloarthritis but since my symptoms are sort of a mix of one or more types my illness is called undifferentiated spondyloarthritis.

From what I'm told, untreated the pain I have in my SI joint (what I thought was sciatic pain) will travel up my spine and neck. Ultimately the damage could be bad enough I would develop a permanent stiff neck. How did I get this? They don't know why some people get and other don't. Also there's no cure. The best thing is to catch it early to prevent further damage of the joints (and spine). Some people go 10 years undiagnosed. I was diagnosed in 10 months. I would say that's a real positive for me. So what's next? I am starting more medication which will help the inflammation in my joints. Right now I have swelling in my toe, knee, SI joint and chest. The treatment sounds time consuming with blood tests every 6-8 weeks and taking pills every day. If this medication doesn't work I may have to take injections every other week. So how long will I have to do this? Hard to say. It could be the rest of my life. How do I feel? Physically I feel better then I have in months thanks to the medication. My stiffness is gone and the swelling is getting better. Overall I'm glad to have some answers. I was beginning to think my problems were all in my head. It's nice to know what's wrong and have a plan of attack.

It seems like once you have a baby everyone wants to know when you're going to have another one. When you find out you have an illness the question becomes CAN you have another one. The doctor said lots of people with spondyloathritis have babies. Right now the focus is to get better. When the doctor, Kyle and I feel like I'm ready all I'll have to do is go off the medication for 3 months before trying.

I hope I was able to answer most of your questions. I'm sorry for the long post, but I felt it would be easier to write it down once then to repeat it over and over. It is a mouth full!

If you want to learn more about spondyloarthritis, I recommend the following link. http://www.spondylitis.org/about/undif.aspx

I am still learning about the disease so bear with me if some of my facts are off. If this is something you know about or know someone who has it, please leave a comment. I'm interested in learning more.