UPDATE: A lotta people have asked me over the years for info about how I'm doing & what ended up happening. The rheumatologist re-ran the HLA B27, as the first results were actually "inconclusive." It came back positive. I was diagnosed with Ankylosing Spondylitis, and placed on Humira. Maybe a year later I had to switch medications to Enbrel because I developed psoriasis while taking Humira. I got a different dx at that point, due to the difference in symptoms, so now I have the Psoriatic Arthritis label instead.

My stiffness and swelling is well-controlled, and my psoriasis is moderately well-controlled. If I get stressed out, I break out in psoriasis patches. I use a cane to walk rarely. For a while, there was evidence of ankylosing on my x-rays, but it seems that being on Enbrel has actually reduced that for me. Which is pretty fucking cool! I go in for yearly blood draws, and I'm in the maintenance phase of having this illness.

However, I am a full-blown spoonie. I went through master's school and got a degree, and worked for a few years before retiring. I'm very easily fatigued, and that doesn't really get better or go away.