Any fellow pregnant ladies with scoliosis?

[Ginnytonic82]

Sorry for the mammoth post. I'm 20 weeks pregnant with our first baby and so far I've been incredibly lucky symptoms wise, suffered hardly any morning sickness and only minor discomforts.

However I do have scoliosis. I did have herringbone rods put in when I was 13 but had to have them removed when I was 16 and my spine fused. My spine still has an 'S' curve but it's never bothered me. I told the midwife at my first appointment and the consultant is in touch with my old surgeon.

The problem I have is I'm really struggling with back and hip pain now my bump has started to grow, I know many pregnant women suffer from back pain, but I was wondering how much my scoliosis is exacerbating things? It is so uncomfortable to walk at times I'm actually wincing. I've been referred to a physio, but the appointment won't be for another 6 weeks. Work is getting very difficult but I don't know if I should approach my GP for time off to rest?

Really I'm looking for any tips or advice about managing the pain and also any pointers from mums that have had scoliosis. If anyone has any advice I'd be massively appreciative! Sorry to complain.

[Kelly1814]

Hello! I have a small curve in my spine, which have been seeing an Osteopath about for years. She is a miracle worker and I can go six months without any problems.

Since pregnant have noticed that the same spot gets quite sore after sleeping and was so bad I was in tears a few weeks ago. My osteopath has been brilliant again. I'm going every 3 weeks or so.

It's not cheap but I feel worth every penny as she literally makes the pain melt away.

Would an osteopath be an option for you?

[Ginnytonic82]

Thanks for your reply.In all honesty I've no idea, no one has ever mentioned an osteopath to me before, but it's certainly something I'll look into. My curves are both still quite large, as my scoliosis was quite serious when I was younger, but there's no harm in investigating. Is it easy to find an osteopath? Would I need some sort of referal from my dr? Many thanks again.

[AmazingBouncingFerret]

Hello. First of all congratulations on your pregnancy.

I've had two babies. During pregnancy my curve progressed to over 100 degrees. I agreed with my surgeon to get babies over and done with before surgery!

Pain was fucking awful but tbh pain was fucking awful even when not pregnant. Not so much with first but my second was truly terrifying sometimes. Nerve pain that had me pinned to the floor screaming in agony (hope im not scaring you!) I also suffered from tingly "dead" arms because of nerve damage.

The doctor was fine with me taking painkillers but I did leave off the high dose codeine.

Swimming was a good thing, the weightlessness was a blessed relief.

How bad is your top curve? That was my most serious one and combined with the pregnancy bump my lung capacity was Shiite. Might want to talk to your doctor if that's a concern.

[beckie90]

Hi I have it although I don't know to what degree as I didn't know I had it, it was picked up when I was preg with ds2 that I leaned more to 1 side and 1 leg was longer then the other etc by the physio as I'd been having terrible back and hip/leg pain, but nothing was ever mentioned about scoliosis, fast forward a year I had some surgery and asked the surgeon about a certain bulge in my rib, he traced my spine and said it was curved pushing some of my ribs out. I'm now pregnant with ds3 and physio confirmed i do have it and it is making the pain worse as the growing baby/belly pulls the spine in so it puts pressure on things more, I get a lot of nerve pain down my legs, I've been reffered somewere else now as I need an insert in one of my shoes to even the difference off in my legs when I walk, as thats putting excess strain on hips too. Il find out more I suppose when I've had my little boy but for now, physio does Help a little and been given some support bands, doctor also prescribed co-codamol for them worser pain days.

Congratulations also :) xx

[Ginnytonic82]

Thank you :)! Don't worry about scaring me, I'd rather people were upfront and I've as much info as possible! My top curve is slightly less than my bottom, but my right lung is compressed, again something that I've noticed is starting to get worse as the bump grows. I've started swimming and you're so right, it's absolute bliss!

I'm just concerned that despite my surgery, my curves might get worse, and also that if I'm struggling to walk at this early stage, it's only going to get worse. I am considering visiting my GP, but in all honesty, most doctors I speak too don't seem too clued up about scoliosis, and I don't want to be just dismissed on the grounds that now I'm pregnant, I should just expect back pain, which is pretty much what the obstetrician told me. Thanks for your advice and insight.

[fengirl1]

I didn't know I had a relatively mild scoliosis in my pregnancies, but I did find with dd1 that as she was breech til 38 weeks she did like rubbing her head along the ribs that were compressed, I also found that those ribs ached more and did on occasion fold under each other when bending over as I got bigger (ouch!)

[lovintheolives]

Hi, congratulations on your pregnancy.
I have had 2 DC and i have scoliosis and severe nerve root pain. My pain during my first pregnancy was quite severe and my physio recommended acupuncture.....it was AMAZING! the pain relief was almost immediate. I had 6 sessions in my first pregnancy (provided by the NHS) and a further 4 during my second. I would recommend it to anyone!
Don't be put off going to your GP either, i know that most don't know much about what you're going through but their job is to make a referral to someone who does. If you have no joy there, go to your midwife.
I hope this helps and that things go well for you x

[AmazingBouncingFerret]

Also OP. Talk to midwife about the labour itself too. I had to have a consultation with an anesthetist who ruled out an epidural as one of my pain relief options. (bloody good job he did too because it was later found out my spinal cord splits into two at the bottom!)

[Kelly1814]

i didn't want to wait for a referral from the doc, found my own osteo and paid myself.

i am overseas so the system is slightly different here, but I would do the same in the uk. i waited years onthe NHS for them to sort me some physio, and when they did, it was too late and rubbish!

i think the key is to make sure they are registered here: www.osteopathy.org.uk/information/finding-an-osteopath/

best of luck - and congrats on the pregnancy...!

[Umlauf]

Hi ginny I'm 26weeks pregnant and had scoliosis quite badly. About 4 years ago I had surgery and rods put in which are still there.

I too am experiencing back pain which is really frustrating me as I'm now abroad and it seems as though the doctors here don't really get what scoliosis is. I have my before and after x rays on my ipad and I've been asked to take them with me for the birth!

In a moment of panic I emailed my surgeon in the uk (at stanmore) and he was lovely, replying personally to say there is no reason why the birth should be any different and I didn't need to go private/come back to the uk. My back pain started very early on, about 8 weeks into the pregnancy and hasn't got any worse, although I seem to have developed mild PGP. To be honest it seems to have affected me less than I thought it would, which is great, although touch wood!!

[Ginnytonic82]

Thank you so much everyone ! I've been trying to research as much as possible on the internet, but that's only confused me! lovintheolives, thanks for the recommendation about acupuncture, I've read accounts that it can be really useful for the nerve pain. I'm certainly going to go to my GP, as I'd like to prevent things getting worse if poss. Noticed today too that I'm getting these weird pulses in my top curve. Like a dull electric shock, which is really strange.

[ashbash1783]

I am 27 weeks pregnant and was diagnosed with mild scoliosis (thoracic) around 24 weeks. The pain is severe to extreme and I mentioned it at my MW appt. They were great, referred me to Physio right then and there. Saw the physio very next week, she immediately noticed the severity and referred me to a more specialised physio, who I saw the next week and who diagnosed me with scoliosis. She also started acupuncture but I've only had 1 round so far so cannot notice any pain relief yet, if it will come.

I have similar horror stories, often having sudden spasms that render me screaming in pain on the floor for an hour. Don't bother calling NHS 24 by the way- they just dismiss it and tell you to take paracetamol. Unfortunately there's not much that can be done. Heat pads work best to dull the pain as long as you don't move. I'm starting a prenatal yoga class next week and taking time off work, as my job requires lots of bending which usually sets off the spasms. I've also been doing swimming but the first time I overdid it and couldn't move for 2 days so go easy!!

I certainly never expected to be in this much pain during pregnancy but at the end of the day the baby is healthy and there's only 3 months or so left to go so I just have to keep trying everything I can! Good luck!