Pelvic Girdle Pain?

[luckykitty]

Hello everyone,
I am currently trying to get seen by a physio as my back/hips are agony.

I have recently moved house, gone from midwife who was quite happy to refer me but couldnt as I was leaving her area, to new GP who said nothing can be done to help as I have joint hypermobility and pyhsio would do nothing, to another GP who will refer me but isnt sure what they can do as im 25wks and she thinks they wont really be able to help.
I am in agony. Cant walk/sleep/sit without everything hurting so much it reduces me to tears - have been doing some research and 'pelvic girdle pain' sums it up spot on.

I have been told today by GP paracetemol and early maternity leave are basically my options, neither of which are particularly helpful.

This is my first pregnancy, I feel like I'm falling apart/failing miserably . I dont know what to do, any advice would be gratefully received.

Thank you lots, hope everyone else is holding together.

I had spd/pgp in my pg3. I also have hypermobile joints. Physio DID help but I should have gone sooner IMHO (actually in physio's HO too) than 25 wks (which I was too). Don't take no for an answer.

It improved dramatically after the birth and within a month I was 99% normal.

I am currently doing pilates to try and resolve the long term issues with hypermobility and also ttc no4. Try pilates after the birth to help with your core muscles - your muscles will have been trained to do what your joints want which is often damaging. You'll need to retrain them to hold you in the best possible posture.

Good luck, and keep in touch if you need more support.

Oh, and ask for crutches. Seriously, I felt like such a freak but they really helped take the pressure off my back/pelvis.

Thank you so much for your advice, I have to call the GP again on wed to find out when I will see the physio, if they aren't helping me I will go back and demand action of some description! Either that or cry uncontrollably at them.

Thanks also for your advice about crutches, I feel torn between feeling stupid if I ask for them or feeling even worse if I dont, so thank you .
I hope everythings ok with you, pilates sounds like an excellent idea.

I'll let you know how I get on, thanks again, Im really grateful.

Oh, the crying uncontrollably helps a lot! Whatever you do, don't downplay the pain. I have a bit of a thing that HCPs automatically take a notch or two off everything you describe so if you say 'I'm in a fair amount of pain' they automatically think 'nothing a paracetamol won't cure'!

I have an appointment with the physio on friday!! its actually a miracle!!

I think when the GP asked me how I was coping and my reply was I cant cope with anything when Im in agony and finding it hard to get out of bed in the night for the 100th time to pee with out screaming may have been what did it!

Will let you know how it goes, thanks again for your advice I am super grateful.

im so sorry you are suffering with this, i had abad case of spd when i was pregnant and found every little move absolute agony,my husband had to help me off the settee most days, i found a bath (on the days i could get into it) really helped as did a hot water bottle keeping my kness together when getting out of bed also helped , ask for cruthces and take as much rest as you can,mine eased as soon as i had my ds but the memory of it is still quite fresh, i hope you feel better soon

Of course there's more that can be done, silly silly GP. For one, you can be prescribed some decent painkillers (not NSAIDS). My hospital consultant wrote a script for co-dydramol without a backward glance. Another very experienced midwive suggested I should have been given separately titrated codeine (e.g., more) and paracetamol - this was common practice for severe SPD, she said.

Incidentally, I also had SPD in my first preg (This is my second with it) and didn't get it treated as I was also fobbed off with the 'no point in referring' and paracetamol advice. The result was I went into a 48 hour labour with absolutely chronic fatigue. I knew as soon as I was pregnant with number 2 that that was not going to happen again.

The other thing I would add is, if you are working, please get yourself signed off sick. Don't carry on working for the sake of keeping up appearences. Again, I speak from experience!

I do hope you get some much-needed help. There is no need for you to put up with this. Just remember, if pregnancy happened to blokes, SPD would be very aggressively treated!

Ok so when I said miracle, I meant fail.
Thank you all for your words of wisdom, today with the physio didnt exactly go as I'd hoped.
A man gave me a leaflet. That was my physio appointment. Oh and he suggested that I buy a belt thing from a website.
I was in and out in less than 5 mins.
No questions asked -despite me using words like 'desperate' and 'agony' and 'can't actually move', no checking that my legs were actually attached to the rest of me, which to be honest is debatable at the minute.
Sorry to rant but Im just so grateful you lovely people know how crap Im feeling.

I then called the delivery suite at my hospital and howled down the phone at them to a very nice lady who asked me to describe just what was happening exactly - to which she told me not to move until i'd been assessed by a physio who knew what they were doing. Hurrah!

Well semi-hurrah as I have to wait till monday to find out whats going but still more hurrah than earlier.
She made me feel like Im not being totally abnormal by reassuring me that pelvic girdle pain and hypermobility tend to go together and make for a totally sh*te time.

Thanks everyone for being so supportive, Im really grateful, even though it probably seems like nothing much to you guys it mean the world to me to know Im not struggling with this by myself

Have been to hospital today to see someone, I am now being refered to another physio and also a rheumatologist.
Was told again today that 'some pain' is normal and I should just take some more painkillers - to which I howled uncontrollably and got very upset and demanded to know why no-one was helping me.
I pointed out that Im now 27 weeks and that Ive been trying to get some help for 10 weeks now and am actually losing the will to move/live. Its now an urgent referal. Hopefully I will be seen before I give birth.
On the plus side our baby is up the right way and she is fine, and our lovely travel system was delived today.
Thank you lovely people.

Well done - I told you the uncontrollable crying would work wonders!

Ring every day, seriously, to chase your referral. If you are a total pain in the arse (as well as suffering one ) then they'll work a damn sight harder to get rid of you you some help.

I get so upset when I see people suffering for want of a little stroppiness. Unless you jump up and down (metaphorically!) demanding stuff, you don't get a lot in this world but people are too polite to do that in the main.

Keep us informed on how you're doing.

Honestly? I went private. Best £80 I've spent in this pregnancy, an hour's visit with lots of talk about birth positions and best ways to move, then some hands-on manipulation. (I've got mild/moderate SPD which comes and goes and I should give birth any day now, so no repeat visits.)

Also, check out www.pelvicpartnership.org.uk/ for lots of good information/advice.

thanks lots everyone

Have just rang the hospital again, kinda felt like the hysterical woman as they knew who I was without even asking my name!
they said I should know when my appointments are by the start of next week so thats a bit of a winner (hopefully).

zim i have emailled the pelvic partnership who have been incredibly helpful and nice about it all, thank you lots.

I have just been googling the whole joint hypermobility thing, which hasnt given me any problems for prob 6 years now, which was taken as quite the concern by the hospital yesterday - hence the rheumatology referal- and came accross this

www.madmums.com/GH_ShowArticle~HID~147.htm

which I thought was really useful and some other stuff which im going to print off and shovewheresundoesn'tshine show everyone I end up seeing regarding this horrible problem.
I didnt realise that the link between the two problems was so pronounced, so I kinda feel like slightly less of a total failure today

thank you all again sooooooo much x x

Gosh - I thought I was so well-read in this subject. I had a diagnosis of hypermobility after the birth of ds (now 3.5) and I've never looked it up!

Anyway, just googled it and it's amazing! Have just done the beighton score test and scored maximum... Am going to do a little more research and follow some advice. Think losing weight would help but I knew that already!!

it sucks buttonmoon I, lost 2 stone with slimming world before I became pregnant - more luck than judgement - and Im still in agony so don't beat yourself up about it.
I had really bad knees as a child and everythings super-bendy, I told this to my midwife when i first saw her, its in my notes and my GP has everything written down, I even saw a guy called Rodney Grahame who is a specialist in it in 2004 but no one seems to have made the connection between that and whats going on and of course im bound to be 'a bit uncomfortable' being pregnant aren't i? honestly if one more health care professional tells me this is normal then i will not be held responsible for my actions.

have you seen this, it covers the basics

www.hypermobility.org/pregnancy.php

I cant tell you how grateful i am for mumsnet, thanks everyone! x x

I was seen by an SHO when about 30 wks when everything was just TOO much - poor fella got the rough edge of my tongue. I also saw him in labour. I've never seen anyone back so fast out of a room!

That's how irresponsible for my actions I was...

Right
saw a wonderful physio at the hospital who knew exactly whats going on and explained which bits of my are causing which pain so now at least I understand why I feel like crap now!
She has given me a huge and wonderful attractive velcro and elastic corset type thing which goes under my bump and it makes soooooooooooooo much difference I cant put it in to words
I also have crutches but only have to use them on the stairs at the minute to minimise the clunking/grinding-ness.
The only thing is that the support belt makes me feel very squashed - i had to take it off for a bit at work cause I felt sick, but I dont know if it was that or just that I was having an off day?
Also when I take it off when I get home its kinda horrible because I really hurt with out it which is a bit scary, but Im so glad someone has helped me.
Thank you to everyone for telling me to shout louder until something happened, its made a huge difference to my everyday life.
Hope youre all ok x x

Today I came home to a letter from my consultant saying that infact my GP could and should have refered me to a rheumatologist in the first place. The first place which would have been the start of August!!!!!!!!!!! AAAARRRRGGGGHHHHH!
I think I may explode
AND said GP left a message on my phone saying that I need my iron count is really low and I need Iron tablets.
And the GTT at the hospital made me feel really funny this morning - winner of a day!

Hi, You may benefit from seeing a chiropractor with a special interest in pregnancy and pelvic pain. There are some very gentle mobilisation and stabilisation techniques that can work very well. Go here for some tips on back pain. I hope it settles down soon.