To give up a lifetime because of 3-6 months? SPD

[Turry]

I had SPD from 22 weeks with DD (only child) and horrific, house-binding version from about 30.

I want another baby so, so much. So does DH, but I'm very seriously considering just sticking to one because apart from the utter agony (worse than labour pains in my experience) on my part, what about DD? If I end up in a wheelchair, what about her?

I'm seriously tying myself in knots over this. Posted up in pregnancy for second time stories and everyone said they got it worse, and reading Pelvic Partnership stuff they say prob be worse too.

But then I can't help thinking this is a child we're talking about here - a whole new life. Surely it's ridiculous to write that off for a few months of pain...

And then I think surely it's not right by DD to knowingly disable myself (possibly permanently)

God, this is horrible! Any experience/ opinions please?

Pregnancy is unpredictable. I had two horrid pregnancies but they were awful in completely different ways. With ds I had really awful morning sickness, but no SPD. With dd I had no morning sickness but horrible SPD.

I am not sure how much fitness is a factor. I had a good level of fitnes before I was pregnant with dd. I was not over weight either.

I think that some women's bodies are just overly senitive to pregnancy hormones.

I was left permanently disabled by SPD. I use a wheelchair now. DS is nearly 17. He is an only child.

My cousin had spd in pregnancy 2, wheelchair for several months after the natural birth.....but then had a third baby, dc3 not planned, huge panic, born by c-section, all ok. Go see a consultant and take the advice, including scans of your pelvis, physio (before even thinking about ttc) before you decide.

I too had it with my second pregnancy - couldn't walk, lift my toddler, turn over in bed, had a clicking back that was so annoying....I was looking forward to labour can you believe, just to be rid of it. With my third pregnancy....nothing!!! It never appeared.

Had spd with 2nd pg and remember thinking that if this was my first it would have put me off having any more, excruciatingly painful and very limited movement, could barely walk.

Went onto have 3rd pg only 18 months later but amazingly no spd at all (even though I'd been told by dr/midwives that it was very likely to recur and be more severe and I could end up in a wheelchair), so please don't be put off future pregnancies just because of your current spd.

Do be very careful of your health and posture/movement though, rest as much as poss, do Pilates if you are able. I had to use a chiropractor once dc3 was 3 to try and get my posture back though. I also found reflexology to help, perhaps due to helping me relax? Good luck, better to try than live to regret what might have been, pg is short term but children are blessings for life.

ghost do you have any idea who that paper was by?

God, I seriously think I might just have to give up - WhereDoAllTheCalculatorsGo's experience, that's what I'm terrified of. I don't know if I can risk that... :( I'm so sorry that's been your experience WhereDoAll!

Pigsmummy can you get scans of your pelvis etc on the NHS do you know? That might change things significantly - if I could just be given a clue to what might happen in my case. It's the complete, utter and extreme uncertainty that's killing me - could be frolicking in the park or could be in a wheelchair - FOREVER!

If it weren't for this we'd be trying for number 2 now... That's what's making it so intense for me; it's not a theoretical 'one day' thing, but all a bit here and now, and I keep swinging from one extreme to the other.

Gobbledegook, I do keep thinking I'll only regret what I don't do... But would I really feel like that if I ended up in a wheelchair - forever?!

Can I ask those who had it with subsequent pregnancies how (if at all) it affected your relationships with older children, not being able to carry them etc. I worry it would create a distance between DD and me, whether I do it now when she'd be a toddler or even if I waited til she was five... That she'd think I was no fun and end up only wanting to be with daddy?

I'm having a bit of the 'no fun mummy' at the moment. Dd3 just assumes ill be staying home :( What has helped us a bit is that I have bf dd3 all through pg and still feeding her now. She does want me if she's upset so I don't think it's affected our bond and her bond with dh is very strong anyway.

I was under a orthopaedic consultant (SPD 1 year post pg, plus other joint problems) and referred for an MRI but what they think is wrong with my pelvis isn't fixable and my fear of the MRI won out. I regret not having the scan sometimes but it wouldn't change it, I'd still have same Physio but it just won't get 100% better.

Sorry, possibly a slight hijack, but having just googled SPD having heard it mentioned on here a few times and not having a clue what it was the description is almost symptom for symptom and word for word what I was diagnosed with in my last pregnancy but I was not given a name for the condition though I was prescribed a pelvic belt to try and help eleviate some of the pain.

I have had pelvic issues on and off ever since (my son is 4 now) with sharp pelvic pains, feeling of pulled muscle in the pelvic area and clicking sensations very much like in pregnancy but to a much lesser degree although still leaving me in slight discomfort for several days at a time none-the-less. I have never been to see anyone about it as I was not told the condition could have a lasting effect after pregnancy and that in-fact it would go away (which to a huge degree it has) so I have never really considered the possibility of a link but Dr Google says it can leave permanent side effects like the ones I am suffering.

Can anyone advise whether there is anything that can be done to help stop this happening or is 4 years down the line a bit late to do anything about it?

Hi turry,
I had spd from 29 weeks on dd1 and it was really bad I was housebound and on crutches from 32 weeks, I was induced at 38 weeks which failed so had a c section.
I had it from about 12 weeks on dd2 and while it was painful I found it much more manageable because I knew what it was, how it effected me and how to manage it. I managed without crutches the second time and wasn't housebound either. My dd1 was 18 months when I had dd2 so she needed looking after as well.
I had my dd1 public and dd2 private and no doctor would give me anything more than paracetamol.
I am currently 10 weeks pregnant and it started this time at 4 weeks but at an early scan we found out we were having twins. Since that scan we've had another scan and things are not going well. We have a scan tomorrow to see if the babies have grown since last week and if they haven't I will have a d&c. And here's the kicker I don't hold out much hope as all my pains from my spd stopped last Friday. I never in my life thought I'd be hoping to be in that pain again.
But anyway as I said my second was easier to manage and if its what you want it will be worth in the end.
Best of luck with your decision

Agree You should consider building up your fitness levels with pilates before and while pg.

Same story as you for DC1. Housebound and medical leave from 32 weeks. 3 years later, carried DC2 with no problem exercising 2 to 3 times a week. The fitest i've ever been.

it may not necessarily be as bad next time, or it may be the same or worse. I've had 3 pregnancies go to term, first one I had moderate spd in third trimester that was very painful towards the end. Second one (ds was only a year old when I got pregnant) I had spd pain in my pubic bone from the day after I missed my period, and it continued through the whole pregnancy (only got really painful at the end tho) this last time I didn't get the pain at the front at all, but I did get horrific pain in my lower back/pelvis which is Pgp I think, and sciatica.
I am totally back to normal now, 12 weeks on today from the birth. (although now my upper back is hurting from a dodgy disc but that's a whole other story and not pg related!)

I'm in your position as well just now. Had pretty horrible SPD with pfb, and when I raised it with my midwife she said 'well you really should expect pain like that. You have a baby's head pressing down on your pelvis.'

I felt firmly put in my place until two weeks before due date when I saw the doc for something else. She was horrified and hobbled marched me round to the physio. A belt and crutches later with instructions for total rest at least I knew I wasn't imagining it.

Thanks everyone for your stories, it's making me a bit more optimistic.

My experience is a little different as I have other issues but I continued with my last pregnancy knowing it could kill me despite having two other children. I have been left probably permanently paralysed, am in a wheelchair, and had a emergency hysterectomy. I can honestly say I would do it all again in a heartbeat, he was totally worth it.
I would say though get all the advice, physio, support you need before hand, go Into things eyes wide open and be prepared so if spd does kick off again you have physio, Pilates, anything that might help prepared and in place. Good luck!

mama1980 was it you that was on April 2013 with a v early baby? I'm from March and it was mentioned on our thread

My SPD has got better with every pregnancy. I'm on my third now and have only had moderate pain with some clicking. I even have days when it doesn't hurt at all.

It was my biggest worry when I found I was pg with DC2, but I was happily surprised. I got an early referral to physio, stopped all housework and faffing and did the exercises religiously. Tbh, it was more in my back than the first, which was horrendous.... Months off work, all the painkillers, weekly realignment, sleeping in a chair. I count myself very lucky as I really was expecting it to be worse every time.

Oodsigma-yep that's me. The ladies on the April thread have been an amazing support

Hi OP. Saw your post on Tuesday asking about how another pregnancy might affect your bond with your dd. I worried about that too with pregnancy 2. I couldn't lift ds1 very well but I changed what activities we did. We read lots of books, did colouring, watched films etc.. (his reading actually improved loads during this time!) Also when I was at my heaviest and the SPD was at its worst it was Dec/Jan so I didn't feel guilty about not taking him out too much.

I don't want to make it sound like it was easy as it wasn't, I was in incredible pain at the end and felt depressed and useless. However I am so glad I went through it. DS1 and DS2 are such good friends and as DS1 is a bit of a loner, he really benefits from the relationship he has with his brother. In the long run I don't feel that it has affected our bond at all.

It's an agonising position to be in and I know because I'm in a wheelchair long-term after horrendous pregnancy. My DD is now 20 months and hope is fading.

Obviously, I wouldn't do it because I know how bad it can get. However, a well-managed pregnancy might be ok for you. Personally, I can't take the risk as there's a possibility it could make things worse. I feel my first responsibility is to the DD I already have and giving DH the closest thing possible to the life he signed up to.

If you do decide to go ahead you should definitely not do so until you're had a stork x ray, an MRI of the pelvis (doesn't take away the need for a stork x ray btw) and discussed the results with a practitioner who has been recommended by Pelvic Partnership.

Gobbledegook - it's never too late to get treatment and I'd feel confident that an experienced physio/osteopath can help you, given how mild your symptoms are. Call Pelvic Partnership for advice on how to go forward. It's run by a very reassuring lady. www.pelvicpartnership.org.uk/

I was diagnosed with it in my first pregnancy. It was agony that would take my breath away.

In my 2nd pregnancy when it started up again (very early on) I went to a chiropractor on the rec. of a friend, who immediately identified it as sacro-iliac joint disfunction. I had to see him for 10 mins every day for a week to start with while he did some weird pulling things, and gave me exercises to do, and then roughly once a week for the rest of the pregnancy. If I stopped the exercises the pain came back very quickly, but so long as I kept doing them I was 100% fine.

I was really annoyed about the misdiagnosis in my first pregnancy because it was just so casual & presumptuous - "Oh it could be sciatic pain, but it's probably SPD, who knows? Here, go to this completely pointless group physio session at the hospital".

The chiro said that it's a really commonly misdiagnosed thing and that a lot of SPD diagnoses are really something more like sacro-iliac joint pain & easily fixable. The relaxin hormone causes the joint to over-relax, strain & then freeze up (or something to that effect), so you have to do exercises to keep the muscle moving.

The exercise was lying on my back, pulling up one knee (leg folded) and with my hands pulling the knee diagonally across my chest for as long as I could bear it. Do that three times, then the other leg. Hurt like crazy at first but less so if I was good about it.

Apologies for the long post! I have strong feelings about this, obv! :)

I had that with the hospital Physio. She came as I was transferring rooms on day after my section. I was in a wheelchair as the short walk to the shower on crutches had wiped me out. Wouldn't believe that and insisted I only use one ,which each mw would readlas they came on shift ( but miss the section on depression,anxiety, hospital phobia) and by halfway through the shift they'd be telling me to do less/use crutches/did I want a wheelchair.
Physio had seen me once during pregnancy 4 months before she saw me post baby. She obviously had a standard response and 'hasn't met a woman who didn't recover completely within 6 weeks' . That was the specialist woman's Physio.

Mine was worse in the first pregnancy. I had physio in 2nd pregnancy from very early on and it really helped. It was still quite bad imo, but not as bad as my first pregnancy. Good luck whatever your decision. x