How Ankylosing Spondylitis Symptoms Can Affect Females

Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is an autoimmune condition which causes inflammation in the spine, joints and bones.

Ankylosing spondylitis affects women more often than before. In the past, as it would no longer affect men, but more recent research suggests that rates can be almost equal between the two groups.

If you have been assigned to a woman at birth, as can cause unique symptoms, making diagnosis more difficult.

Whether you have been assigned to women or men at birth, the main symptoms of people with ankylosing spondylitis may feel: understand:

• Back pain and spine
• Joint pain, swelling and stiffness
• Fatigue
• Anterior uveitis (inflammation of the front part of the eye)

Women can experience additional symptoms or overlapping health conditions that affect other parts of the body beyond the spine and joints. Women with AS may be more likely to have the following:

• Dactylitis:: It is swelling of a whole finger or toe. It is sometimes called sausage figures. Dactylitis can be painful and make it difficult to enter, walk or use your hands.
• Enthusiasm:: It is a pain and a sensitivity where the tendons or the ligaments attach to the bones, like the back of your heel, under your foot or around your basin.
• Inflammatory intestine disease (Mii): This causes inflammation of the digestive tract and includes conditions such as Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. You may notice continuous stomach pain, diarrhea or other intestinal problems.
• Psoriasis: This skin condition causes red and scaly spots, often on elbows, knees, scalp or lower back. Psoriasis can vanish alongside joint pain or stiffness.

Symptoms of ankylosing spondylitis can vary a little between women and men. Here are seven ways because the symptoms differ between the sexes:

1. Symptoms can start later and delay the diagnosis

Research shows that women tend to develop as symptoms at a slightly younger age.

The symptoms that women develop can also be more difficult to recognize, to potentially delay the diagnosis. In fact, diagnostic time is longer in women. On average, women are needed nine years before being diagnosed with approximately seven years for men.

2. Pain more widespread and intense

Instead of typical back pain with AS, women often feel pain over their entire bodies. Pain tends to be intense. Women can also develop more enthesitis, more sustainable morning stiffness and extreme fatigue.

Researchers think it happens in part because women have more pain receptors in their bodies and can process pain signals differently.

3. Different joints are affected

As we know to affect the spine. But in women, the condition often develops in peripheral joints, such as knees, ankles, elbows or wrists.

4. Less damage to the spine on the X -rays

Men with AS are more likely to develop a severe vertebral fusion over time, where the vertebrae develop together and lose flexibility. This is sometimes called “bamboo spine” and can be detected on X -rays.

At the time of diagnosis, women with an ace tend to show less damage to the spine on X -rays. They are also less likely to develop a spine in bamboo over time.

5. Symptoms may be more difficult to manage

Women may not respond to certain treatments as well, in particular inhibitors of the tumor necrosis factor (TNF). TNF inhibitors are biological drugs used to reduce inflammation and improve symptoms. These drugs may not work as well or can stop working earlier in women, which can make symptoms more difficult.

6. IBD is more common

Women with AS are more likely to develop an inflammatory intestine disease. This means that they may be more likely to develop symptoms of Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis, two types of MII. These symptoms may include diarrhea, changes in stool, stomach pain and fatigue.

7. Hormones can affect symptoms

Hormonal changes, like those that occur during menstruation, pregnancy or menopause, can affect the way symptoms develop and how intensely feel they are.

Women often point out thrusts around their period, and some research suggests that estrogens can play a role in the way the body manages inflammation. Lower estrogen levels, as during menopause, can increase the activity of the disease or more notable joint pain. However, research is still in progress to understand this effect.

Although women must consider the symptoms that are specific to them, they may also have to consider what impact could have ankylosing spondylitis on their fertility and pregnancy.

Does this affect your ability to get pregnant?

There is currently no solid evidence that having affects your ability to get pregnant. However, some research shows that women with anti-Müllerian hormone levels are lower, which can mean fewer eggs available for pregnancy. But more research is necessary to fully understand this link.

It is also possible that certain drugs used to treat such as steroids and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), can reduce fertility. Fertility can also be affected by inflammation, hormonal changes and emotional stress. If you have and plan to start a family, talk to the start of your rheumatologist and a fertility specialist. They can help you find a plan that supports both your AS and your reproductive goals.

Do symptoms change during pregnancy?

You may feel better during pregnancy. Or, symptoms can worsen, especially in the second and third quarters. This could happen if you stop taking your medication or due to the physical changes your body is undergoing.

If, as becomes more active during pregnancy, you may have a higher risk of complications such as gestational diabetes, preeclampsia and early childbirth. However, many people with AS can have healthy pregnancies. Having a care team and mental health support can help you manage the state and your health during pregnancy and beyond.

These are Two main factors This can lead to many women pending longer before receiving a diagnosis of ankylosing spondylitis specifies:

1. As the symptoms in women do not always correspond to the expected model. Atypical symptoms can cause delayed or incorrect diagnosis. For example, joint pain in arms and legs or widespread body pain can encourage doctors to consider other more conditions. As we historically thought of affecting men mainly, some doctors may not immediately think of testing it in women.
2. X -rays may not show the typical vertebral column of the changes that doctors are looking for during the diagnosis. This can lead to the opinion of the condition or to be mistaken with other health problems such as fibromyalgia. And because women often experience health problems that overlap, like the Mii and Psoriasis, it can be even more difficult for doctors to identify themselves as the underlying cause.

Women often experience ankylosing spondylitis (AS) differently from men. Women tend to have more widespread pain, increased fatigue and pain in the arm and leg joints. Women also generally have fewer symptoms focused on the spine, with damage to the spine not visible on X -rays as for many men. Since symptoms may not follow the typical scheme, women are often confronted with delays before obtaining a precise diagnosis.