35 weeks and in pain, Doctors unsure what it is 🤷

[Maya12345]

Hi everyone, just looking to vent as I'm so fed up!
For the last 2 weeks I've had really sharp stabbing pains right above my pubic bone where my bladder sits. Been to hospital for monitoring and baby is happy kicking away in there. Doctors have been unsure/slightly unhelpful as they say it could be pubic symphysis diastasis or pressure on a nerve near my bladder. I don't know what to do about work. I was signed off last week and felt much better with rest, after working today the pain came back really badly ☹️I could in theory be signed off this week without kicking in maternity leave but I don't know whether to grit my teeth and get through the 3 weeks in order to get more mat leave or not. Is 36 weeks early to start mat leave as a teacher?
Anyway sorry for the rant, just needed to vent as I'm so sick of this pain!
Thanks for any advice.
X

OP, so sorry you are in pain, it's so awful to be in pain.. just a few weeks to go but everyday drags! Could your pain be PGP ? Does the pain gets worse if you try to stand on one leg ( like while dressing up)?

I am 36 weeks too and have a bad case of PGP. my midwife has advised to try paracetamol if it gets out of hand.. you could talk to yours and if you are in doubt if it's anything to do with an early labour, you could call up the triage.. take care xx

When were you planning on starting your mat leave ? I went into labour at 37+6w with DC1 and next time will be going off at 36w anyway! So i def wouldn't say 36w is too early if you feel like you would benefit from the time at home to rest. I still feel resentful that i only had 3 days mat leave before DC1 made their appearance 😅

Ah OP that sounds so uncomfortable. I'd probably take the sick then go off a little early, I've been there working through until due date when I just haven't been physically well enough and really should have been taking care of myself. Those last couple of weeks will make more difference to you now prioritising yourself than at the end of pregnancy.

Thanks so so much for the advice everyone!
I had some monitoring at triage 2 weeks back when it first started and thankfully all fine with the baby but they didn't really investigate me or why the pain is so strong.
Was meant to start mat leave 20th Feb (39 weeks) but really going off at Feb half term which is Feb 10th.
I think I'll have to get signed off this week and if I need any time next week then mat leave will automatically start, three weeks earlier than intended but I guess that's not the end of the world!
I'm starting to think it is PGP where my pelvis is splitting ☹️ @CrispAppleStrudels as you said baby might end up coming early anyway which at this point I am sort of hoping for tbh!

Sorry you're in pain OP!

I think, for me personally, 36 weeks would have been too early. I went on mine at 37+6 (so it started on Monday) and had baby at 39+2. With your first, you don't know if you'll be weeks overdue so at 36 weeks, that could potentially be 6 weeks off before baby arrives.

I'm currently 21 weeks and at home with a sickness bug. As a teacher, I feel so much pressure to be in so I don't let the team down etc. but you need to look after yourself and baby.

I hope you feel better soon, whatever you decide!

I started my maternity leave yesterday at 36+2. I’m a primary school teacher and have had really bad pgp for most of the third trimester. Bending over to help children at their tables, constantly getting up and down to write on the board, break duties, up and down stairs and live marking their work was impossible as were the long days (10+hours) so I don’t think 36 weeks is too early. I really think it depends what job you do. If I was working from home or office based, I would have carried on for longer but just didn’t feel I could fulfil my role properly any longer.
I’m enjoying the naps and later starts. It means when I wake up in the night from hip pain, I don’t have to worry that I’ll spend the whole day teaching while exhausted.

Thanks again, the decision was sort of taken out of my hands yesterday as the doctor has signed me off well into the 4 weeks before due date, as they think it's SPD ☹️ oh well, mat leave starting a few weeks early on Monday but as a few have pointed out, will never have time to myself like this again and rest is mandatory so I just have to resign myself to it! @Bluepiano I had exactly that situation last night and woke up at 4 in so much pain, had a brief panic about getting back to sleep before I realised it didn't matter and caught up all morning today! Hope you're enjoying your mat leave and aren't in too much pain with the PGP.

Also on a separate note for anyone that has SPD/ PGP - have you had any advice on going to full term/having a natural birth? I've read different opinions with some saying a c section is safer to avoid permanent damage to the pelvis and some women who've been induced early around 37 weeks due to the pain. My doctor's haven't said anything to me yet 🤷
Thanks x

I have had this exact same thing going on, kept thinking I had a bladder infection. Was on annual leave from work last week and felt great, no pain. One day back yesterday and I was in agony last night so I've phoned in sick this morning. I work in education too so I'm reluctant to go off but I can't cope with the pain in the evenings after a 10 hour shift. I'm 33 weeks and have 4 weeks left until mat leave 😫😫 xx

@Stephanie226 sorry to hear you've been going through something similar! Have you been checked over and tested for UTI etc.?

Yes whenever I get checked they say there's no infection and then the last time they said pelvic girdle and I just thought awk rubbish, surely that doesn't affect you like that 🤦‍♀️ but as soon as I overdo it the pain in my bladder is unreal, like someone is stabbing it. The joy of a glamorous pregnancy 😂 x

@Stephanie226 literally exactly the same here. I thought the same thing too when they said PGP as earlier on in pregnancy I had PGP in my hip
This time it doesn't even really feel like it's in the bones of my pelvis but I read up a bit on SPD and the shooting pains right in front of the bladder is really common when your pubic bone splits ☹️

How long do you have left? I love getting out walks which I've still been trying to do but it just leaves me really sore. Counting down the weeks until baby comes... xx

@Stephanie226 Yeah I've had to give up my pregnancy yoga and walks as I can barely walk across the house now! I'm nearly 36 weeks now, starting mat leave officially from Monday and seriously hoping this baby isn't late! Did you go back to work this week or have you been signed off? Xx

You need to rest rest rest rest, seriously it's true only/best treatment.

Frozen peas and pain relief. Don't walk up and down the stairs, don't stride around.

I'm still off today, I can self cert until Tuesday then will need to make a decision on what I'm doing and see how it is after some rest. I really hope your little one doesn't keep you waiting, all the walking you've been doing up to now will help. I've been bouncing away on my big ball, apparently that helps 🤷🏼‍♀️ I have a 13 year old and he appeared 2 days early so I'm hoping for 2 weeks early this time round 😂😂

Hey, midwife here!

As you're in the later stages of pregnancy you could ask for codeine for when Paracetamol isn't cutting it. Using it short term is considered OK, especially weighing up the risk v benefits to try and manage your pain.

A support belt may help whilst pregnant to help lift some of the weight of your pelvis and may also help to stabilise it postnatally.

Try and limit trips up and down the stairs, bringing things downstairs in the morning if you can (a nappy caddy is handy and what I used before baby arrived for me!)

Physio may have been helpful however by the time you're referred and receive an appt it may be too late 😕

If/when travelling in the car, getting out of bed, off the sofa, keep knees together to prevent the pulling pain.

Make your midwife/caregivers aware when you're in labour as then they can adapt and adjust your positions/help you to mobilise keeping this in mind, and help you with pain relief.

Before I went on mat leave I do recall we offered induction to one lady who was practically bedbound with PGP, so it is possible to be induced and it is possible for caregivers to be mindful of your PGP when in labour.

I had terrible PGP and had a natural birth. I wasn't allowed a water bath due to instability standing on one leg to get in and out.

This is great advice thank you so much. I am allergic to codeine which is why I haven't even considered it so I'm just going to persevere. Where do you buy the support belts?

@Stephanie226 Some pharmacies sell them, otherwise good old Amazon 😊

@USaYwHatNow thank you so so much for this! So helpful 💕 I've had co codamol a couple times which helped knock me out a few hours so at least I could rest!

@Stephanie226 get the serola belt from Amazon, it's pricey but worth it, it makes such a difference (only when you have to stand though, sitting or lying is uncomfortable with any sort of belt on)

@CheeseDreamsTonight did you heal quickly after your natural birth? I'm so sick of being in pain, it's been 3 weeks of constant agony..I don't know if I'll have the stamina to actually labour properly at this point and im scared of long term damage 😫

@RandomMess rest is literally the only thing that's helped so far, anytime I push it it gets so much worse so quickly! Thank you x

@Maya12345 i hope you find some relief soon, and make sure you take it easy postnatally as well. It's very easy to think 'baby's out it'll all be OK!' but you'll still probably have a fair bit of relaxin (hormone that helps things to stretch and move in pregnancy) in your body so you'll still need to be careful.

I was a bit stupid and tried to move something heavy, using one foot, in a sort of diagonal motion (think cross kicking a football but slower and heavier) and the pain was excruciating!