please help- bertolotti's syndrome

  • Thread starter Thread starter sarajh87
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sarajh87

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Hi, hoping someone might be able to help me.
Im 21 yrs old, and have had low back pain for about 7 years. It has gotten increasingly worse, and has been constant for about 5 years. I have done pt, accupuncture, chyropractor, pain management, pain pills, cortisone shots (one in my si joint, 3 facet injections, and a couple trigger point injections into my piraformis muscle) as well as using a brace and a tenz unit. nothing has helped. I have been to alot of doctors- one did mris and tests of my whole back, and the only place showing irritaions was an enlarged transverse process on my left side L5 , that rubs against my sacrum. he mentioned fusion surgery, but didnt recomend it. i proceded to get a few second opinions, and all those doctors said basically that the enlarged transverse process is fairly common and is unlikly to be causing my pain, and said i should NOT get surgery. But they were not able to give me alternitives or tell me what might be causing this pain. In the research I ve done, it sounRAB to me like i have bertolotti's syndrome, but not many doctors are familiar with it. Im really running out of steam and having a hard time not just giving up. if it gets any worse and i miss much more work im not going to be able to pay my rent.
Im sorry for rarabling on, but i was hoping somebody here might know a doctor on the east coast ( i live in ct) that knows about bertolotti's syndrome. or else any advice would be greatly appreciated.
 
Hi-sorry yoiu haven't had many responses but we can only share our experiences here and I haven't heard anyone else mention this. Did you put the name of what you found in the search fourm?
Have you seen a fellowship trained spine specialist, preferably one from a teaching hospital? It sounRAB like you have been to a lot of docs for someone so young. My daughter is 15 with scoliosis and has back and shoulder pain on some days that leaves her in tears. We have tried more than one doctor too but this has been a problem for so long its hard for her to believe there is nothing more anyone can do and she will have to learn to live with what she has. She still cries in frustration.
Keep us posted on whether you find anything out, ok?
Blessings,
Michelle :angel:
 
thank you for the response. yes i have been to spine specialists, but i think it is rare to have so much pain with this condition, so they just dont know what to tell me. Ill keep searching. tell your daughter not to give up on looking for something to help the pain. Ive acctually been told by doctors to stop searching and accept the fact that i might just be in pain the rest of my life... which I dont think is even an option, I cant live this way much longer. It is very frustrating to hit brick walls everywhere you go, but the only way to find an answer is to keep looking. Good luck and I will post if I find any answers.
 
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