Postnatal SPD.. Help??

[Aahleigh1989]

My daughter is 5 weeks old this weekend. from 12ish weeks I started with back ache and painful feet, by 16 weeks I could barely walk and was on crutches. Finally at 32 weeks I was diagnosed with severe spd and plantar fasciitis. I was told it would go after I had my baby. It is a lot better since, I can now bath myself, get myself up the stairs etc, though it takes longer than it used too!! I still struggle massively day to day, I can't walk far, it hurts my hips and back to sit up or lie down but hurts my feet to stand up.. I struggle to feed my daughter comfortably or change her nappy. I have to sit in the bath for hours a day to try and relieve some of the pain. I can't play with my step son (4, I am his full time carer) so it must be hard for him and he obviously doesn't understand. I am tired and in pain constantly so I can be quite snappy with him if he plays up :( I don't think I am suffering from post natal depression but I do feel useless and like I'm a burden to my family because I can't do things for myself. My partner has had to take extended leave from work as I can't look after the children properly alone. When my daughter was a week old my legs gave in at the top of the stairs and I fell from top to bottom with her in my arms, luckily she was ok, I was head to toe in bruises and am now terrified to carry her near stairs, I can't even sit to go down as it hurts too much. I have no idea how I will cope when my partner goes back to work, I have no idea how I will get my little boy to and from school as I don't drive. I have been refered for physio but it never helped when pregnant so I'm not sure if it will now. I have been prescribed tramadol, disclofenac, dihodrocodine and amitryptaline and none of them even put a dint in the pain. I'm not even sure it's worth taking them. When I was in labour I was on diamorphine, gas and air and had epidural all at the same time to the point I couldn't feel contractions but I could still feel agonising pain from the spd, I'm thinking if that didn't make a difference why would anything else work? I just need this to stop, I feel like a useless mother and partner. I don't want to be a burden to my family any more :(

What I would like to know is how long will this last? What can I do to relieve the pain and is there any support I could get??

I'm sorry about the long post, it probably doesn't make sense, I'm just so worn out and desperate for help I can't make sense of anything lol

Thanks in advance x

Poor you Aaleigh, having a newborn is challenging enough without all of this! I'm no longer in the UK, but used to work in the NHS and Private practice until a couple of years ago. All I can recommend to you is to speak up, and don't give up. Don't try and minimise or be brave in front of your doctor, just be honest. And be sure to mention not just pain, but practical implications - unable to care for children carries a lot of weight on the urgency front. Also, do go to physio again, you have many more options for treatment now that you're no longer pregnant. As the post pregnancy hormones settle, your SPD will begin to improve. There is always a chance that you may need an X-ray to see if your symphysis pubis is significantly disrupted.

As I said earlier, it's a hard enough time of life. But there really is a distant light, neither of these conditions are for life, there is hope. Keep going back, insisting you need help. Try everying.

I've been refered for physio but they have said it will be 10 weeks minimum before I get seen I had a row with my partner today, which is bound to happen as I'm so tired and in so much pain, I decided to get out the house and I literally got to the next block and my hip gave in, I nearly fell and had to call him to come get me.. I can't even take my self away properly!! I am now in absolute agony, my knees are hurting too!! I am so down at the minute, I'm really struggling to cope and everyone is just gonna think it's hormones and when I say I'm struggling they think it's with the baby and it's not, it's the pain

Private physio. Support belt ( I am still wearing mine at 10 weeks pp). Good book on exercises. Mostly the private physio. Best £40 EVER and appt within the week! Can take 12-16 weeks for hormone levels to drop enough to make a real difference. Also watch out for random dislocations if you are normally at all hypermobile.

It feels like my pelvis dislocates for a moment sometimes when I'm walking, it hurts loads after.. Should I get it checked out? I never mentioned to the dr.. And thank you for the replies xx

If it pops back in then they won't be interested. The pain is from your pelvis being misaligned and putting stress on your ligaments. Some exercises I was shown that help (depends how it has moved out as to which helps most!). You are supposed to do them many times a day at first, then whenever the pain starts to return.

1. Stand with one hand on the back of a chair for balance. Lift one knee up towards your chest, then the other. They should both 'snap' up easily. If one is harder to lift than the other, lie flat on your back on the floor. Lift the knee of the problem leg (so foot still on the floor to make a triangle shape with your leg). Put both hands under the knee of the problem leg and pull it up towards your chest/head. Give it a few good long tugs.
2. Sit on the floor with both legs stretched out in front of you, feet nearly touching. Use your seat bones to 'walk' forwards, then backwards a few steps. Basically you shuffle fowards one leg at a time by lifting each leg in turn from your bottom/hip.
3. Sit down with your legs out as wide as is comfortable, making a v shape. Stretch out with both hands as far as you can go towards your left foot, then the same towards your right foot. A pulling sensation is Ok, pain is not so be careful how far you stretch.
4. This one you have to be really careful with. Lie on your back on a hard surface, knees in the air, feet flat on the floor. Turn your feet so the soles are touching. Then let your knees drop apart as far as they are happy to go. No forcing it, no pain. Then rock your hips back towards you a few times by squeezing the muscles under your bottom. Knees back together and repeat. You should have a bigger range of movement the second time.

It also helps your general comfort if you can get someone to massage your leg muscles too. They can get very tight from trying to support your hips.

Private Physio. Mine is working wonders (still having problems 2 years from last pg sorry ). Even if it's just a couple of sessions to get some things in place.
Write it all down for GP so you don't forget.
5 weeks is still early so hopefully the hormone part will settle and the ligaments will too.

Did you have joint problems before? I did hence it being enhanced.

Oh and I totally understand the pain/depression thing. No tips though sorry , just sympathy!

DD is 3.6 and j am still suffering.
Physio does help. Make sure you get an appt. nothing much will change while the hormones are still there. So if you are breastfeeding take this into account.
Yes yes to previous poster. Be careful of random dislocations due to hypermobility. I dislocated my hip and it was weeks before I realised it had happend because I was in so much pain anyway it didn't make that much difference.
Keep on at the doctors. They will find painkillers that work for you. You have to keep nagging them. I take cocodomol and pure codine now. It still hurts but it is manageable.

Did you have a mini faint or was it loss of strength when you fell down the stairs?

I'm still suffering from my last pregnancy, DS2 was 18 on Christmas Eve! I was in a wheelchair for the majority of my pregnancy.

You need to stop pushing yourself. If you can't walk, you can't walk. A 4yo will understand, my then 2yo did. You will have to explain, mummy can't get down on the the floor to play, so maybe play at the table, do puzzles, read etc. They do get it.

I know how hard it is to be on your own, not being able to walk safely etc, my DH is Forces, he went away when DS2 was 16 days old. I had to call in every favour going for those 2 weeks. DS1 and I didn't eat particularly well, but we were fed.

I would see an osteopath. I saw one, who was excellent, but by the time ai saw him DS2 was 7, my pelvis was too mobile, wouldn't stay in place and kept popping out Everytime he re-aligned it. It wasn't particularly cheap, but I think he could have saved me a lot of agony and frustration over the years.

Please, please try prevention before anything else. Don't google or look up surgery, it will scare you and it's not a magic cure. I have had 5 major surgeries on my pelvis, and each one has left me worse off than the last.

I'm a member of a couple of support groups on Fb, if you PM me, I'll get you the names of them if you'd like.

I've Pmd you too fairy hope that's ok.