Ankylosing Spondylitis

Are there any other riders with AS active on the forum these days? What are your biggest challenges? What discipline do you do? Do you find that riding helps or makes the pain worse?

Iā€™m in your boat. Exhaustion is usually my biggest issue, then pain. Iā€™m currently schooling dressage but have done many disciplines over my riding years.

I have found that I have a tipping point. If I donā€™t ride/exercise enough, the pain is much, much worse. BUT if I do too much, the exhaustion is unbearable and often the pain follows suit. Some days I have to do a very thorough self-inventory to evaluate where on the spectrum Iā€™m at and what is the best course of action for the day. Itā€™s annoying, but I stay ā€˜healthierā€™ this way.

Iā€™ve been on Humira for a year and it has been a game changer as far as my pain level, stamina, and overall well-being.

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Thatā€™s a bit where Iā€™m at now. I had been feeling fabulous for quite a long time, was powerlifting and riding my massive hulk of a mare and feeling great. I had to have ankle reconstruction in October (after said mare torpedoed me into a jump), and the down time has sent me into a spiral where Iā€™m finding it so hard to get back on the ā€œmomentum train.ā€ Iā€™ve ended up having to stop TNF inhibitors because theyā€™ve caused some pretty severe neurological issues, so Iā€™m definitely struggling. What discipline do you do?