Should I be worrying (going on a bit!)?!

[Samcj]

Hi there, posting a new thread to see if anyone has had any similar experiences to me.

I was at work on Tuesday, as a nurse, and was looking after an obese, confused and agitated patient, whom it was impossible not to move around frequently (up to 4 times in an hour). The long and short of it was, I could feel my pelvic floor muscles were sore, to the extent I was taking little frog steps, so went off sick for the next day.

Yesterday felt fine, till I went out to supermarket when I realised things were still sore. Have decided to rest up today but I keep getting throbbing pain in the right hand side of my tummy every so often. It's too low down to be the baby (right near my hip), and I'm fairly sure I felt it doing whatever it feels is important to do in there this morning!

But it's still nagging at me and I'm finding it hard not to worry about it. Everyone will probably think I am so silly to be moving the patient, but I was sent to look after him for the whole shift, and for his own safety it really was necessary. Has anyone else been so silly/and or know what I have done to myself?

Samj - I have no idea what the pain is but your safety is paramount here and if you cannot do what they tell you they have to give you something else to do or sign you off on full pay!!

I thought the person who allocated me to that patient couldn't of known I was pregnant. I was really P*sed off when I found out she did. there wasn't a worse patient on the unit for me to care for. Didn't feel at all guilty about letting them down yesterday, how awful is that!

I went skiing in March (at about 5 moths) and although I felt fine at the time I did have a very achey lower bump and some discomfort walking for a couple of days. I'm sure it was just from overdoing it a bit and it did go away after a few days with me taking it easy.
However you must make sure work know you're pregnant and if someone tries to give you an unsuitable task again just tell them you can't do it. It's in their interest to keep you healthy and working rather than laid up sick.

You were very brave to go skiing then! Must be good at it! I've never been, but can't even stay on roller skates so it wouldn't of been sensible!

Hi Samcj,

I got similiar aches when I stretched suddenly - I've been regarding it as a 'groin' strain (I'm 26wks)

I now move really slowly when I bend, turn etc and that seems to work.

As a nurse, are there not policies in place to prevent you being alone with patients or doing heavy work?

Good luck - hope you get the chance to put your feet up for a while!

Sam, I am sure it is a groin strain too. You should rest or, if you are still worried, ask your midwife/gp for an opinion. As it is too low to be the baby, I am sure it will be fine.

Re the senseless person who assigned the fat bloke to you, it is a legal requirement that, once you have notified your employer you are pregnant, they must find you other duties to do if the usual ones cause you problems. Not sure how it is worded but it is def a legal requirment and, as Twinkie says, if they cant find you other work they have to sign you off on full pay. My dh works in the health and safety biz, I'll ask him if you want. Now go and rest and dont return to work till you are ok.

There is a general consensus that nurses who are pregnant should not be doing much in the way of manual handling. In retrospect I should of realised at the start of the shift that he would be too much for me, but a) it's easy to say that in retrospect and b) i don't like to make a fuss! The main reason I hurt myself was because he was so agitated, he was thrashing about so much that he kept disconnecting himself from the breathing machine, meaning I kept having to push him back into position ASAP.

Anyway, hopefully I've learnt my lesson now, will just become the really irritating pregnant woman at work from now on!! I am starting to feel better now, the pain seems to have gone, although I've just stayed in all day, but not due back at work till monday. This morning though I couldn't help thinking they might be contractions! I had my watch out!!!