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Pregnancy

Talk about every stage of pregnancy, from early symptoms to preparing for birth.

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Original poster

pain in my hips and upper legs when I sleep!??...

17 replies

redd82 · 03/09/2010 17:29

Hi there. I'm 24+3 and just developed my obvious bump.
Up until this week I have been a bit naughty and been sleeping on my back. I have had no problems.
But this week I have started to sleep on my sides as my weight is creeping up.
The thing is I am now waking up through the night with pains in my hip and upper leg on which ever side I sleep on. It's quite a painful ache.
I am using a maternity pillow inbetween my legs but I am finding that because I'm sore, I'm subconsciously going back to sleeping on my back.
Does this sound familiar with anyone or has any one got any suggestions?!
Thanks

OP posts:

MrsBadger · 03/09/2010 17:44

if you;re still comfy on your back stick with it

try a normal pillow between your knees

lucybrad · 03/09/2010 17:57

yes I have this and its really painful. It wakes me up all the time. I am sleeping with a pillow beween the legs but this is different, like a pressure ache? Hope someone comes back with some advice!

dublinmom · 03/09/2010 18:11

Take a spare duvet and put it between the mattress and your fitted sheet. Makes the bed more pillowy and comfy.

It won't help entirely (esp by the end) but will be a bit better.

IlooklikeGrotbagstoday · 03/09/2010 18:15

I mentioned to my midwife that i was experiencing this sort of pain at night and she has referred me to a physio. Mention it to your midwife, there may be something they can suggest that might help.

excitedmummy2be · 03/09/2010 18:31

Im 31+4 and been suffering with this for weeks. The pillow between my knees has not helped at all...but like dublinmom suggests, I heard about the duvet a few days ago and its made a massive differance. I got the double duvet from our spare bed, folded it in half, i just put it on top of my mattress and sleep on that. I then use a large pillow to prop my feet up on. Its been wonderful! Ive actually got some sleep and dont now wake up every hour in agony with my hips! Try it!

MamaFlump2be · 03/09/2010 19:08

Join the club hun, can totally sympathise with you. Im 30+4 weeks and had the same trouble for about 2 weeks now. I have a memory foam mattress topper on top of the normal mattress, then a winter duvet folded in half, soooo much better just need a step ladder to get on the bed I have to shove pillows in my back too to remind myself not to sleep on my back. The other ladies have made great suggestions. Try everything!

lucybrad · 03/09/2010 19:51

i will be trying the duvet thing tonight!

justanuthermanicmumsday · 03/09/2010 20:46

i really thght the folded duvet was a unique idea i had...clearly not lol. it does help a lot. my midwife thght i was weird when i mentioned i had a folded duvet under me, i wonder why?

Vistana · 04/09/2010 22:01

I've been getting the same thing. I vary my sleep postitions from being on my back with legs raised to laying on my side with my lower leg straight and two thick pillows next to me which I put my top leg on which seems to keep my hips and legs in a good postition. Then also a small pillow under my bump.
Hope it makes sense :)

ziptoes · 04/09/2010 22:19

Do the duvet thing, it's great. You might need a bigger sheet to get all the way across your bed if you fold a thick double duvet up though.

You could also try a pillow under the bump? I have a cushion in a pillowcase for between my legs as it's easier to turn over at night.

Hope it helps.

InvaderZim · 05/09/2010 22:14

I had horrible hip pain until I did the following: pillow under bump, pillow under thigh, leaving a hollow for my hip joint so it wasn't the main pressure point!

saoirse86 · 05/09/2010 22:35

I've also had these problems. I've now perfected it all for myself. I have 2 pillows under my head, one very thin pillow under my torso (similar feeling to the folded duvet thing I think), then maternity pillow between my legs. I tend to sleep kind of on my front in a bit of a recovery position. Then I also have a pillow behind me so if I turn over in the night, I don't just roll straight onto my back.
This all means it's an ordeal getting into bed and my OH and I can't really get near each other but it's all fine.
I even find I often get out of the shower in the morning and find my OH lying in amongst my pillows so it must be fairly comfy!

narmada · 05/09/2010 22:44

ohhhh, I have had this too, in both my pregnancies. In this second pregnancy, I have been to see physio and she has said it is likely to be a form of sciatica whereby a muscle in your bum (very close to hip, called the piriformis muscle) gets either irritated and inflamed, or goes into spasm, and squeezes your sciatic nerve. Her advice, which has helped me some, is - ice the affected area with bags of frozen peas on a fairly regular basis. It is the only thing I've found which even remotely helps. I've tried the mattress topper, and any number of strategically placed cushions or duvets, but to no avail....

Alternatively, it could be something called trochanteric bursitis (which causes pain in legs when lying on hips, and other symptoms). Your doctor could check for that ....

1Catherine1 · 05/09/2010 23:11

I told my physio that I prefer to sleep on my back and was concerned about trying to sleep on my side because I always end up on my back before the morning comes. She told me that the incline you have to sleep on is as small as 15 degrees and its ok. So if you put a pillow just under one side of your back so you are not quite flat then you can carry on sleeping almost how you usually do and its perfectly safe.

jennimoo · 06/09/2010 02:22

I'm wide awake with this problem right now, and have suffered from about 20 weeks. I get it normally but it seems to be getting worse and worse as the weeks go by. I would normally take ibuprofen for it but of course that is not a possibility!

I found early on that a couple of folded over double duvets ( mamaflump2be - agree on the step ladder, I feel like im in the princess and the pea!) and a long pillow and leaning forward on to them as I slept helped quite a lot, but don't seem to help much now.

I am going to have another try with more pillows tomorrow I think, but thankfully only one month til baby is due so I guess it will ease after she arrives!

Sarahlou8 · 06/09/2010 09:17

I had this on holiday because I had to sleep on a rock hard greek mattress, two weeks of agonising hip and back pain, but as soon as we returned to my normal 'memory foam' mattress, all pain has gone and I'm now 33 weeks.
I would definitely try a layer of extra duvet and extra pillows for now, which is what I tried to do on holiday.

Hope it works for you, nothing worse than not being able to sleep!

WalkTheDog · 07/09/2010 15:24

LOL...I've been getting this for the last week, and I completely forgot about the duvet under sheet thing - I'm a physio (not been working for last 6 months after moving home) and used to tell people this all the time!

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