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Original poster

Do I have SPD?

8 replies

SourSweets · 10/03/2013 14:08

Hi all,

Happy Mother's Day to all you mums and mums to be, first and foremost! Hope you're being made a fuss of.

I wanted some advice from people who have first hand experience as I don't know what's normal and what's not.

Today I've had to come home from work early as I was in tears with the pain in my lower back, hips and pelvic area. I do a job where I have to stand for long periods of time so for the last month or so I've been thinking my back pain was purely down to that, but today I was in so much pain I thought I was going to pass out or throw up. The pain shoots down my legs and through my groin too. My baby is fine, thank goodness, he has been moving around and is totally unaffected.

I've spoken to triage who say it could either be SPD or siatica, I've never had either before so I don't know what's a normal level of pain and what's not. I have been lying down for the past hour and the pain has not gone, but is a bit better. Also, I am 18 + 4 which the triage nurse says is a little early for SPD.

Does anyone recognise these symptoms as SPD, siatica or or just general pregnancy aches? Is there anything I can do to stop it progressing?

Thank you in advance, I don't know what is do without mumsnet- I ask you ladies everything!

X

OP posts:
Msbluesky32 · 10/03/2013 15:47

I started getting SPD at the end of my first trimester, so it's not too early. My symptoms were pain in my pelvis and clicking noises when I got up from a chair, pain flexing my legs open (like when you rest a leg on another leg to put a shoe on). I didn't have any pain down my legs though - that sounds a bit more like sciatica. I would go and get checked out by your GP and/or MW ASAP. They should refer you to a physio for an assessment. It's better to get it checked out ASAP so that you can be offered help and if you catch it quickly enough you can reall reduce the pain to almost nothing.
Sorry you are in so much pain. I found walking or standing for long periods really aggregated my pain - so try and rest as much as you can until you can get assessed.

ASmidgeofMidge · 10/03/2013 16:00

Agree it sounds more like sciatica... Hope you feel better soon

MistyKnight · 10/03/2013 17:45

Sciatica can be a symptom of PGP where the sacro-illiac joint is irritated instead of the pubic bone. I know because I have it! I am 20 weeks and have had it since week 11 and it has got gradually worse. Get referred for some physio, get a pregnancy support belt and take it steady. Overdoing things makes it worse!

beckie90 · 10/03/2013 17:52

Pains down legs can also be a sign of spd/pgp, I had spd with ds2 and got terrible pain down the legs with the nerves. And have spd this pregnancy too occasionaly with it shooting down my legs. if your achey in the pelvic/lower back and groin area aswell as clicking noises coming from the hips then its most likely to be spd. If its just shooting pain now and again maybe sciatica x

Skygirls · 10/03/2013 18:13

I had spd with all 3 of my pregnancies. The first one, like you, I didn't know what the pain was- excruciating to walk but once I found out, was referred to Physio and an osteopath, which helped to make the pain manageable.
In pg 2&3, as soon as I found out I was pg, I went straight to Physio for treatment and for the whole 9 months I was relatively pain free.
Spd for me was pain in the front of the pelvis.

I'm currently being treated for sciatica after the birth of dc#3, and that has shooting pains down the leg.
Physio has told me you can have both at the same time as its all to do with muscles around the sacral iliac joint doing the work that the ligaments in pregnancy relaxed state are not doing efficiently. Hence they spasm/ tighten up and squeeze the nerve.

I'd go for an assessment with a Physio and then get treatment. It will help immensely if that is what you have.

All the best

WestieMamma · 10/03/2013 18:27

I started getting SPD pain from around 8 weeks, although compared to now (31 weeks) it was fairly mild. The most helpful thing I've found is to sleep with a cushion between my knees so my hips don't twist. If the cushion falls out during the night I really suffer the next day.

Original poster
SourSweets · 10/03/2013 21:13

Thanks all for your comments and advice, I'll book an appointment with the GP tomorrow and see what they say. I've had no clicking noises in my hips, have rested all day but my back is still quite painful. Hopefully it's nothing more than me being a wimp as its not so painful I can't walk. Thank you again for advice, talking to doctors is good but sometimes you need to hear real experience from other women to see what symptoms match and what don't. Thank you!

OP posts:
Original poster
SourSweets · 11/03/2013 21:10

Just thought I'd finish the thread in case it comes up in anyone's google search. Turns out I do have SPD. Been referred to a physio on the NHS which is supposed to help a lot, and currently researching pelvic support bands which I've also heard good things about. Fingers crossed!

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