Anyone else still suffering with SPD after the birth?

[ButterPie]

Not wanting to upset the ladies on the pregnant with spd thread...

My baby is 6mo. I still have spd. Anyone else? I am worried that I will never walk properly, play on the floor or turn over in bed without pain

It took over a year for mine to settle down fully after ds2. It really does get better. Physio helped, we can self refer here, and swimming (not breast stroke though)

hth

Hi ButterPie,

Don't want to alarm you but DS is now 18 months and I still have some degree of SPD(I did have a very severe case whilst pregnant though), if you haven't already, then ask for a referral back to physio, I was under the obstetric physio for 12 months post birth and now attend "regular" physio which is helping but not curing. You don't need to suffer in silence.

Sorry I cant be of more help but always around if you need an ear to bend/vent/have a moan in general.

P.S. could not agree more re Pheebe's suggestion of swimming, the water really does relieve the pressure/pain feeling but as she says really really important you dont attempt breast stroke!

At least I'm not alone!

I can't swim, any other things that could help?

Have a wee look at pelvic partnership or if your in Scotland pelvic instability, they have sections on practical advice post birth.

I would strongly recommend you have physiotherapy, my physio suggested very light Pilates, I havent had the chance to try this as of yet.

that link doesn't work :/

Have you tried pilates/core stability exercises?

Are you still avoiding all the things to minimise the effects of SPD? (perfect excuse not to clean the bath/hoover the house )

Sympathies - My DS is 2.5 and pushing his stupid smart trike the other day triggered old SPD feelings again, was awful.

6 months isn't too long - I know it feels like an age, but it's only about now that the pregnancy hormones really begin to settle down (some people also notice their hair begins to fall out again), but if it doesn't start to get better in the next month or two get a referral to your physio.

hth

Butterpie

In the thread I posted "SPD killing me today, any advice" some suggested I need to see an osteopath or a chiropractor as DS is now 1 and I'm no better. (So much so I'm classed as disabled)

I have a physio but she can't fix me although she did give me core exercises and on the days I can actually do them, they do help. I go to hydrotherapy and that really helps too.

If you do go swimming, don't do breaststroke. It will only make you worse and you'll probably scream if you try!! It kills!!

Go and see your GP for a referal to a physio who specialises in women's health.

I got the link!

I'm feeling really down about it now, and last time I spoke to her on the phone, the physio just told me I need to do pelvic floor exercises and not lift my children, and if I change nappies I have to put them on the bed and kneel down in front of them. Kneeling is agony-never mind standing up again.

The pain is bad enough to make me gasp and unconciously grab my crotch a couple of times each day, not to mention the low lying ache that gets much worse if I have a day out or something.

I have asked for a face to face appointment with a maternity physio, but they didn't sound very hopeful

Would it be worthwhile me putting my support belt on? Would it work or is it designed for use by heavily pregnant woman? I've been leaving it off in the hope my pelvis might strengthen.

butterpie

Put your belt on! It will still help support your hips and pelvis. I wear mine alot just to get around the house

I know what you mean about the sudden pain, it's frightening how it catches you.

Your Physio sounds shit very unhelpful. Can you ask your GP for some support on this, maybe a referal to another physio?

Take painkillers too. And avoid all the things you were told to avoid when this started.

SPD is so common but no-one seems to be able to bloody help us do they?

Try cold gel packs on your furry front bottom whilst you're sat watching TV (or whatever you do once your DCs are in bed, just as long as you're not on your feet) and use a pillow between your legs in bed to support your hips. That should help.

Just keep pestering your GP. He/she should be your first port of call and will have the power to push for a face to face with a physio.

Oh, and when I was pregnant and started limping, I asked my midwife, who told me that it was just aches and pains, but if I must, I could see my GP, who (without examining me) said I had trapped a nerve and to get exercise, and to keep going through the pain.

A few days later, I was unable to walk at all and sobbing with pain. The maternity ward told me to come in, gave me some paracetomol and a referral to a physio, but they said it would take around three months to come through (I was 36 weeks pregnant and could only take steps of about 10cm, even then it was very painful). Luckily, on my way out of the hospital, a midwife spotted how hard it was for me to walk and admitted me to the ward, so I got to see a physio the next day. I got a support belt and crutches, and, with a lot of help, managed (well, I had no choice) till the planned section, having to send DD1 to stay with relavtives or them coming to stay with me, DP turning me over in bed, using a wheelchair on the rare occaisions I got out of the house.

sob IT HURTS! It isn't fair. Apparently I can never have any more kids (I have two now) as I could be permanently in a wheelchair.

SULK

Bloody hell Butter, you could be me!!!!

Seriously, get yorself to your doctors and get this sorted. You know how long it takes to get appointments.

Start the process.

I am so depressed that you were told to exercise though it!

Seriously this is time to get to the GP pronto and demand a referral to a maternity physio. Cry, cajole, emphasise in glorious technicolour the impact this is having on your life. Oh, and yes, the support belt will help.

Have you ever tried some simple pilates exercises to strengthen your core? One very simple strengthening exercise which worked for me was to gently press a cushion between my knees as I was seated. That's about all I could manage for a few weeks. Have you been trying the prescribed pelvic floor exercises?- they do help, in time, honest.

Can you do any less of the following:

buggy pushing
climbing stairs
pushing trollies
lengthy walks

to give yourself a chance to recover? You are probably reading this thinking, god I can't stop doing those things, but can you possibly cut down at all eg. internet grocery shopping?

I found that the doctor wasn't interested when I described terrible agonising pain, but I did get referred to a maternity physio when I mentioned incontinence so if there is any of that compounding things then do mention it/ exaggerate.

Are you still bf? My SPD cleared up when I stopped bf (think it was something to do with hormones). I realise it isn't very PC to say that but I wish I had stopped bf earlier.

You have my huge and massive sympathy. It really is shit.

My maternity physio (I just rang up the hospital and asked to speak to her) will do me a telephone consultation tomorrow.

How can she examine me over the phone???

so sorry it is still really bad.

Only skim read other than the op, so apologies if I am repeating something others have already said.

I had bad spd that continued well after the birth with ds1. I was told that it could carry until I stopped breastfeeding and then take a few months to settle down after that.

I had to stop breastfeeding suddenly at 6 months as I was rushed into hospital (unrelated illness) and put on a cocktail of drugs that I couldn't feed on. Sure enough, the spd started to improve and after a few months was almost gone.

I have since gone on to have two more pregnancies. I had much worse spd with ds2 (2 year age gap) but went for a course of postnatal treatments with a brilliant osteopath, which resulted in a massive improvement and then it pretty much disappeared 6 months postnatally, when I had to stop breastfeeding (again due to medication).

With dd (4 year age gap) I only had a fairly minor case of spd right at the end of the pregnancy. I am still bf her now (15 months) and although I have to be careful not to lift any heavy weights, or do something daft like charge up and down the stairs carrying a pile of washing etc I am pretty much ok and only get the occasional twinge if I've pushed myself too far.

I think the osteopathy treatments I had between ds2 and dd definitely helped to prevent a bad recurrence during dd's pregnancy. I also wear MBT shoes daily and am sure these have helped as well.

That said, I have an acquaintance who had severe spd and is under a consultant who is trying to bring it under control. She was given a course of some sort of injections (sorry, I'm not sure what they were) and I know she had an operation, but am not sure of the specifics of that either. Sorry I'm so vague on the details, but I just wanted to let you know that you can get help and they will take you seriously. If you are in that much pain you need to insist on a referral. Even the best physio in the world can't help if s/he doesn't know the extent of the problem, so you will at the very least need to have some xrays taken for them to know what they are looking at.

You have my sincerest sympathy, as it is such a horrible pain that affects everything you do.

I really hope you get some help with it soon.

So another baby wouldn't be out of the question? I was told that i would be completely crippled during the pregnancy and possibly permanently if I had another!

I think you would need to take it under advisement as spd does seem to vary from person to person.

I took a long time to decide to be brave enough to go for dc3 and decided I would only go ahead if I had done everything I could to make sure I was strong enough. As I said, the osteopath was the first step, he did a lot of work realigning my spine and pelvis, then I invested in the MBTs and gradually built up to walking to 5 miles a day at minimum of 4 days a week. (MBTs are really good for strengthening abdominal and lower back muscles as well as generally improving posture and all the muscles required for weight bearing/walking.) The walking also helped me to lose quite a bit of weight. Finally, I did what I could to strengthen my core muscles (pilates type and pelvic floor exercises).

It certainly seemed to work for me, but then I could just have been luckily. As I mentioned before, my first two were boys - dc3 was a girl so I'm not sure if that made any difference hormonally. Also dd was breech so her head never actually engaged (she was eventually turned by the consultant and was born the next morning still inside her amniotic sac!) I suppose that could possibly have helped take some of the strain off my pelvis as well.

Who told you you would be crippled if you had another pregnancy?

To be honest, if I were you I think I would push to see an Orthopaedic Consultant who can then do all the necessary xrays, scans and investigations required to both treat you and help you make an informed choice.

Levels of knowledge and sympathy regarding SPD can vary widely among GPs, Midwives and Physios, whereas an Orthopaedic Consultant would be working from test results that would give him/her the diagnostic facts as it were.

Hi sorry I am just jumping in here a bit late. Hi to everyone we are in the same boat it seems. A quick run down, I'm 31 just had DS1 via emcs 12 weeks ago, had fairly bad SPD during pg and am now recovering but it has got a bit better. I have to admit that I did not do very much during pg and was signed off sitting in the house since 24weeks.

I note things that I could not do which caused me pain:

1. get in or out of the bath
2. lift one leg up while the other takes all the weight
3. climb up stairs normally
4. turn over in bed, or lie on my side
5. walk more than maybe 30 paces

I wore a support belt which I found seemed to make me much much worse. I saw a chiro who re-aligned my hips and advised me that my pubis symphysis joint was coming out of place and overlapping at the front (grrrrooan) with audible clicks when I walk I might add. Anyway, none of it really helped as everything kept going back into the wrong place due to the hormones etc.

I dress sitting down. I still climb the stairs either with crutches or one at a time, so both feet are on the step before you move to the next one.
I never turn over in bed, as this (IMO) creates excess movement within the joints and can cause further pain when you try to do normal walking around the house stuff. Therefore I still only sleep sitting uprightish with lots of cushions at my back or laying on my back. I can now though, sit on the edge of the bed, hold my tummy muscles tight for support - ie squeeze them in, lower onto my side and then quickly but gently roll onto my back, and reverse this for getting out of bed. I know that if I try to ever sleep on my side it's far too painful. I need to limit the movements that I know will cause pain so that I will be OK enough to be a Mum.

I am still on mat leave and worry if I will be fit enough to get back to work. I don't know but it seems the more resting I do the actual better I feel and can do a bit more in the following days.

I was diagnosed with an 8 finger width abdominal separation aka abdominal diastasis. I am seeing a women's physio who is helping with this, She advised that the abdominal muscles are so weak due to large baby and csection that I have to work hard at regaining the strength and this will keep my pelvis in line too. She manipulates me gently to get my hips back in alignment and with my continued abs strength, I can actually feel a difference. I wondered if anyone else may have had a diastasis? I keep raving about this lady julie tupler and I'm going to link to another post with the website etc on it. I don't know if it helps anyone.

I am so sorry to hear everyone is still suffering, as am I. I was advised to get my strength up before contemplating becoming pregnant again or else I may end up in a wheelchair. I think the most depressing thing is that we don't have any real control over how it will get better, and the only thing to try and do is rest. Not easy in the real world.

So far I have accepted that I have limited movements but it has become a way of life to cope. I wondered if anyone who is still trying to roll over in bed etc might try to stop that for a few nights and then see how you feel during the day. It might sound crazy but I long for the day when I can actually lay on my side again without any intense pain or pressure. Hopefully as things 'settle down' it will disappear.

I am on anti-inflammatories and these seem to take the edge off the pain, however I am careful not to try and do too much when I am on them as I know they could be disguising any pain that I might feel. It's a real awkward one, which the recovery appears to be very slow.

good luck everyone, and sorry i have written a book again

links to other thread with julie tupler strenghtening exercises on:
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/general_health/956256-10-months-after-baby-stomach-is-still-massive?msgid=19538 494

Butterpie.

I went to physio today and hydrotherapy. My physio put me under a shortwave machine for 20 mins which really helps, could you try that? That said, now I've found out my hips have gone and I have no reflexes. Brill.

She's said I am going to have intense physio in the next few weeks and I'm shitting myself.

Sorry to hijack. I can't be out of action for weeks. It just can't happen as I need to care for DS.

How are you? How did your bloody useless phone consult with the MW go?

Are you feeling any better/more positive after all the fab posts you've had from the ladies above? Moosemama, domestic and indigo have all made great suggestions.

Don't give up, keep fighting for more help/care!!!!

Just spoke to the pelvic partnership- apparently I should have been treated months ago. If SPD isn't better a week after the birth, it needs treatment. They are sending me the guidelines so I can kick up a fuss if need be.

Well done you!!!!

Good luck with your baby!

Another day of being stuck in the house because I reached to answer the phone funnily. NOT FAIR, and no good for the kids.