SPD - How bad will it get?

[RosieIrene]

24 weeks and have just been diagnosed with SPD. Still mobile but have to walk very slowly and commuting to work on train/tube for an hour is difficult. Hard to roll in bed too. Saw obstetric physio who gave me belt and some exercises - any use? Parents want me to fly home to Canada and have baby there. "DH" workaholic and has no time or interest in giving any support. Didn't have SPD with DD (now 22 mnths and can't understand why I can't pick her up)Should I go?

I had very bad spd and got signed off from work from abotu 4/5 months, it was sheer agony everytime i moved.

Only you can decide to go to canada but you would have to travel in about 4 weeks and be away till the birth. Approx 16 weeks away from your dh, and your dh away from your other child for so long? Do you not think your dh wants to be there for the birth? What do YOU want to do, it isnt your parents baby, they cant decide for you. Only you can.

My sympathies, I have recently been diagnosed with this also. Went to my GP yesterday and got more effective painkillers than Paracetamol which were not touching the pain.
I have also seen the physio but don't have my belt yet. Am doing the exercises.
Would it be a more appropriate option to be signed off work rather than travel to Canada? Don't know how you would feel about being stuck at home if you are not getting much support.
Resting and techniques like the binbag on the car seat have definately helped me.
Good Luck with your decision.

rosie have you been told to sleep with a pillow between your knees as this helps.

would your parents take care of you and dd1? if they are supportive, then i would definitly say go.
i have a workaholic dh as well. completely useless, etc. spd will get worse as pregnancy progresses, how bad is anyones guess. but you will need support systems in place, especially to care for your dd.
good luck.

Family would definitely look after me and DD. Our house is currently being renovated (nightmare) and already hard to manage. Actually would be lovely to be back home. V. lonely here especially since never see workaholic DH and all family and friends back in Canada. Long time to be away though. Would have to travel in next 8 weeks. DH would not be pleased.

dh will be less pleased when you are wheelchair bound, and he has to give up work to care for you and dd.....
my friend was, and it was a nightmare till she was able to walk around again.
go back to your parents, and get some rest, and tlc.

A friend of mine had SPD, and was in a wheelchair while pregnant, and afterwards. It was only when her DS was about a year (or two?) that she got better. She found a physio program from Canada (oddly enough) and found some physios in London who were qualified to do this program.

Totally fixed it. And she recently had a second DS, and didn't have any SPD - whenever she got twinges, she started doing her exercises again, and they went.

Dunno if your physio is on the same program, but if s/he is, it's worth doing!

You have every sympathy. I have had SPD since I was 10 weeks pg and have been off work since the second week of January. I still have 10 weeks to go and mine has not got much better although in some cases as the aby moves up it does offer some relief but then in later stages as baby moves down it can come back. I walk with 2 crutches given to me by physio but I must admit the exercises and belt have not done much for me.

The pelvic partnership may be able to offer you some advice - you can find them online and they sent me a lot of literature through the post too which is helpful.

Unforntaley there is nothing else to do really you can do. It is hard with a young one too as you can't just sit with your feet up.

I think that if you and your partner are happy to be apart then accept the offer of help from your parents at least you will get a break and some time to relax which is really all you can do with SPD.

I also have co-codomol painkillers for whn it gets bad - prescribed by GP. Have you seen them yet?

My sympathy too - I had spd in with dd, didn't have it first time with ds apart from immediately after the birth - ended up hospitalise for a month before the birth as I couldn't move! Was passing out with the pain etc. If your mum and dad will really help you and DH doesn't I would be tempted to go. My mum and PILs and SIL came for a week at a time each to look after DS while I was hospitalised. I am still very grateful 4 yrs later! Hope you get some better advice from someone, or are able to try the physio NQC mentioned.

Have a friend who was on crutches with it at 5 months and in a wheelchair by the end. Fortunately she has a huge extended family who lived nearby and a lovely hubby.
Her mum is a midwife so was able to defend my friend's corner during labour, but afterwards she got no support from the staff whilst in hospital (got told to stop lying around and see to her dd- she couldn't move she was in so much pain). Childbirth actually made the spd worse because of the surge of hormones.
After hospital she went to live with her parents for 6 months to a year (can't remember exactly) so they could help out by doing practically everything for her and helping her do the maximum that she could for her dd.
Eventually she found a fantastic physio and osteopath who, together, sorted her out - but it was a long long process.
Guess what I'm saying is that if you do go to Canada you may end up staying there a lot longer than you think, and can your relationship withstand that? And what about your little girl?
If it were me I'd find a really good physio and ostepath now and see them regularly. I'd find either a doula or an independent midwife with experience of spd (friend was in a lot of pain for quite a while because she couldn't move to ease it) who could be there for labour. I'd also think seriously about engaging a maternity nurse for a month or so and I'd consider how I'd be able to do things such as put the baby in the cot or in the bath and make those preparations now. Also is there anyone you could rely on whilst pg? - where are dh's family?
Basically I'd psyche myself for the long-haul just in case.
Sorry to sound overly dramatic, but I felt desperately sorry for friend.

i had really bad SPD at beginning of preg but it now seems to have got better, i thought it was supposed to get worse - not that i'm complaining!!

I'm 31 weeks and have had spd since 25 weeks. I'm totally smpathetic as I also have to commute to work by train for an hour too. I had no joy from my GP but my midwife referred me to a physio. I'm still waiting for an appointment to come through. However, I recently discovered the power of resting when I was off work sick for a week and it really did ease the pain. Now I'm active and back at work again, the pain has returned. So, I would suggest going to Canada if if it means getting support and rest.

So sorry, this isn't what you want to hear, but im still suffering with this problem 6months after giving birth, along with the big problem of all my muscles have wasted away.
If any of you want info, CAT me.

Hi, jo, I will probably CAT you on this after the weekend. I have just figured out that this is what I had with ds. Stupid, stupid midwives kept telling that "it must just be round ligament pain". I kept telling them that I knew what that was and this was something else. I really want to do whatever I can with this pregnancy to mitigate the symptoms, if possible.

Hi, jo, I will probably CAT you on this after the weekend. I have just figured out that this is what I had with ds. Stupid, stupid midwives kept telling that "it must just be round ligament pain". I kept telling them that I knew what that was and this was something else. I really want to do whatever I can with this pregnancy to mitigate the symptoms, if possible.

Hi everyone with SPD - can I suggest that you go and see an osteopath?? This is not a serious condition and a lot can be done to relieve it!! Your skeleton is less well supported because of the hormone 'relaxin' coursing through your body until about 18 months after you stop breast feeding. Imagine that your pelvis is a circle - there are 2 joints at the back (sacro-iliac joints) and one at the front (symphysis pubis). If the two halves of the circle become twisted slightly (easy during pregnancy because of relaxin etc), then you will get pain! Either at the front or the back (in the buttocks). An osteopath can gently unravel you and then you will feel loads better. In my experience, belts don't usually help as they are too restrictive and can also dig in to the bump. Good luck

Agree totally with what Bloo said.

p.s. a good reason not to give birth lying or sitting down - your pelvis needs to expand and change shape as the baby passes down the birth canal. If you are sitting on it, it has to distort to achieve this and many people find themselves still suffering a few months down the line. This also can make labour more painful and prolonged. (ouch for Mum and baby!)