Please help, I'm in pain

[OppositeOfBlooming]

I don't really know where to start. I have mild sciatica when pregnant which seemed to have start up again around 18/19 weeks. I can manage it and have some exercises to keep it at bay. But in the last couple of weeks it's started radiating from my bum round to the from of my hips and into my groin.

I'm fine in a morning. I wake up with no aches and pains at all. By lunchtime I wince every time I go from sitting to standing and then by evening my entire hip seems to seize up and I have pain shooting through it and down my thigh/legs. Sometimes I go to walk and my leg just doesn't work. It's fine again by the next morning and a good night's sleep. It's only on the right side though, no pain at all on the left side.

I did wonder about pgp and spd but from reading the archives/googling I'm not convinced that it's this. Doesn't hurt at night. Moving around seems to help rather than exacerbate it. Can sciatica radiate through the hip to the front and down into your groin?

The other problem is sex. With various coughs/colds and dh working nights we've had sex 3 times between my 18 weeks appointment and today (22 weeks). Sex itself is fine, no pain or anything. But within half an hour I start getting an awful ache in my hips and it culminates in a burning feeling in the pubic bone, really low down and then numb shooty feelings down my legs. Walking is bloody agony but if I sit down it goes entirely. And it's fine the next day again.

What fresh hell is this? I've got an appointment with the midwife on Thurs so will ask for a physio referral but what the heck is it? The ache after sex is completely different to the daily ache that worsens by the evening and then wears off overnight. Suppose it could be two separate things.

Any ideas what it might be and what I can do between now and Thurs. And can I take anything that works better than paracetamol?

Could it be SPD?

Maybe where the joins in the pelvis become looser and slightly come apart during pregnancy?

I've heard it's extremely debilitating.

Hi, sorry to hear you're having such a hard time. I don't have any experience of what you're going through but re treatment I was wondering if you'd tried non-medicinal pain relief such as deep heat gels, hot water bottles, warm baths etc? It may be that MW is able to advise you of other drugs you can take but I think generally they only advise paracetamol. Really hope you feel better soon and MW is able to offer some help on Thurs.

As I said in my op, I don't think it is spd. It's presenting differently. I have no problems at night, moving around in bed is fine, am completely pain free in a morning. It feels more nerve related (like the sciatica) and it does radiate round from my bottom and then into my hips/groin/thighs but I've never had sciatica do this before, it usually just goes straight down my legs (which it still does, but goes round through my hips too).

The pain after sex though is not nerve pain. It's my pubic bone/pelvis that hurt. And it goes again if I rest but I'm obviously doing something by having sex that I'm not aware of at the time.

Thanks Chessy. I'm reluctant to use heat packs because the pain atm is at the front (we had sex this morning) and I don't think heat near the baby is advisable. Warm baths work brilliantly though but I can't very well live in the bath. Or I suppose I could. I'd need a maid.

Hope I don't send you off on a wild goose chase but this sounds quite like what I went through with my first two pregnancies. I put it down to sciatica. Like you sleep seemed to help but as the day went on it got unbearable, especially if I had to do anything during the day where I was moving, bending a bit. I would be crying trying to get up from the sofa in the evening. I went to see a physio after as my back never felt quite right. She found I had a 'twisted sacrum'. Thats a bone across the bottom of your back which should be flat and straight across but mine was slightly tilted and went in a bit on one side. She literally pushed it bck into place. My third pregnancy was pain free and I am sure it was because of this. Hope you feel better soon.

"The pain is often one-sided and may be concentrated in your buttocks (Sturesson et al 1997). It may appear to jump from side to side or be accompanied by a general back pain or pain at the front of your pelvis.

It can send shooting pains into your buttocks or down the back of your legs. You may also have pain in your hips. One or both of your legs may feel very weak and you may not be able to lift your legs, particularly when lying down"

Pelvic girdle pain apparently. It might be this I think. Same link says that what is often diagnosed as sciatica is actually pgp and it's worse in an evening. Definitely true.

sandycat, that sounds similar too. Getting off the sofa is bloody painful in an evening. I can't do it without help atm.

I saw a physio when pg with dd and she found two problems. Classic sciatica (I get it when not pg so already sort of knew) which she sorted with a support belt and exercises and and a pain slightly higher up which was due to something being displaced. She also pushed it back and the pain went immediately. it wasn't the sacrum though.

Hopefully your midwife will get you in quickly. My physio said pregnant women in a lot of pain get seen quite quickly, I hope this is the case for you. I know its misery being in that much pain and having other children to look after.

I'm quite grateful that our local hospital has a dedicated women's health physiotherapy department and one physio who sees only pregnant women. So they should at least know what they're doing. Certainly seemed to last time and they saw me within days of a request. I might actually ring Monday morning and see if they have a self-referral system. They do for some stuff so I might be lucky.

I have had the exact pain you have had after sex! This is prob too much information but it's the sort of pain that pre pregnancy would only be bought about by a weekend rompathon but now 10 minutes can do it lol!

In my last pregnancy was told I have a low pubic arch, don't know if this bears any relevance.

Anyways it doesn't seem to do any harm not that that helps you much.
The sciatica type pains sounds grotty for you though, hope you can get some relief soon xx

Sadly, you're right. 12yrs ago when we only saw each other at weekends, dh and I could induce such a pain by Sunday evening but it was hard work.

Now it takes a few minutes of 'watch the bump' and 'hang on, the baby's on my bladder' and it's replicated exactly. I sort of feel young again. Except old. Very old

The midwife refused a physio referral and told me to do a few exercises and to buy a maternity pillow to improve my sleeping position. She recommended something called a dream genii. I did point out I can't afford one but she won't budge. She says if it still hurts in 6 weeks she'll refer me.

That is ridiculous, go see your GP see if you can get referred to physio from there. I went to physio at 24 weeks and the crutches I was given have been a god send. I had referral from GP as midwife appointment was too far away to wait.

I might try the GP. Appointments are like gold dust though.

The midwife is brilliant to her credit but isn't convinced that at 23 weeks I can be suffering that badly. She was very surprised how active the baby was. He properly kicked her sonicaid off my stomach and then twisted himself from head down to breech to get away from her ministrations. I did point out that he's doing that amount of bouncing on my hips but she said to give it 6 weeks.

I don't have the same kind of pain as you, but have had a lot of back ache. I went to see a chiropractor last week and it was AMAZING!!! It was quite pricey, so I wonder if it's something you could be referred for rather than paying for privately? In terms of pillows, I went to buy a dream genie, balked at the price and have persevered with normal pillows since. I find that one under my bump, one between my legs and one wedged behind me (or DP spooning) keeps me in the best position.

As for the sex, I'm amazed you've managed it that often! I've pretty much given up

mc timoty chiropracters are very good xx

I can't realistically afford to see a chiropractor sadly. I might give up sex too.

Foolishly, I though some light exercise might help. I thought wrong. Would somebody be so good as to pick up my left hand and smack me with it? I hurt.

I know what you mean oppositeofblooming I cant afford one but just cut back on other things cause feel my health worth investing in but I heard that of alot of people its cause its hard to justifiy when there seems to be better things to spend money on bills food etc.