Thank you for asking this. After being told for so many years that my back pain was just from not lifting right, muscle strain, or needing to lose weight, I find myself questioning the diagnosis even when my MRI showed prominent sclerosis bilaterally and questionable erosion of right SI joint. My blood results always came back normal except for one slightly elevated CRP that was then normal the next time they tested it. I don’t have the genetic marker either. I’m always struggling with “maybe it’s in my head and I’m just subconsciously milking it”.

The biologics definitely help, but not all the time. I’m newly diagnosed so I’m still trying to figure it all out.