Expect more help for PGP in pregnancy?

[Chiwi]

I'm totally at my wit's end. I am 25 weeks pregnant and in total and complete agony with PGP. I know this is common and it will more than likely go away when I give birth. But I do not know how I will make it through the next 15 weeks. The NHS have offered very little more than sympathetic head tilts and a badly fitting maternity belt.
I can already barely walk, I'm in severe pain and I have a toddler and a partner who is phenomenal but works shifts. He is doing everything, cleaning, looking after DD when he's here and cooking and prepping food for when he is working. I feel utterly useless.
Is there anything more I can do? Request to be done? I would be willing to pay for something that would help. It's really affecting my mood and I'm terrified with how bad this could get.

I was referred for physio and the referral never arrived. About 6 weeks after birth I could walk normally again.
you’re right that they aren’t very sympathetic!

I didn’t even get a maternity belt… my GP (after a telephone consultation) sent me a link to a pdf with some stretches, my midwife suggested an osteopath (expensive) or buying myself a belt. Neither of them really seemed to give a shit.

Find yourself a private osteopath and/or physio who specialises in pregnancy / women’s health /pgp! The nhs physio seems pretty useless.

I was told to stop hoovering, the twisting is no good for your pelvis.

Definitely if you can afford it, see an osteopath or a physio specialising in women’s health. They will do hands on manipulation and an osteopath may do things like acupuncture which really helped me.

NHS were useless, suggested co-codamol
and starting mat leave early. Never did get seen by the physio I was referred to.

Stuff that helped: keep your legs together at all times, including getting in and out of the car (sitting on a plastic bag can help you swivel). Do not push a buggy or supermarket trolley if you have any other options whatsoever. Sit down to put on trousers and tights, shoes, etc. Don’t squat.

I found a belt did help.

You have to find the right balance of mobility and resting for you. Everyone is different.

After the birth, they say it goes away instantly. Sadly not the case for me. Yoga and Pilates both help. But take time to focus on your recovery. Also get checked for diastasis recti (split abdominal muscles) by a women’s physio. Mine said that was probably why I had PGP in my second pregnancy but not my first. There are exercises you can do to help close the gap and strengthen your core.

Thank you for all the lovely responses, ideas and sympathy. It's actually just really nice to feel listened to and not dismissed.

Something which helped me when I needed to sit for longer times was a rocking kneeling chair - I had one like this which I'd picked up second hand for DH. I randomly tried it one day when I was at my absolute wits end from being in screaming pain when I got out of a chair. And the difference was huge.

Because you're gently rocking and moving, and my pelvis was opened up so the muscles around my pelvis and core stayed "awake" so I didn't get that feeling where I'd get out of a chair and feel like my whole upper body was trying to break out through the middle of my pelvis. On a normal office chair I'd get up and I'd have to just stand there, holding in to something and not moving for a good couple of minutes, while I waited for my body to acknowledge I was now upright and needed my muscles to fucking do something useful!

Won't work for everyone but if you know anybody who has one it might be worth giving it a try.

My employers refused to get me one or let me bring in mine (despite letter from the physio) and instead had some eejit from head office who had never seen me and knew sod all about my condition send up a massive back rest with a huge bulge which had the effect of pushing my bump and butt out, thus putting the poor muscles around my lower spine even more out of whack. Saw physio next day and she immediately said "what happened" because I was so much worse after just a day. I worked from home, on MY chair, after that