Thread: Any suggestions?

After having SPD like twinges in my last 2 pregnancies I kind of expected them again this time around. Unfortunately this time it's got worse and for the past 3 days I've been in agony moving around.

Has anyone got any tips and suggestions for coping? Paracetamol does nothing for the pain, resting is difficult when you have 3 children under 7 and it's the school holidays and I already walk with a stick because of my ME.

Are support belts any good? Do crutches make a difference? Could my oteopath help?

Cheers!

*Clair*

Sounds terrible Clair . I've no personal experience or advice as I've never had SPD. Can you get your midwife to refer you to a physio? You should be getting better help/support

No advice here I am afraid just heaps of sympathy I hope the pain can be alleviated soon, it is hideous. I had it when I was preggas with ds2, I had no clue what it was at the time and even though I kept mentioning pain to the midwives they were so hung up on the fact that I wanted a home birth (they didn't want me too) that they didn't bother investigating, just kept trying to frighten me into agreeing to a hospital birth. Spd is one of the reasons why I will not be having any more babies *sigh*. Does a soak in a warm bath help at all? I would definitely check with your osteopath, they may have special exercises you can do. Reflexology can alleviate many types of pain, it may be worth a go. Hot water bottle or cold compress on the lower back. Hope you find the answer soon.

The support belt does help if you get it tight enough and positioned right

A physio - a specialist physio preferably - can give you some tips on moving to minimise the discomfort, eg how to go upstairs, how to turn over in bed etc

Never mind managing, get your arse to your doctor and ask for an immediate referral to a physio specialising in womens issues - mine was excellent and although you don't get seen very easily or often, they will see you for an assessment appointment very quickly - esp if you go via choose and book and are prepared to travel to a less local hospital

Good luck - they won't be able to fix it but there are lots of things that can be done to alleviate the worst of it

Sending hugs Clair. I suffered with SPD terribly with DD2 from 16wks. My osteopath was fab, really kept the pain in check. I personally found her much better than the physio. A support belt can help and I also bought these, which tbh did help more than I imagined they would
http://www.mothersteps.com/

I found that ice packs worked better than heat as heat aggrivates the swollen joints, or alternating ice and heat an be soothing. Keep taking the painkillers and don't stay in one position for too long.

Hope you can get it under control soon

Thanks everyone!

I've not been too bad today, DH has been helping out a lot and I'm trying not to do anything to aggravate the pain.

I spoke to both my NHS and Independent midwives. They gave me lots of good advice too, my NHs midwife is making a referral for me to see the physio and my IM recommended accupuncture and seeing an osteopath if things don't improve.

I think I might have made the problem worse the other day when DS2 pulled me over (he might only be 18 months old but he's strong!). So now I'm being very lady like keeping my knees together at all times, using my crutches if I hobble anywhere outside the house (can't walk very far anyway so it's not too much of a problem) and being very careful when I go up the stairs. Hopefully this is just a minor flare up and it will settle down again, if not I've got a few things I can try.

Thanks again!

*Clair*

I've had it bad everytime so can totally sympathise.

My tips are:

A carrier bag on the car seat, helps to twist instead of having to open your legs to get out of the car

Accept ANY help offered

I found reflexology helped me but it doesnt work for everyone.

Support belts can help alleviate some pressure off your pelvis

Hope it eases off as I know how painful it can be

Don't know about SPD but when I was with the doctor the otehr week and mentioned my knee and asked if there was something stronger than paracetamol I could take he said that co-codamol was ok but I was to take it every third dose of paracetamol iyswim. Also he told me to remember that it had paracetamol in it so not to take it as a plus but an instead of.

I had an appointment to see the physio today. Good news my pelvis is in the correct alignment, bad news, I do have SPD.

She gave me some good advice, some gentle exercises to do and a support belt to try out. It's a bit uncomfrtable but I think it's helping a little bit. Now all I have to do is take things easy for the next few months and try not aggravate it too much. Easier said than done with an 18 month old, a 3 year old and a 6 year old but I'll give it a go!

*Clair*

Great news that you got to see a physio, do try and rest were possible.