If I have AS, I'm having a 'flair' now, and would gladly take
*anything*. It's a little exciting to think that soon I could be free of the fevers, pain, GI unpleasantness and fatigue!

If this is the right dx, it akes me reflect on just how contrary I am. Like sleep apnea, AS is more common in men, and my kidney disease, FSGS, is found primarily in African-American men. Last I checked, I'm still a white chick...

-What a relief, just to know. Cyclosporine can cause elevations in lipid profile, diabetes, tremors, night sweats, hypertension, and gum overgrowth. However, it causes hair to grow more thick, one good thing. All of the above happened to me except for the diabetes. Stay away from that one if you can. Methotrexate has cause stomach different for my dad, but that's his only complaint.

-I've been on methotrexate for the last two and a half years (was supposed to be only nine months) but it's been working so much better than anything else, it's hard to get off of it. I lost a bit of hair when I started the treatment, but I think it has more to do with the lupus flaring up than anything else - since the dosage is relatively low compared to the doses cancer patients get when they lose their hair. I'm pretty confident that my hair loss was associated with the flare up, which still goes up and down. But, i can't be certain...and I do have a friend that lost a bit more hair and attributed it to the methotrexate. I found it a good opportunity to try out having some short hairdos...finally these last few months I've been able to grow my hair out.