Amy Stowe
I first had symptoms in my late teens, but joint pains were written off as athletic injuries. In my early 20s the GI symptoms hit hard and caused me to miss a semester of college. Things got better, then much worse, then good again throughout my 20s. At times I could barely pull myself out of bed-“she’s depressed”- they wouldn’t listen that I was depressed because I couldn’t get out of bed, not couldn’t get out of bed because I was depressed!), to I felt great and nothing was wrong. I had a miscarriage at 31, this knocked me on my butt emotionally, and I allowed it to do so physically as well; I stopped activity, this triggered a huge flair (before I knew what a flair was), slowly I recovered both emotionally and physically. Just after my 33rd birthday I gave birth to my amazing son. While I love being a mom, the sleepless nights and the emotional & physical toll of breastfeeding set off another flair. This time it just would not go away. I didn’t know what was fatigue from sleeplessness and what was fatigue that always came with the pain. After my son was 13 months, I finally got my feet under me and out of survival mode to seek help. I now have hope and piece of mind knowing its not just all in my head!
Florida, United States of America
The Faces Of Ankylosing Spondylitis 
Dear Amy,
Thank you so much for sharing your story with us.
Sincerely Cookie