For adults with active ankylosing spondylitis

Use these helpful ideas below to prepare to talk with your doctor and get the most from your appointment. Learn about symptom tracking, summarize your experience, and more.

Your Cue Card is a summary of your experience with ankylosing spondylitis (AS). It’s a few sentences that summarize everything you want to share with your rheumatologist. You’ll find that this simple tool will help you better express yourself, leading to a confident conversation.

Refer to your Cue Card before or during your appointment.

• Frequency: How often are my symptoms appearing?  

• Duration: How long do my symptoms last? (If they come and go, but never really go away, share that information too!)

• Severity: How intense have my symptoms been?

• Changes: Am I seeing differences in my symptoms or even new symptoms?

• Day-to-day impact: Is AS getting in the way of daily activities and what I want to do?

• Control: Are you able to manage and control your symptoms?

Ready to get started? Grab a pen and paper or open the notes app on your phone to write your Cue Card. View two examples below to see what your Cue Card might look like.

Your Cue Card can help you kick off the conversation about how AS has affected your daily activities and what you want from your treatment.

Now that you have a Cue Card to help you share how AS has impacted your daily activities since your last appointment and a list of things you want to discuss with your rheumatologist, try these tips.

An online survey found nearly one-quarter of patients don’t believe their doctor understands them, their health risks, or their priorities. These videos can help you overcome communication challenges that may arise.