In Pain and feeling like crap is this normal?

[Unicornandbows]

I am 21 weeks pregnant, I am not showing much at the moment. I have really bad back ache and when I lay on my side my last rib area hurts. My stomach cramps and feels like period pains. I am tired and uncomfortable. Feel dizzy as soon as I get up.

Is this normal? Should I contact midwife? What can I do to ease this? Please help I'm exhausted of this.

I didn’t have cramps in my stomach but could they be braxton hicks? I’m 32 and I don’t think I have experienced them yet. I have however though been in pain with my hips and back from around 17 weeks and I am sorry to say it has only got worse the bigger I have got. If you feel dizzy and tired you may have low iron levels. I had a blood test at my 28 week appointment and I was prescribed iron tablets and they said this could be why I have been so tried. I can’t say I have enjoyed being pregnant, some people love it but I’m fed up of being in pain now especially at night with my hips. Maybe call your midwife and ask about physio, the NHS physio is not great though but still worth a try if you are in pain.

My hips feel fine my ribcage area is horrible I don't know if it's made worse due to having bad morning sickness. I have HG and still throw up but this week it's been once a day which is a miracle. I know 100% I am not dehydrated and the iron levels is tricky because I have beta thalassemia so extra iron doesn't do much as my blood cells won't carry them around.

I just read up on braxton hicks it doesn't seem to fit the picture, the pain is like I'm about to explode in diahorea every time I move around or do any activity. When I'm laying down I can only lay on my back which is bad as you are not supposed to, laying on my side is too painful past 15mins and when I shuffle to switch sides oh god the whole manœuvre is horrible.

I literally have had a shit pregnancy from the beginning to now Its been something I never want to go through again.

maybe it could be due to vomiting a lot. I would just call the midwife, sometimes they can put your mind at ease over the phone without having to go in or make an appointment. I have rang a few times with a general question and they were really helpful. I think sleeping in your back is ok up until around 22 to 23 weeks. I started early though to get used to it but it does hurt my hips. Warms baths help me and also a massage ball has helped too that my partner rubs on me before bed.

Turning over in bed has been awful for me too, I get pain where my pubic bone is. I agree, I don’t think I want to go though this again either, I always thought I would enjoy being pregnant until it happened. It will all be worth it in the end though, that’s what I keep reminding myself when I feel like poo.

I had really bad IBS during 1st trimester with cramps, pain, bloating & constipation. Could it be something like trapped wind or indigestion (sorry if it sounds ridiculous but honestly I've had IBS attacks in the past where I thought I'd pass out from the pain & I believe pregnancy slows down your digestion). My midwife also warned me about some kind of ligament pain you can get in your abdomen (quite low & towards your legs/hips) that can be quite intense but is not dangerous.
I'm 28w now & have all sorts of unpleasant pains in legs, back, hips etc so I sympathise!

I think I will call my midwife on Monday. I just want the pain to stop I'm getting through 6 hot water bottles which I keep putting around the sides and back which sort of helps. Throwing up is so painful along with coughing oh I just want April to come. I want my body back to normal where I don't feel sick daily and in pain. I honestly feel like am an 80 year old who needs a mobility scooter. Going up and down the stairs is a nightmare, got labour pains to still go through I wouldn't mind some gas and air right about now.

I really feel for you.
I’ve been the same. Not with the sickness however (I’ve been very lucky) but the pain in general is awful.
I started getting mine when I started sleeping on my side (which I never do) at about 16 weeks and since then it’s got worse and worse where now, at 37 weeks and 4 in the morning, I’m on my recliner sofa trying to get some sleep.
I get the most awful pain in my whole belly when I try to switch from side to side in bed too. It really worried me but I found out the majority of women I knew got the same pain.
My bump is so hard all the time now and my lower back hurts when walking around but my upper back kills when I lay down.
And my hips have been excruciating. Going upstairs is an adventure.
It will all be worth it in the end but I’m not going to look forward to being pregnant again.
None of the pain your experiencing sounds like anything to worry about but definitely mention it and see if there is anything they can do for you that might help.
I do remember getting period like cramps every now and again and even when My bump wasn’t very big, I would get a lot of pains. I couldn’t sneeze without feeling like my appendix were going to burst. But that’s all ligaments and very normal.
X

Do you have a pregnancy pillow? Since about 5 or 6 weeks I’ve had to sleep on my side (prefer my front, but the bloating/nausea etc. mean I can’t take any pressure on my abdomen), and as soon as I started to do that I needed to put a fat pillow (two fat pillows in one pillowcase) between my knees and lower legs in order to make my alignment good enough that I wasn’t putting the wrong pressure in the wrong place (I swear that if you did the princess and the pea thing to me now I’d complain - it’s ridiculous!).

I’m hoping to get a pregnancy pillow for Christmas so that I can keep on top of the difficulties I’m expecting to experience - if you don’t have one, perhaps getting one would help you to sleep in a more aligned manner, and reduce some of the discomfort.

Other than that, it does sound like time for a chat with your midwife!

I've put my pregnancy pillow in the loft as it's huge and was uncomfortable sleeping on it as it takes over half of the bed. Might bring it back down and try again see if that helps. My husband brought me a home medics massage seat that's arriving today it was going to be my Christmas surprise but he said I rather you start using it now if it helps. So hopefully that will also help, I feel he has been so sweet during this pregnancy he brought the pillow as soon as he found out I was pregnant but I guess I didn't see the benefits at the start but now I'm hoping it does some sort of miracle work. I'm so exhausted from being sick and in pain.

I was always a stomach sleeper so perhaps that's why I can't tolerate the side sleeping might be too much pressure for a small surface area.

I just want April to come already I envy those who enjoy the pregnancy stage there is nothing enjoyable so far for me.

It could also be because this girl is doing weird things in my stomach see photo from scan