I can't believe I just burst into tears but it hurts so much:(

[K8eee]

I'm 40+4 weeks with baby number 1. have ben suffering with back and pelvic pain since 20 odd week mark but a few handful of times its had me in tears. just now I cried getting off the sofa to get myself into bed dh bless him didn't know what to do with me a suggested carrying me up the stairs (no chance with this heffalump!) i've mentioned it to my mw but they don't think it's spd or pgp as I can open my legs pretty easily when I lay down but walking puts me in agony if I don't sit down regularly. has it been over looked and is it when I'm suffering from?

Oh also, it's tending to be more in my left hip and down my leg now I have laid down

Oh you poor thing, I remember the discomfort and the waiting all too well. Sounds very painful and of course you are full of hormones which I imagine is why you burst into tears.

Can DH help by propping you into a more comfy position with pillows? Have you taken any paracetamol?

I'd bet you will go into labour very very soon and all this will be a distant memory once you're holding your beautiful baby in your arms

I had bad SPD and was on crutches from quite early on. Opening my legs wasn't a problem for me, but walking was. So it sounds to me like you do have it and should have been referred for physio. The good news is it is nearly over, it tends to make birth quicker and for most people it goes away after birth. What sort of birth are you hoping for?

Could it be siatica? my mum gets it lower back and left leg. just a thought...

Try lying with a pillow between your knees.

bigarea funnily enough laying flat isn't so bad. I do wake up pretty stiff though but I think that's the weight of the baby pressing on my spine. I have taken paracetamol purely because I'm on iron tablets and am constipated enough with those and painkillers tend to slow my digestion and bowels down too. I'm laying in bed with a hot water bottle nestled in my lower back which is soothing it slightly.

soloman any ideas as to how it makes labour/birth quicker? my mw doesn't seem at all bothered about referring me. wether it's because I haven't caused that much of a fuss I don't know but I've already said to dh, if I'm still achey after having this baby I'm definitely going to consider going to a chiropractor. I'm constantly cracking and my joints seize up i'm hoping for a water birth. I'm not booked in specifically for that, but if I could that's what I'd opt for initially. I have tried sleeping with a pillow between my legs but it doesn't seem to ease it that much as I stiffen up in that position

mummytobe is this what sciatica sounds like? I haven't known anyone who has had it to ask

I don't know a great deal abt it but I know she struggles with it now and again and it radiates to her left leg. nhs site has this:Sciatic pain can range from being mild to very painful and may last just a few days or for months. If it lasts for more than six weeks, it is considered to be persistent (chronic) sciatica.

Sciatica is different to generalback pain. The pain of sciatica hardly affects the back at all butradiates out from the lower back, down the buttocks and into one or both of the legs, right down to the calf.

The painoften gets worse over time andmay also be made worse by:

sneezing, coughing or laughing (impulse pain)standing or sitting for a long period of timebending backwardsOther symptoms
If you have sciatica, you may also experience the following symptoms around your legs and feet:
numbnessloss of tendon reflexes

midwife might know about this maybe?

Have you been referred to a physiotherapist? My doctor was willing to dismiss my pain as just a pregnancy niggle. I asked to be referred and the physiotherapist said I have Sacroiliac Joint Dysfunction, hence what I was doing to control it wasn't working.

You poor thing. I cried my eyes out because of restless legs the other night- you're entitled to have right wail about the pain you're in! I had sciatica a few years ago and found it crippling (pain coming from across lower back and down my leg). A couple of physiotherapy sessions and losing a bit of weight helped enormously. If you have sciatica it may well disappear with the birth when your abdominal muscles no longer have to bear so much weight. xxx

Re iron tablets, they made me feel crappy. Have you seen spatone? I got it in boots & didn't have the horrid side effects of ferrous sulphate. I was also told to eat dried apricots as they have iron, vit c (to help it be absorbed) & fibre to ungunge your bowels. Just thought sorting that might make you feel a tiny but better/enable you to have some paracetamol.

Oh, & being 40 + 4 is enough of an excuse to cry any time you like, without even being in horrid pain.

You have got pelvic girdle pain, it doesn't have to affect the front of your pelvis to qualify. Physiotherapists are quite good at getting to the bottom of it, but if it takes too long to get referred, try an osteopath privately. There is a webresource called 'pelvic partnership' which is pretty thorough so have a good browse for some tips and answers.

And try to ignore the bad advise given by various professionals. I have never had PGP but have completely changed how I advise women on aches and pains as a midwife, it makes my blood boil when everything gets dismissed under the pretext of 'you're pregnant, everybody is in lots of pain all the time, get onwith it'. I realise now how stupid and patronising such advise is....

K8ee I'd suggest your midwife has no idea what she is talking about! It sounds like you DO have PGP (same thing as SPD btw). Your symptoms are exactly the same as mine and I've had it since the 17week mark.

She really ought to have referred you to a physio earlier

I'm 37 weeks now and unfortunately because the baby is dropping into my pelvis the pain has generally become a LOT worse. There isn't a lot my physio can do about it at this stage so we just have to wait until the baby comes but I'm on the books until 6 weeks after birth so if there are any post natal problems they can look into sorting that out.

Heat definitely helps and the main thing that is allowing me to sleep as night is getting DH to massage my lower back, hips and down the back of my thighs (my physio used to do this on a weekly basis). Is yours able to do this for you? If not can you book yourself in for a massage? It really makes the difference between me sleeping solidly for 2 hours at a time or having to wake up and walk around every 45min to ease the pain/stiffness. Sleeping with a pillow between your knees helps keep your pelvis/hips in line so persist with it even if it feels uncomfortable.

They say PGP can make birth easier because in theory your joints are looser so it is easier for the baby to come out. But I don't think any serious medical studies have been done on this and the information is purely anecdotal.

Even although you are able to open your knees quite wide you should still make your midwife aware of your pain during labour because you don't want to overextend the joints!

Water births (or just being in a birthing pool) is said to help PGP sufferers a lot because it helps take the weight off the pelvis/hips so I'd ask for one if I were you - hope you don't have too much longer to go!

There is lots of helpful information on it here

Does your hospital allow you to self refer for physio? Ours has a drop in service a couple of times a week where you just turn up without an appointment. I think you only get a short assessment/intervention but it gets you in the system if you need more appointments. Might be worth ringing maternity reception to ask?

I'd say I've had this on and off since the middle of my second trimester. I remember a couple of times now I've burst into tears and dh has looked like a rabbit in headlights as he has had no idea what to do bless him but now it all makes sense why I have been in pain. my mw tbh has been pretty useless all the way through. I know they have a lot of ladies to see, but surely listening to a woman who hasn't ever carried a child or gone through being pregnant isn't too much to ask is it?

Well last night I didn't sleep all that bad, but I am still getting this constant dull ache all down my left leg. I mentioned it to her at my last appt that I have been suffering with my back, but as a previous poster has said, it's just been dismissed as another pregnancy thing that I've got to get on with

I think it's probably too late to do anything about it with physio until this baby is out I'd say. as much as I would appreciate the help, I'm hoping that once he/she is here thr pressure and pain will be relieved.

I have looked into spatone, but I have 3 days worth of iron tablets left so I think I'll just plod on with those and I've got dried apricots in the cupboard so ill give those ago with some cereal and a glass of fruit juice in the mornings once I've finished the pills up.

It makes birth easier as it makes your pelvis move apart more easily. I had a fifteen minute second stage. Labouring in a water pool was brilliant for me, it makes it much easier to move around with spd.