Philip (Phil) England

Living with spondylitis, a type of inflammatory arthritis, comes with a long list of  symptoms . Alongside characteristic symptoms like back pain, a common complication of spondylitis and other inflammatory conditions is  cognitive impairment , or “brain fog." This includes mental changes like temporary memory loss, forgetfulness, and difficulty remembering words and phrases. Forgetting what you were about to say can be embarrassing, and not being sure if you took your medications can be scary. Luckily, there are some ways to manage memory loss and live better with spondylitis. What Does Memory Loss With Spondylitis Feel Like? As with any spondylitis symptom, each person experiences memory loss differently and to different degrees. Some MySpondylitisTeam members have shared that they feel as if their minds are in a confused fog, like one who wrote, “I have memory loss and fogginess.” Another member described her memory loss and brain fog as affecting mostly her sho...

Life with spondylitis, an inflammatory disease, can mean living your days in constant lower back pain as your immune system attacks your joints and spine. Unfortunately, because your outward appearance may not reflect the physical pain happening in your body, your friends, family, co-workers, and other observers might think you’re perfectly fine. One survey found that  54 percent  of people with ankylosing spondylitis felt that friends and family did not understand their chronic illness. Spondylitis and chronic pain can take a toll on your overall wellness and quality of life. A strong  network of support  is one way to get the help you need when living with spondylitis. Because the symptoms of spondylitis are often invisible, it’s important to be able to discuss your condition with the people who love you most or those who will see you most often. Understanding Spondylitis Pain Spondylitis , a type of arthritis, is an autoimmune disease, which means that...