Ankylosing Spondylitis is not a life threatening disease but a long term disease. It is a form of arthritis that primarily affects the spine. It causes inflammation of the spinal joints (vertebrae) that can lead to chronic pain and discomfort.

Basically you can eat anything that is healthy. You should stop any food only if suggested by the doctor. If you feel that any one food is causing problems, monitor symptoms and food intake and then consult a doctor. Irrespective of whether you have AS or not, eating healthy food and maintaining a balanced diet (no junk) is essential for health and wellbeing. Please refer to the Dos and Don’ts chart for healthy food habits given below.

Antardhwani is dedicated to helping AS patients improve the quality of their lives through multiple educational and support initiatives including but not limited to:

• Connecting people afflicted with AS and bringing them together on a common platform for shared experiences and creating greater awareness.
• Conducting yoga and physiotherapy sessions
• Providing helpline number where patients can call in and seek solutions to their concerns/problems.
• Arranging discounted rates in pathological laboratories for all Antardhwani Patients.

The Antardhwani ID card seeks to alleviate the financial pressures of medical aid needed by AS patients. All Antardhwani patients can avail of discount up to 30 percent at select laboratories for medical tests.

There are seven rheumatologists in Ahmedabad on the Antardhwani panel. You can view their details here.

We cannot comment on this. It is completely up to the doctor to decide and it is better to follow the doctor’s advice.

If the doctor has recommended biologics, you should take it since the doctor would have seen your reports and understands your medical condition best. If there are any side effects of any medication, you should immediately consult your doctor. They are best advised on the remedial measures to be taken.

Antardhwani recommends yoga and exercises as essential ingredients of your lifestyle. We have also prepared an exercise/yoga eBook with multiple and varied exercises that we suggest you should definitely go through. You can download your copy here: The Antardhwani Exercise Guide. For any other exercise that you would want to do, we would suggest that you consult your doctor.

Yes, absolutely. Just try to manage the pain when it arises and the rest of the time you can lead a completely normal life doing whatever you would like to. Take your colleagues and management into confidence on your medical condition and they would be empathetic to your situation. In fact, in most cases they would be a source of motivation and support to you.

Yes, like I have just mentioned above, you can lead a totally normal life and take up any job in any sector. As long as you take care when in pain and manage the pain, there is no problem in continuing with your job and work responsibilities. Prefer taking regular breaks, exercising and offering movements to your body so that there is no stiffness.

Yes, it all depends on you. You should be strong enough to deal with the disease. There are lot of people living a regular life even though they have AS.

The side effects of injections, if any, varies from person to person. So you should take the injection prescribed by your doctor and if any side effects are seen, you should take his or advice. They would be able to guide you best.

Pain killers are anti-inflammatory medicines that help to manage the pain and the disease. They are safe if taken under doctor’s guidance and observation.

No.

It would be best to take your doctor’s advice on this.

Yes, you can donate blood. AS is not a communicable disease. And the medicines you take do not affect the blood.

Consult your doctor before you plan a family. He or she may advise change of medicines since certain medications could affect pregnancy.

We have tied up with six labs across Ahmedabad with a state-wide network for discounted prices on select tests. The facility is available to Antardhwani patients.