September 2011 - a Happy non-alcoholic New Year!

[Louplet]

Hi

Still whispering the good news but is there anyone else out there wishing they had made the most of the Stilton this Christmas? [Wink]

lxr!, it really sounds like sciatica. My sister had the same problems. She saw an osteopath and was really happy with the treatment.

For normal backpain I can only recommend starting pregancy yoga. I've learned really good exercises which help incredibly to release pain.

meerkat, I've done an NCT course. It was a lot of information about birth and the different options you can have, not so much about what to actually do with a newborn.
I didn't personally find good friends there but it was still good to meet people in the same boat. And I would rather recommend to do a course once a week rather than a weekend crash course as it is easier to get in touch with people.

Thank you for your advice ladies!

I've suffered from sciatica before, but as the pain is in a slightly different position I wasn't sure, plus I've never got 'stuck' before.

Started googling earlier (yes I know I shouldn't ) but I wondered if it was PGP, but I think that seems to be a generic term for any lower back/hip pain in pregnancy.

I'm now seeing an osteopath first thing tomorrow morning, so fingers crossed!

Hi,
Thanks for the info on NCT - it does seem that a lot of people make good friends from the course, and I am interested in different birth options (though not eating/burying placenta I don't think!) so will prob give it a go.
lxr1 - have to say it sounds like sciatica to me - my friend got it badly when pregnant too, and ended up stranded in the middle of a road one time, so sounds like 'stuck' can happen with sciatica too...Just my tuppence worth!
Oh, and I'm starting pregnancy yoga next week (have a normal, gentle one this evening too). Have always meant to give it a go anyway, so finally got a motivating factor!
Enjoy your scan tomorrow greedychops - look forward to hearing all...
Hope everyone else is well...

greedychops good luck with the scan tomorrow - I am having mine too and quite nervous but also excited. Hope all goes well and look forward to hearing on mn

Thanks guys and good luck to you too Minkyjj.

Good luck with the scans ladies and I agree, yoga is great for back issues. I've been doing it for a few years and the back problems I used to have just disappeared over time. Have stared pregnancy yoga too!

I'm doing an NCT class. The only ones near me are two and a half days rather than weekly so not do sure about that as I'm mainly doing it to meet people in my area in the same boat. They send a contact list round and arrange a reunion for after the babies are all born. Also I think it's a question of being proactive and just setting something up and seeing who responds.

Reached meltdown yesterday. These headaches are daily now and I was completely exhausted and fed up. I called the surgery yesterday and was told by the receptionist to call back at four. Her attitude stank (I mean is there a "miserable b1tch school for receptionists" that they all must go to) and I really felt like I was inconveniencing her personally by asking for assistance. So I called back at four and just got the engaged tone over and over and so I walked round to be told to come back at five for an emergency appt. When I went back only to be handed some patronising photocopied flyer with loads of bossy bold writing by the same receptionist. The note basically implies that you're not really ill are you and that you're the scum of the earth for thinking your issue might deserve an emergency appointment and so don't be surprised if the doctor decides not to treat you after all you loser!

And so I just burst into tears! I took the flyer to the doctor and complained about my whole experience of the day, including the "computer says no" receptionist. Turns out he wrote the flyer and so , through the snot and tears, I explained that just because the NHS offers a social service doesn't mean it's absolved from offering a customer service too!

It also didn't help that everywhere I went in the office yesterday everyone told me how MASSIVE I am for 15 weeks! My bump is huge already!

Well, I'm back from the osteopath, the lady was very thorough, asking me lots of questions first, then checking my posture etc, and finally performing some manipulation.

It appears that my sacroiliac joint is too flexible, and my sacrium is slightly mis-aligned.

The osteopath says I'm very flexible, so must start on my pelvic floor exercises already?!
She's also given me some pilates type exercises to do, and expects to only need one or two more sessions with me (I'm going back next week).

I've been warned I'll be a bit stiff over the next 24 hours after the manipulation, but after that to repeat each exercise 5 times a day...

redlaura - sorry to hear you had a bad day yesterday. I'm sure there has to be a school for bad GP receptionists, I've come across a few in my time.

Hope the scans go well today for you Minky and greedychops.

Oops, sorry minky, managed to lose track that you have your scan today too- hope it all goes well...

Sorry to hear about your rubbish day redlaura, I sympathise over the receptionists- I often wonder why I have to tell them what's wrong with me when trying to get an appointment. Hmm. Hope you have a better, headache free day today. What did the doctor actually say about your headaches?

Glad you're getting sorted lxr1. Hope the exercises aren't too difficult!

Good luck to ur two scanees today - looking forward to joyful posts from both of you!

You don't exercise your pelvic floor, lxr1? Tut, tut, tut! Pelvic floor exercises are something every woman should know about and try and work into her life whether pregnant or not - else, helo incontinence in later middle/old age! I don't do them religiously or anything but this is baby number four and I've yet to experience any kind of leakage when sneezing/coughing/laughing... and DS2 was 9lb 12ozs so my poor pelvic floor has been under quite some pressure! Still, it's not well advertised/common knowledge that we need to do this kinda stuff to protect ourselves - you can guarantee that if men suffered from stress incontinence the way we do there would be regular campaigns to 'raise awareness' (well, I think technically they'd have engineered some sort of pod to grow babies in that sits on the shelf, or somesuch). I am a FIRM believer that regular, um, fun in the bedroom (ugh, ok, orgasm - let's face it, doesn't HAVE to be the bedroom, or even with a partner!) has exactly the same effect as pelvic floor exercises. Obviously anyone on pelvic rest (and/or just completely off sex) shouldn't worry but for the rest of us it pays dividends, trust me!

Ok, I think that's my TMI quota out of the way for the week - mostly boring posts from here on out... for as long as I can manage

Thanks ladies. As my bp was normal and my urine infection has gone he has suggested I get my eyes tested as apparently all our muscles start to relax at this point not just the ones used for delivery. It's possible that my eyesight has suffered! I went for a test and there's nothing wrong. He also prescribed me a low dose of codeine to take for a few days to hit the symptom as paracetomal isn't doing a thing. I'm not convinced yet but he assures me the dose is so low and for such a short period of time that there is no risk to the baby. Not sure what to think.

Really glad the osteopath worked out. Definitely sounds like yoga would be good as we've already been working on the pelvic floor. Maybe I should try an osteopath for my headaches. It's all day everyday and I'm nearly at my limit

redlaura, it would certainly be good for you if you could eliminate the source of your headaches not just taking painkillers (although I am sure you won't harm the baby with such low doses)
Could it be some kind of tension, coming from your spine? I found that sometimes I can improve things with all sorts of exercises for the back and also those head slowly rolling from one side to the other - exercises.
As you have done yoga before, have you tried to use your breathing techniques to "calm down". Maybe it is just me but with this sort of pain, I often make things worse just with feeling sorry for my self and having the feeling that I can't do anything about the pain or control the situation. The pain won't go away but maybe you will still feel better?
Oh, and don't worry about your bump! Pregnant women look great! Be proud of it. The bigger the better :)

Hello ladies, thanks for all your wishes of luck for the scan. It all went well, luckily only one in there (thought dh was about to wet himself with relief! never seen a man going from looking so terrified to relaxed in such a short space of time!)Good heartbeat and now confirmed that my predicted dates were the correct ones - I am now 13 weeks and a day (will try not to say I told you so to the midwife next time we meet!) So it appears it was a New Years Day baby after all! Only downside of the appointment was the scan showed a large cyst on my ovary which needs to be further examined (bit of a worry as I also had a rejected smear just before I found out I was pregnant so havent been able to have a retest, which is a bit of a worry) think I will speak to my community midwife tomorrow and see what she thinks as I dont fancy waiting till 20 week scan to find out what happens next! Also blood tests still have to come back but NF measured 1.6 so not too much of a worry. Lets just hope that it will all be fine.
Sorry to hear some of you have had a hard day - thinking of you all :-)

Redlaura - good for you actually saying something to the doctor. In those sort of circumstances, I always just say nothing but get really cross afterwards. I hope the headaches improve.

Manda - great advice - I like that. Keep the tmi coming.

Minkyjj - glad the scan went well.

Ours was likewise great. Hadn't realised how nervous I was that there was nothing there - maybe cause we had told more people this time before the scan. Anyway, it was there, dancing around and waving. Was lovely to see. All feels properly real now.

Bring on the bumps!

Thanks ursigurke I needed that. I'm so knackered with these headaches it's all I can think about which will only makes them worse. I'll definitely work some yoga back moves but I think I'll also visit an osteopath. The headaches have coincided with a massive growthspurt of my bump so my posture is probably suffering. Got a nice bath running and DP just gave me a head massage.

Really pleased about the scan minky but sorry to hear about the cyst on the ovary. I'm sure it won't be anything to worry about.

Brilliant news greedychops.
Thanks redlaura. I must say that I am very scared, its a big cyst - about 6cms (almost as big as the baby!). The sonographer was great and very kind but I could tell she didnt want to worry me - she was relieved to see that I was already consultant led care. I have so many other medical conditions, I am like a walking textbook and it would be just so great not to have this worry on top of all else but hopefully it will be okay. I plan to phone the midwife tomorrow and find out where we go from here - at least I know that the baby has a heartbeat and looked very cute so I will be focussing on the positives for tonight. Night night ladies

greedy didn't se your post. Great news about your scan. I had the same fear, that i was wrong andbthat there'd be nothing there. Early night! Sleep well all

Sorry Minkyjj - read your news and then forgot when I was posting. Obviously it's a worry, but hopefully it will be something they can deal with easily. Hope you are able to get some answers very soon cause nothing is as bad as just not knowing.

Hmm a bath sounds good but a bit late now.

minky it does sound very scary for you. Sending all the positive vibes your way and hope you get the answers that you want! X

minky, I had an ovarian cyst for years. I went to see the gynaecologist twice a year anyway (normal in my homecountry) who did a scan each time to measure it. It didn't affect my health it was just there. I got it removed at some point, when I was on holiday anyway. It was an easy procedure, under GA but I could leave the hospital after two days.
I don't know how it could affect a pregnancy, I'm sure the midwife will tell you more but it really didn't seem to be a big deal too me.
When the doctor told me I was really shocked but my mums (insensitive) words: "So what, I have one too, I think." showed me that it is actually really common and nothing to worry about.So I hope you will get reassuring information :)

Thanks again ladies. Spoke to the midwife this morning and she was quite reasuuring. She said that as I am under consultant care I will be very closely monitored and they will also be checking frequently to see if the cyst becomes any bigger (it may even shrink or go away). Because I am already having a c-section they may be able to remove it at the same time (woohoo two birds with one stone!). She said that it can cause pain, which I think it already has been but I thought it was something else. It does explain why I am much bigger this time as alot of my extra bloating may be down to this! Anyway, going to put it out of my mind and focus on all the postives - my children were so happy about the baby when we told them last night that I cannot stop smiling. My little girl who is eight cried she was so happy and she was desperate to go to school this morning so she could tell everyone! What could be more magical? Hope everyone has a good day!

minky - so pleased to hear your MW has been able to provide you with some re-assurance. And what a great reaction from your DCs

greedy - good to hear that your scan went well

I feel a bit naughty for not ever practicing my pelvic floor exercises before (except during bedroom fun!). Though I'm going to say my excuse is that this our first baby and have never had any 'leakage', so I've never really thought about it before!

What a relief for you minky and I had a bit of wet-eye about you kids' reactions. Awwwwwwwwwwwww!

I'm pretty confused now. I just had my antenatal appt and my regular doctor said that shouldn't even think about taking codeine. It makes you nauseous, gives you constipation and can make your headaches worse not better. They're doing more tests on mu urine but she thinks these are migraines and I've got this stuff called "Dom
peridom". Imagine my face when I realised it wasn't champagne!!!

Booked into osteopath today because my hunch is that my posture is going mental since my bump grew so much in the last two weeks

We do our pelvic floor at yoga. She starts off my saying "now draw your attention to your back passage" and ends with "now pulsate your clitoris" it's always a touch awkward in the room at that point!

minky glad your MW was reassuring. My SIL had similar thing picked up when she preg andit was monitored then removed after she had her DD. My sister also had one removed but that was before she was preg. Its good they picked it up as they can go undetected for years and that can cause more problems. My DD is excited about the baby too but only if its a sister:o I htink we are going to try and find out at 20wk scan this time what it is so we can manage her expectations heehee but the problem with that is that she will tell EVERYONE at preschool what it is, which i would prefer not ho hum. We will see.

Sorry redlaura the headaches are so bad. All the things your doing sound like they should help. I got driven home from work twice with DD1 as they got bad for me. this time around much better, Yoga relaxation breathing really helped me, Just signed up for the class again this time.

Oh redlaura, that's really interesting about codeine because it def hasn't made my headaches any better and could maybe have been one of the factors in making my sickness so bad.

Like I said, my dr's a bit rubbish at baby and women's stuff imo (told me to try SWMNBN's routine and stopping BFing when I went to see him with exhaustion/ PND after DS )

Thanks for the reminders on the pelvic floor; I am so bad at remembering. Have had a stinking cold this week and been aware that things might be a bit riskier than usual when I cough or sneeze! And at pulsating clitorises!

Very happy to report that osteopath plus migraine medication and I'm back to my old self! hard to know which one did the trick but I don't care. That said the osteopath stretched and manipulated my neck and I just went "ahhhhhhhhhhhhh". I recommend it feralgirl

To the rest of you thanks for putting up with my whinging. Really struggled to stay positive! You're all fab!!!