Columns

“Geez, my back’s getting worse,” I muttered to myself as I took a break midway on my walk around the park near my house in Perth, Australia. Pulling the protruding white earbuds from my ears, I paused the chattering voices on my podcast. Gently digging my thumbs into my lower…

You’d think that because ankylosing spondylitis (AS) affects joints internally, clothes wouldn’t make much difference. But I despise certain garments when I’m having an AS flare and my sacroiliac joints, spine, or rib cage are inflamed and painful. Picture for a minute that I’m standing at the…

“Oh, my goodness, am I having a heart attack?” It was just after 1 a.m. I had felt achy in my ribs and chest area for several nights in a row, but this was something altogether different. The pain was sharp and severe. Breathing hurt so bad…

Craning my head back, I surveyed the wood and metal structure towering over us. “Come on, Mum, let’s climb it together!” my two kids, ages 5 and 7, shrieked in excitement. Tightening the straps of my heavy backpack over my shoulders, I nodded and grinned back at them as we…

A twinkly-eyed lady with a hospital name tag whisked the clinical dove-gray curtain along its track, giving the two of us some privacy from the rest of the ward. But don’t worry, I wasn’t in the hospital for an invasive procedure, or because of a new problem with my…

Lifting his toothbrush toward his mouth, my husband, Dave, grimaced in pain. “Elbow still bothering you?” I asked, although I already knew that his elbow and shoulders had been causing him increasing discomfort for months. You’d think a tiny, almost weightless thing like a toothbrush shouldn’t be painful to…

It was a Saturday afternoon in October 2019. While I was the mom of three active young boys, sadly, it wasn’t unusual for me to be resting in bed at that time of day. I remember the moment vividly, because it was when I received a life-changing call from our…

I’ve heard of plenty of different triggers that people believe have caused the onset of their ankylosing spondylitis (AS) symptoms, but I’d never considered mold as a possible culprit until a recent online conversation. One of my favorite AS Facebook groups raised the question of whether mold…

I have strange, recurring nightmares about being stuck in a retirement home (or sometimes a prison — I have no idea why!) and being unable to handle the back pain from my ankylosing spondylitis (AS). In the nightmare, I’m lying on a bed or sitting on a hard…

Note: This column describes the author’s own experiences with liquid magnesium. Not everyone will have the same response to treatments and supplements. Consult your doctor before starting or stopping a therapy or supplement. What a lovely feeling to wake up feeling refreshed, hop out of bed, and shimmy around the…