to expect a GP to know what SPD is?

[luckykitty]

In a nutshell - went to GP this morning in agony - cant really walk, eye-watering pain - have hypermobile joints - support belts, crutches etc - to query this new and vile pain at front of pelvis which feels like someone has stuck an axe me - only to have GP say 'I have no idea what youre on about, I dont know what to tell you' - said he would call my physio then call me-sent me home to rest - hasnt called me - still in agony.
Am i being unreasonable? This is the 3rd GP at my doctors Ive seen who appears to not have a clue/take me seriously.
This is my first child so I dont know what to expect but was kinda hoping for some help

Should prob add that the 2 physios Ive seen (eventually - took 10 weeks for GP to get their act together pretty much) told me to see said GP if I started with any pain in this area

Your best bet is to ask the GP to refer you to an Obstetric Physio.

When I had DD nearly 11 years ago I had never heard of SPD, didn't know anyone who had it and never even heard it talked about.

Nearly 5 years later I had SPD when pregnant with DS. By then lots of people were aware of SPD, quite a few had experienced it or, if not, knew someone who had had it.

It seems to be one of those things that awareness of it is very slowly spreading...but not to your GPs yet, alas!

My doctor had never even heard of the therapy I wanted sending to! I had to print off the info from the net and send it to him!

Assholes!

My Hv hadn't heard of it & she hadn't heard of people having clexane injections. The bf lady explained both to her.

I had a hissy fit at my GP (not the one today) about Ob Physios, my midwife - v.lovely - told me to see GP to be refered to the physio at hospital as she couldnt refer me herself, went to the GP who said she had never heard of an Ob Physio and suggested that I called the midwife the next day to make sure she had her facts right - hissy fit is a bit of an understatement really - I was actually hysterically upset at her and suggested that infact she called my midwife and sorted it out for me as I was in sooooo much pain.

I rang the Ob Physio myself earlier and she is off till monday and so is the other normal one ive seen. I dont know what to do, Im in serious pain and feel like the people who can help just keep fobbing me off or dont know anything to help me - not that I think they should be able to work a miracle but they just seem super-reluctant to help at all.

Thanks for listening, feels like im cracking up!

My GP didn't know what PET was in relation to pregnancy.

Alot of intials can stand for different things. The CSA means 3 different things to 3 different people I know.
PET used to be called pre-eclampsia and is now PIH pregnancy induced hypertension, so abbreviations and names for illnesses can change over time.
Don't use abbreviations or acronyms, use words and you may get a better response.
Your GP could still have given you some analgesia, even if the physio referral takes a while, NHS physio nearly always has a long waiting list.

Is there any hope for any of us?!
Until I became pregnant I knew absolutely nothing about anything to do with any of it in the slightest and now Ive made such an effort to educate myself I feel like im banging my head or possibly pelvis on a brick wall!
I had the whole 'its your ligaments' 'its part of pregnancy' 'its all completely normal' - yes im sure the horriffic griding and clunking from my pelvis that other people can hear when I go up and down stairs is completely normal...
and not being able to move with out almost crying is normal too!
Its so frustrating that everyone else, midwives and physios even the people on the other end of the phone at the delivery suite at the hospital im booked into all know the score but to get to see these people is near impossible
Sorry to still be banging on about it, youre the only people who I can talk to!

Because the GP I saw today was someone I hadnt seen before I explained from the beginning what had been going on - he looked quite blank so I went on to say that I was concerned that as my physio had said that pain in this area could be SPD that I had come to see him, I explained what it is and what it stands for and did a fairly good explaination with my hands as bits of pelvis but he just didnt know what on earth i was on about - I totally respect medical professionals as it must be a really tough job and im grateful for the help I have had- i guess im just very sore and miserable and finding it all really hard going!

I do think you sometimes have to do the research and tell them what you want. It's good he/she said would find out more and get back to you. At least not totally dismissive. Good luck and hope you feel better/get the help you need soon.

YANBU, if I had to listen to one more stupid, ill informed comment about SPD during my pregnancy from hell I may have hurt someone. If I could have moved fast enough to hurt them that is.

I was lucky, mine did go after birth, although FOR ME I think the fact I fought for a section did help. A family friend gave birth a couple of months ago, and despite them knowing she had SPD, they gave her an epidural then had her birthing with one leg on the midwifes shoulder and the other on her husbands - at totally different heights. Her hip is totally buggered and her family are spending a fortune on private physio simply because her condition wasn't understood or handled right.

If you are in south west london I know a chiropractor who is very good with spd, both in pregnancy, and after baby is born. He is fantastic.

If you can afford to do so I highly recommend getting either a chiropractor or an osteopath.

My osteopath got me walking in my last pregnancy when with DS2 I couldn't walk at all in the last weeks.

I have been to the hospital to see physio today who was soooooooooooooo lovely i could have hugged her, I rang up to make an appt with them and she told me to just turn up.

Have now got long strap thing to wear around pelvis to squeeze it all back together, she told me that one side of my pelvis is higher than the other which is not helping, am to use crutches all the time now and am having physio next week.

I cant beleive how painful this is, I am truly shocked There is no way I can afford any private treatment but today has given me hope that someone can help and is willing to!!

Definatley looking forward to the weekend off!
Thanks for all the advice and niceness everyone x x

it seems to so hit and miss,my Dr knows what it is but doesnt seem to know any thing else about it.I am 28 wks and am signed off work and can only walk for a few mins at a time and am in constnat pain.Never even heard of those injections?Saw physio who offered advice and i BOUGHT a belt from them but no hands on treatment.I saw an osteopath who gave me acupuncture to no avail.I have given up really and can only hope and pray it gets no worse.

Sorry youre also feeling so crap ledkr. I feel like death warmed up I really sympathise with you.
The physio I saw today couldnt understand why the GPs dont know about it when its not exactly rare, its so frustrating.
The first physio I saw gave me a leaflet about backache in pregnancy and that was it, I was there for about a minute literally, I ended up calling the delivery suite at the hospital afterwards and crying at them to please help me, which credit where its due, they did.

I hope you can get some help, I would ring everyone and keep on at people, seems to be the only way - the GP who said he would call me yesterday didnt get back to me but the doctors receptionist called me this morning to pass on a phone number he wanted me to have, ooh good i thought - some progress - but it was the number I had to give him for the physio department the previous day!! makes you wonder...

love and cake x x

My GP knew what SPD was but saw no point in refering me to ob physio or the pain clinic as the problem would resolve itself in 11 weeks.

My midwife made an emergency referral to an ob physio. I was given a belt, but the SPD got worse at about 36 weeks. I could not get any crutches or a wheelchair as my physio was on holiday. I gave birth at 38 weeks and felt a lot better.

18 months old I am 99% better. I still get the odd painful twinge when I am tired.

Glad you are feeling much better
Did you go into labour naturally?
Some one today said they were induced because of SPD - does that actually happen? Slightly scared of the prospect of induction as its supposed to be more painful!

Dont be disappointed if the physio is not helping much, as she cant really manipulate the pelvis to get it back in position like a chiropractor and an osteopath can.

The fysio also gave me the belt, and saw me on three occasions. I did not get any better. She discharged me as she said she could do no more for me. I asked her "what now?" And she said, "I dont know, possibly a wheelchair within a year or two."

Birth does not necessarily solve the problem, not for everybody. For me it made it a lot worse, and it took 6 months of chiropractic treatments twice a week to make me able to walk again.

3 months after giving birth I finally went to see an osteopath who sorted out my spd in 3 sessions. See if your (idiotic) gp can refer if you can't afford it. I feel for you. Take care.

Just ask GP for a referral to a physio at least they can give you kit that can help I found crutches essential after 30 weeks .

I found the GP to be utterly hopeless. Young male and rather gorgeous but totally crap. He had never heard of SPD and said that it sounded like a sports injury . Despite the fact the sport I played pre-pregnancy was that well known danger sport of badminton and I first felt this agonising pain at 30 weeks pregnant. Right then...

"Glad you are feeling much better
Did you go into labour naturally?"

Many women with SPD have very easy births. SPD is caused by the body producing an excessive amount of relaxin which makes your ligaments very soft. You suffer pain with SPD because the softening has gone so far that your joints aren't held together properly. This results in pressure on the nerves and pain.

I found my labour was very quick and easy. My labour was about three hours long and I had a three minute second stage. I had a beautiful homebirth with nothing but TENS for pain relief.

The important thing is to have an active birth and find out about good birth positions. My ob physio recommended supported kneeling as a position to give birth in and to avoid the traditional on the back position.

I speak as a battle hardened SPD sufferer, 19 months after the birth and just back from having injections into my spine and hips earlier today. I went around the houses during my last pg and had all the available treatments.

IMO your plan needs to be:

1. A referral to an obstetrician with some knowledge of pelvic pain. This was the turning point for me.
2. They can then refer you (what they call a tertiary referral, that is one from a consultant) to the pain team at the hospital who can put you on some proper medication, well beyond the feeble offerings available at the GP. Managing your pain properly is absolutely vital in maintaining maximum function. If this is supervised by the hospital it won't harm the baby.
3. It is often possible to get a wheelchair from hospital rehab if you need one, as well as aids like crutches, and even an Occupational Therapy assessment for your house and other aids such as trays on wheels, bath lifts and things to help you turn over in bed. You have to make a fuss to get this however because they tend to assume everyone is an old dear with a dicky hip and put people on long waiting lists, which miraculously disappear when you insist this needs to be sorted before the birth as you are desperate.
4. If you can get an obstetric physio to teach you special pilates exercises, these are worth doing daily. Other than that, you need to rest as much as possible until the baby is born now.
5. The best type of birth for someone with SPD is carrying the baby to term and then having a water birth. The next best thing is to aim for as low-tech a delivery as possible and try to be upright.
6. It is possible to get Disability Living Allowance for this condition, and a Blue Badge, as long as it is clear to the authorities that this is likely to last at least 12 months. You can argue that it will not resolve immediately after the birth (as many severe cases do not).

More info [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symphysis_pubis_dysfunction here]].

Hope this all helps, CAT me if you would like a phone call.