i have berlotties syndrome

[Stacenkev]

im new here. Not sure where i should post about this. I recently found out that i have berlotties syndrome. Its on the right side of my lower back and can cause pain through the rest of the bottom of my back. I am currently on morphine which does not help and im waiting to go for an MRI scan on the 15th. The pain is there everyday. It becomes worse as im moving around,walking too much,bending ect. I hardly do the things im used to doing anymore. I spoke to my doctor about injections for my back to which she laughed and said it was for people with arthritis. I dont know who im supposed to turn to about this pain

[Happyrosie]

You are in the right forum for this. Although this seems to be a fairly rare syndrome, I would look at it like any back pain, just that it’s in a different part of the spine than the usual one. I don’t know how old you are. But I’d imagine there are very very few people in their sixties and seventies who do not have back pain of one kind or another. My view - for what it’s worth, I’m just an ordinary person on the street who suffers from pain - is as follows.

1. Try for yourself different pain meds, having asked your pharmacist for advice.

2. The usual dose to start morphine - I’m on morphine patches - is very low, to see if you tolerate it, so I expect that’s why it hasn’t done much good. If I am right, you are quite at liberty to supplement this with ibuprofen, co-codamol etc.

3. Do try very gentle exercises for back pain - go to the nhs website and type in exercises for sciatica.

I wish you well - keep posting here.

[Stacenkev in reply to Happyrosie]

Thank you for your reply. Im 30 years old. It only started bad when i turned 29. Its there everyday. My pharmacist told me to try a tens machine which i have and helps for so long. My dad has back issues due to an accident and my mum told me about the patches. I have spoke to people with this syndrome and they all had said it gets worse growing older. My dad is being sent to a pain clinic in the hospital. I will try physio after my MRI but it worries me as bending ect makes it worse

[Happyrosie in reply to Stacenkev]

Yes, all exercise makes it worse. But you MUST exercise otherwise your muscles will be unable to support your spine and you will get more and more pain which won’t be easily treatable. At the very least have a walk each day, making it five minutes longer each day until you’re doing over an hour. And do the flexibility exercises you’ll find through the nhs website.

Yes I expect it will get worse the older you get, so everything that you do NOW to help yourself - exercise, and the tens machine and appropriate pain killing drugs - will help you to face the future with confidence.

[Happyrosie]

I meant to say in my earlier post but got interrupted: keep your weight down if you are overweight, this will help too