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[pumpkinpureeandghostlypearls]

I am suffering SPD (for the second time) and just need to vent without driving everyone else on my pregnancy thread mental. Not that they aren't supportive but I still have 20 weeks to go and I don't want to ruin their pregnancies by talking about mine!

Please come and join me so I don't feel so alone, and feel free to share tips if you have any....

scotsgirl - that sounds terrible! its not just about the pain, and epidural isnt the best idea for SPD cases, one move too far (which is easy to do when you arent aware of the pain) and you can make the damage permanent or take a much longer time to recover from; which is NOT what we want!!!

i really hope that theres a consultant there on wednesday, junior docs arent helpful enough, you need the consultant to give you the csection, my consultant said a csection at 39 weeks would be fine for the baby, im keeping my fingers crossed they agree to sort you out then and there!!!

scotsgirl I don't know what to say I am completely . maybe the junior doc is like my mum and expects babies to arrive on their due date? is there no other consultant that you can see?

Boffinmum I agree with you about getting out of the pool, it's something most spd sufferers could do as a one off.

Whimsi, like you I'm hoping for quick second stage and maybe this is wishful thinking but if it's like the birth of dc2 it's not worth me worrying about. But if it's like the birth of dc1 then I'm worried...

Hope you sleep a bit better ktw.

boffinmum i understand why water birth is a really good option for SPD, and i would do it myself, but even if i could get in and out still, the fact remains that in a lot of areas you cant gaurentee that the pool will be free when you go into labour, i know im the hospital im to give birth in theres only one birthing pool, and it serves a HUGE area, and is pretty much in constant use all bar cleaning!

im not sure that i could leap out in a life or death situation, the worse the pain is for me, the less movement i have. Theres been situations at home where ive been unable to get to the kids with any speed when its sounded like sommething bad was happening (it wasnt, but thats beside the point!), thats normally the situation where my mummy instinct kick in and get me there quicker despite the pain, but its just not enough to override it anymore !

It is different in labour though because you've got your endorphines working away, baby's head is moving down so shifting the balance helpfully, and you are supported in water which gives you a break from the pain.

^ i do get that, this will be my 3rd child, its not like ive not done it before! like i said, my main thing about the water birth is that where i live there is no gaurentee that the pool will be available as there is only one and our maternity unit serves a huge area

It's the same here with the water birth - there is no way to guarantee you'll be able to use it even if you are "allowed to." There is quite a shortage of them I believe.

I'm supposedly seeing a different consultant on Wednesday - if they have the decency to actually show up! It was just the shock of going in and expecting to have a decent, reasonable discussion with a consultant only to be faced with a general doc who was covering clinic rather than a specialist.Basically an overpriced answering machine! Would it not have been easier to phone me last week and say, actually, you need to see someone else here's the appointment?!

There was actually a midwife in the room too who did an antenatal check and was having to teach him how to use the system. I despair! He also asked what pain relief I was on (erm....) then rattled off a whole list of different heavy duty painkillers and asked if I'd tried them. At this point I said I'd been told I couldn't take themm due to preg, and he turned to the midwife and asked if that was correct!!

it sounds like you had a horrible time, i really hope that you get what you need on wednesday.

my consultant was impressed that i am surviving on just codeine at the moment, considering how immobile i am, although i must admit im going to get DH to take me to the GP on wednesday to get something stronger since ive gone back to hardly sleeping again

A question for all you SPD sufferers... I'm just 37 weeks and for the last fortnight/3 weeks have been having pain either in my right bum cheek, my right lower back or my right upper thigh (it moves up and down). I wasn't sure if it was SPD because it was felt muscular to me, but cut down the walking and took the precautions like keeping feet together getting in/out of cars, bed etc. It went from unbearable spasms to mild discomfort.

In the last few days however it has progressed to a pain that circulates where my upper thigh meets my torso - all the way around there. Again, the right side. It feels like someone is twisting my right leg in its socket. It's not continuous - maybe 5/6 times a day on average, and only happens when I'm standing/walking. If I'm walking though the pain does bring me to a standstill.

Does this sound like SPD? Is it worth bringing up with my doctor or is it just my body dealing with the extra weight of pregnancy?

Thanks!

sounds like it could be SPD, my SPD took a leap in the pain and immobility level when the baby went from breach to headdown position.

either way its worth bringing it up with your doc/midwife, could easily be the extra weight of pregnancy at the end, but it sounds more specific that general decreased mobility from late pregnancy

Hi everyone . Trillian it could be spd or it could be sciatica(sp?) or somehting else back related. A good physio would be more likely to know than the gp so maybe you could ask your gp or mw to refer you.

I'm off to the physio later this morning.

Good luck tomorrow scotsgirl

My SPD has got worse this week. I thought I would be better by now. I can walk, so not as bad as when I was pregnant, but I want to be able to roll over or play on the floor with the kids!

Is there any point asking my GP for help? Bearing in mind that when I first went in when pregnant they told me I needed to do more exercise, plenty of walking, and work through the pain? Then at my postnatal check had never heard of SPD?

Feeling very gloomy about it.

hi all not got time to post individual replies just wanted to say that baby Jacob was born Weds 5th May 8lbs 5ozs, I was given prostin to kick things off at 10.30pm Tues night and by 2pm I was in labour and he was born at almost 5am, not that bad until the last 5 mins.

They do a CTG trace as standard on an induction but they managed to do it with me on my side, VEs still had to be on my back but they were very quick and mindful I was in pain.

I laboured on my side only turning to my back to deliver him by then didn't care. Only thing which has annoyed me was afterwards MW was unsure whether to stitch me so called for a SHO, she requested I was in stirrups for the exam and to be stitched, I should have refused as I think it did some damage, my thighs were sore and my hips.

I'm still very stiff and sore in the mornings, stairs are still a wee bit hard bt every day I am recovering and hopefully in a week or two all signs of the SPD will be gone.

Hang on in there ladies it's bloody tough SPD is the pits but he is well worth it.

Congratulations Kitty!
Make sure you get some rest for those poor hips. xx

congrats kitty, well done for getting through it! im very envious that you managed to do it, well done!

butterpie - definitly worth asking the GP for help, another referral to the physio is worth it. i know some doctors havent heard of SPD or at least not know much about it, but thats not really an excuse, your the patient, theyre the dr!
exercise is good, you are going to need to build up the muscles and ligaments again, but the best way to do that is with the guidance of a professional, even if its just a physio.

good luck

Well done sweetkitty!

Don't worry Butterpie, the physio can sort you out much more easily now you're postnatal. I had 3 sessions after I had dc2 and the manipulation and exercises sorted it out. i went to the gp and said I couldn't hop or kick and she referred me. dc2 was 4 months i think.

The physio had another go at straightening me out this morning and I'll find out tomorrow if I feel any better. Today I feel a bit shoved about!

Congrats Kitty! Well done.

Trillian, my physio said that sciatica and pelvic pain are two sides of the spd coin, as both are linked to the pelvis softening, just in different places. I started off with sciatica, which evolved into more typical 'kicked between the legs' type pain. Unhelpfully, apparentaly exercise is good for sciatica, rest for spd. I have both so am clearly doomed!

Thanks for help guys. Have obstetrician appointment tomorrow so will mention it and see if he can at least recommend whether to take it easy or to 'walk it out'. Not sure if exercise is a help or makes it worse - excessive exercise (30 minute brisk-ish walk) means lots of pain, but moderate exercise isn't really making much difference.

I have a huge amount of sympathy for you all who have been in pain from early on - bits and pieces at 37 weeks seems like nothing compared with what I've been reading here. Good luck!

Small amounts of movements seem to help me, i.e. keep moving when i can from the living room to the sofa etc, toilet and back, but a proper walk, like 1/4mile for a hot chocoalte out with my mum has a rather horrible 48hr delay with spine splitting pain!! but not doing anything isnt best either, like i said, ive found for me the balance it helps to keep some movement in just going back and forth to the toilet etc!

just wanted to pop by and say good luck to scotsgirl for your appt today

hi girls, does spd feel like you've done the splits? assuming of course you're not a gymnastic and doing the splits is an every day occurrence to you!

(i'm 24wks with 2nd pg)

Off to do a bit of reading on here to see if my question has already been answered!

Hi Mrsmiamla, it feels like you have done the splits when you shouldn't have.

^ yeah but you cant do the splits!!

today im having huge amounts of leg ache, i can feel my musclces dieing a thousans deaths! its just as painful (in a different way) as the hips but new, youd think id be glad of the distraction but no!!

cant wait to get moving properly again, i have a feeling its going to take forever to get my muslces back

im seriously considering taking the offer of induction at 37weeks no matter what now, as long as they give me good drugs, since i cant have the epidural because of my back problems

thinking of you scotsgirl

hi lool00, hmm, i've done some reading since previous post and it seems that i do indeed need a space on the spfa here with you all. fuck! hey ho, left a message for mw to call me so hoping she's clued up on it all
don't think i really want to know the answer to this but how long have you been suffering with it?

the 'kicked between the legs' description i found above is exactly how i feel. least i know i'm not going barmy now and that the pain i'm getting can be explained!!

kt... no, i really really can't do the splits! just thinking about standing up is painful!

kt... has yours got worse as weeks have gone on?

standing up is hugely painful for me (bear in mind im 35weeks now), i cant do it for more than 5mins at a maximum, so showers are a nightmare - lol not that i can get up the stairs to the shower anymore!!

my pain has got slowly worse, it started with lower back pain around 16weeks, slowly got worse and my ability to stand and walk with my normal ease decreased so i got referred to the physio, trouble was in the 4 weeks it took for me to see the physio i was no longer able to work because my job involves a lot of walking, and driving had become too painful.

my pain has got slowly more painful, and everynow and again when i do too much (like stand up for 10mins when i know i shudnt) i get about a 48hr delay before the pain increases by a fair amount and it stays that way. i would describe it like a looooong step, i get a few weeks of similar level pain and then it goes up a fair whack.