I took a day off work for my SPD and feel really guilty!

[wholovesyou]

I took yesterday off because I woke up and it literally felt like hot spikes running through my pelvis. Ive never felt like that before and could barely move (must have slept badly because my whole hand were numb, meaning my carpal tunnel had kicked in too!)

Took today off as well as I had midwife in the afternoon, so no point going in (i commute for an hour) only to come home again.

Ive now been given an emergency physio appointment tomorrow morning and plan to go in after. I can walk now quite normally as the doc gave me some advice on sleeping positions etc (which my midwife hadnt done - shes rubbish)

I called work, and when I asked my boss if everything was ok, she said 'I think so, yes'

I feel terribly guilty now for being out of the office!!! Any one else take time off for SPD?

Don't feel guilty. SPD can be soooooo debilitating. Glad you've got a physio appt. I hope its going to be with an obstetric physio, otherwise you'll get sent away with little help. My OB physio was literally my lifesaver, she'd see me at the drop of a hat and was always able to relieve my symptoms at least temporarily.

Didn't have time off as I'm SAHM but given how bad I was I would've done in the blink of an eye.

I think the guilt because it comes and goes. When Im feeling fine (I say fine, I mean 'Not in absolute immovable pain' and just managable pain!) I feel like I should have gone in.

Did you recover quickly after the birth? Im quite worried if it doesnt get seen to that I'll be one of the unlucky ones !

I have it too and had it with dd 8 its awfull isnt it?I find walking far is now impossible but dont need to do that for work so have not needed to be off yet.
However.My colleague who sits next to me is 13wks (i am 23)and comes in late every morning due to "feeling awfull" and keeps taking the p with her visits and "home working" so yeaterday i decided i will no longer be a martyr adn should my spd become very painfull as it does from time to time, i may well have a sicky as i find a rest really does calm it down for a bit. So dont feel guilty.
I dont remember getting any more than the odd twinge after the birth but it was a section. I think it varies.

wholoves yes recovered "instantly" the baby was out after first 2 DCs, mind you was very very careful not to allow my legs to be moved past a comfortable point, gave birth lying on my left side with a HCA holding my top leg parallel to the bed etc, had it all over my notes and birth plan that I had SPD, was also on crutches for DC2&3 from 34wks and 26wks resp. After DC3 it took longer, had fab water birth but then ended up with complications and in theater, legs in stirrups for over an hour which did more damage than the whole pg. At that point dr was more concerned with saving my life than not injuring my pelvis more!
I agree that getting seen to is def. the way to go. My physio did some amazing passive manipulation techniques. I also had heavy duty prescription painkillers which I used when needed, this was usually at bedtime as I found I could cope with the pain during the day but moving in bed was so bad I wasn't sleeping and then not having slept I could hardly function the following day. It was a good day when I only managed tablets at bed time. Hope yours doesn't get that bad but don't be afraid to push for help/treatment if you need it, don't get fobbed off by some of the useless HCPs out there. (apologies to all the amazing ones!)

Everyone at work seems to have had dream pregnancies. Mine is in no way a bad one, it could be far worse, but I have often had people say things like 'you are going to get the BUS 3 stops?!' or 'you are only pregnant'

Im glad you dont have yours anymore, I keep hearing horror stories! Thanks for making my dry bones feel better

Nooo, don't feel guilty!! SPD pain can be horrible, just make sure you tell your boss all the details of your suffering, i'm sure she'll be sympathetic!

I've been managing pretty well this pregnancy until last week, when I got so bad that i was limping around the office and clearly in pain. My boss took me to her room and suggested i work the rest of the week from home (and she's not normally the type to do that at all - I must have looked really pathetic!)

It will go away after pregnancy, but you must keep up the physio - it will make a real difference.

I had the last two months off with spd and carpal tunnel whenI had ds, my job is quite physical though and with responsibility for sick people.

I felt so guilty and am dreading getting it bad this time as how can I take time off work when I have to look after a toddler, I'm not quite twelve weeks yet and the twinges have already started by the end of the day I'm wiped out!

Don't feel bad SPD is awful, but so many people have never heard of it so hard for the to understand the sheer misery of not being able to walk, take stairs, roll over in bed etc without being in agony.
i have had symptoms for about 6 weeks but got so bad i self certififed off work for a week, and have now been signed off by doctor for 2 weeks which takes me up to my last day at work (when i will be 36 weeks) i do feel guilty also, but as Dr said, work is not what matters now, your health and and your baby are.
if you need time off take it!
good luck, hope your physio helps

I am 33 weeks and have just been signed off for the rest of the pregnancy with SPD/PGP. I have been in crutches for over five weeks and struggled into work on public transport for three weeks before the midwife gave me a stern talking to. I agreed to be signed off for two weeks for a rest and have just agreed (with some arm twisting) that i should be at home till the birth now.
I felt and still feel really guilty about not being in work, but over the last few days I have realised that work goes on without me, no matter how much that hurts my Ego .
What would not go on without me if I end up in a wheel chair or in hospital is my family life. I have a three year old daughter who I can now spend some time with in an evening. When I was at work I was so tired and in so much pain that I came home and went straight to bed. I was getting on a train and walking for half an hour each way to get to work. My hands were covered in blisters, i was dizzy, but I still had to try and beg work for a car park space so I could do my contracted hours.
My health, the babies health and my families health come first.
What I am trying to say (rather long windedly) is that work is way down the list, you look after yourself. Get to physio and utilise everything that they offer you. I have had physio since 12 weeks, special insoles and much welcomed moral support. They even sent me to the "fanny physio" to help improve my pelvic muscles. I know people slag off the NHS but they have been my saviours.

STOP FEELING GUILTY NOW!

If people realised how painful it is then they would not make comments.

I second everything swissmiss says - drugs are not the devil's work, they are wonderful.

Mine was so much improved after the birth that I walked (without crutches) and had my first bath in months as soon as they finished stitching me up again.

Please don't be a martyr in any way, shape or form. If you need time off then take it. If you need help demand it - you are very unlikely to get a lot unless you shout for it. And make sure it's on your notes. On every page if necessary!

Do not feel guilty! My midwife suggested that I give up work at 26 weeks and I ignored her and worked until 34 weeks, by which time I was in a wheelchair and in massive pain.

If you need a day off, then take one. Ignore the comments too, as hard as it is. I am pregnant with DC2 and have been on crutches since 14 weeks. I'm now a SAHM (couldn't bear to go back after DD born) and basically sit on my arse or lie in bed all day. I don't do housework, I don't go for long healthy walks. I take DD to and from school in the car and rest as much as possible. If anyone has a problem with that they can get stuffed.

As you can see - my attitude has changed between pregnancies. :)

suffering with SPD at the moment - feels much worse directly after physio, but much much better the next day. can definately recommend sitting down and resting if the pain is too bad. do tell people that you are in pain, i have been putting a brave face on it at work so when i had a particularly bad day this week and was shuffling round the office grimacing people thought i was dying!
(however it did result in me getting a parking space near the front entrance so worth it in the end!)

washing i was always the same felt worse immediately after but range of movement improved and significantly less pain the following day.

button thanks, think that's one of the first times someone's agreed with me on mn :o. maybe i need to quote "drugs are not the devil's work, they are wonderful" to dh who cracked a rib yesterday and before he left this am asked for some ibuprofen! I told him I'd put co-dydramol (left over from last pg!) in his jacket as imho ibuprofen won't cut it for that kind of injury.

Girls how does it work if you get signed off? Do you have to take your maternty leave early.Physion today and it is mostly preventative stuff and she gave me tube grip to hold my hips still. I have had a far more comfy week as i havent walked far which really helps.

ledkr copied from www.direct.gov.uk/en/Parents/Moneyandworkentitlements/WorkAndFamilies/Pregnancyandmaternityrights/DG_10026556
Pregnancy-related illness
If you are off work for a pregnancy-related illness during the four weeks before your baby is due, your maternity leave and Statutory Maternity Pay (from your employer) or Maternity Allowance (from Jobcentre Plus) will start automatically, no matter what you had agreed with your employer.

gosh,only 4 wks. I thought it was from 28 wks.Does that mean if my spd becomes too painfull i can get signed off as long as its not before 26 wks?
Im not a shirrker but my office is moving in november and the neasest parking is miles away we went to have alook yesterday adn its about a 2 mile walk. The only way i can control my spd is to not walk far.
Thanks for the link.

ledkr from what i understand you can choose to start your mat. leave from 11wks prior, with notifying your employer accordingly. It's if you are off with a pg related sickness in the 4 wks prior to due date that your mat leave would automatically start. But if for example during the last 4 wks you were off for a few days with the 'flu i.e. non pg related, you would go back to work as "normal". If you were to get signed off at say 34wks with SPD the first 2 wks would come under your employers normal sick policy and then from 36wks mat leave would kick in. It's probably worth checking with your HR dept though!

if you say to your boss that your pelvis has separated, then it'll maybe sound a bit better/more clear.

Also, you are WELL within your rights to be off sick with a pg related thing, and your boss is not allowed to discriminate against you.

I work from home, so have had less bother with pains/illness this time. but with my DS, I took the last 4 weeks off with SPD. I just couldnt get to work with the pain.

This time, my SPD was at its worst at around 25 weeks, but oddly has got better (33 weeks now). Fingers crossed it doesnt come back. One reason is sleeping with a pillow between my knees. I sleep on my left, with a wedge pillow under the bump, and a pillow running from my knees down to my ankles, if you see what I mean. It really has made a difference.

Doc has arranged one to one physio for me on wednesday, and oddly since I took everyones advice and started sleeping with the pillow between my legs it feels SO much better. No entirely gone of course but definately much better.

I think I might start driving to work towards the end too. I honestly cant face the tube and its only 40 minutes.

Thanks all, for making me feel less lame about this.

wholoves hope you have a good appt tomorrow. don't be afraid to ask if he/she has experience with obstetric physio and if not ask for a appt with the "right" physio. It they send you away saying here's a tubigrip and that's all we can do they haven't a clue. My physio use passive manipulation techniques which worked wonders. She was fully prepared to adapt the treatment to me rather than the other way round e.g. one "move" would normally be done with patient lying on their front but being pg I couldn't so she found a way for the same thing to be done whilst I lay on my side.

As for support - tubigrip worked well to start with, doubled and then later tripled over for more support. I progressed to a Fembrace - still stretchy but stiffer than tubigrip and there after a fixed belt - which literally strapped my plevis in place and did not give at all. Fine until you try to sit down! Plus the obligatory crutches. I just wish with DC2 I'd gone down the preventative route and asked for the crutches much much sooner as with DC3 I got them early and was way better off as I was able to minimise the weight through my pelvis