[MUSIC PLAYING]
DR. POTTER: Sonya, how are you
doing?
Good to see you again.
SONYA: Hi, Dr. Potter.
How's it been?
DR. POTTER: Everything's good.
Everything has been good.
So tell me
about your treatments.
How are the infusion therapies
going?
SONYA: So currently, I'm getting
my infusions every eight weeks.
And I do find that last week has
been a little bit challenging
where stuff is wearing off.
Is that common?
DR. POTTER: So the medicines
that we're taking,
they do have different levels
of effectiveness
in different patients.
And some folks do great from one
treatment period to another,
and then some folks need
a little bit of help
in between for symptoms that
come up during that time.
Are you doing anything outside
of your regular infusion
therapies
that helps with the discomfort
you're having before?
SONYA: I've been trying
to stretch in the mornings,
stretch in the evening,
taking some ibuprofen.
DR. POTTER: And those are
both great.
Those are absolutely great.
So the stretching
and the regular physical
activity is very, very important
in terms of management of AS.
Ibuprofen helps too.
A lot of patients
get by with just that,
but then some folks like
yourself need other treatments.
You and I used
injectable medicines at one
time, and they weren't quite as
effective.
And then the infusion therapies
have helped a little bit more.
But definitely, ibuprofen
and stretching be part
of everything you're doing.
SONYA: OK.
DR. POTTER: Anything else going
on with you?
Fevers or skin issues?
Stomach problems?
Eye issues?
Have you noticed anything new?
SONYA: Actually, I've
had a little bit of stomach
issues recently.
Sometimes I feel like I'm
getting more bloated than I was
before, but I wasn't really sure
if that had anything to do
with my AS.
DR. POTTER: It can.
It can.
And we always ask just to make
sure there are
several different symptoms that
can arise outside
of your muscles
and out of your joints that can
be associated with AS.
Eye disease is one
of those things.
So folks will have eye pain
or decreased vision,
redness of their eyes.
Stomach issues too can be pretty
common.
You can see folks that have
bloating, nausea vomiting,
changes in their bowel habits.
And so it's important to keep
track of those things
to make sure we're not missing
anything.
SONYA: So my son's been having
some issues with his lower back.
Is it something that runs
in the family?
DR. POTTER: Definitely, yes.
And remind me, how old is he
now?
SONYA: He's 14.
DR. POTTER: OK.
OK, so that's about the time
that we start to be interested
in those kind of symptoms,
especially in young men.
Ankylosing spondylitis
is a disorder that's
characterized by inflammation,
and that can be inflammation
of your back,
inflammation in your eyes
and your joints
or in your stomach.
Typically it's younger men,
so about 70% of patients with AS
or men or males,
but it can affect women as well,
obviously.
And there is a genetic risk
for it as well.
There's some blood testing you
can do to actually look
for those types of findings.
First things first, we should
probably have the pediatrician
weigh in, take a history,
see how things are going.
And if anything of concern
pops up, you can obviously
get him evaluated
and get him looked at the same
as we did for you.
The important thing to remember
is as recently as 20,
25 years ago, we had almost no
treatment options.
And over the course
of that 20-year period,
we've got a host
of different agents
that now can help
with the patients' symptoms
and allow people to function
and then go to work and interact
with their families.
It makes it a more manageable
disorder.
So we're hopeful that things
continue to go in that fashion,
and we'll get to a point
where treatments are much, much
better.
All right.
Well, it's been good seeing you
again.
I'll see you soon.
Take care, all right?
SONYA: Thank you.
Thanks for today.
DR. POTTER: Absolutely, anytime.