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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....

KTW that's why I thought maybe a specialist in pain management might be able to help as people seem too scared to prescribe to pg women. But then the specialist may never have treated a pg spd sufferer before and you might be better just staying in bed.

Anyone read the article about acupuncture and spd in the guardian about 2 weeks ago? A midwife somewhere was treating the pain of spd with acupuncture. I've never had acupunture and am not sure I'd be able to lie down to have it done.
I'm really slowing down, the pain is getting not much worse but I'm so SLOW.

Thanks for all the advice about what to expect from the physio ladies.

Welcome Sara your pinging doesnt sound much fun, I hope it eases a bit soon. LooLOO's resting advice sounds good... what has your midwife suggested? Have you managed to see anyone about it?

Whimsi I like the idea of a gaviscon/paracetamol cocktail, can we have some name suggestions please? Perhaps a 'Screaming Pelvis?'

LooLOO the over the clothes belt sounds great, my job involves a lot of up and downing so something under my clothes would be a real pain to take off every 5 mins! Though I get what you are all saying about not wearing it too much. But I think I need something at work for the long walks between departments and up and down the numerous stairs!

MrsM I think that must make you 'ancient'?? Only kidding, hee hee

kt I hope you have managed to sort some pain relief you sound awful.

xx

LooLOO is this your belt?

MrsS you're going to have to do something about the walking and stairs at work or you could make yourself a whole lot worse. I did with dc1 (made it worse not did anything about it) and was off for 2 months sick leave.

looloo it would take much more than a week to see a specialist pain managment specialist, and im kinda hoping to have had the baby, or for her to be on her way out at that point!!!
all the HCPs im speaking to are just telling me to go on complete bed rest, but like i said before, im already doing that, its impossible for me to do any less!!

ohwell - consultant appt late tomorrow morning, i think i will be impressed if i hold it together and dont burst into tears and beg her to drag the baby out! im not very good at dealing with pain, well this long term anyway, and not being able to do anything is i think quite literally driving me crazy. DH is trying to help bless him, but everything he does it wrong and not helpful

mrsS i agree with looloo, your going to need to stop if not reduce your walking around and stairs, and that will aggrevate your SPD, and theres no point making it worse any sooner than you need!

oh looloo ive also read that some SPD sufferes find acupuncture helpful, but the idea of acupuncture is too weird for me, im already having to stick a needle in myself once a day, not doing anymore than that!

I'd love to be able to stop, but it's a bit tricky with my job. The main thing is that I am in the middle of a really hardcore training course that when complete will qualify me for a much better job (and obviously more money). If I can't complete a particular part of this training before going on my mat leave then I will almost certainly lose this opportunity - not becuase my emplyer is being mean or anything, it's jsut how the funding will work out. Anyway, I know I may well have no choice but to finish work early (sick leave) but I am just trying so hard not to think about that possibility - I dont' know what I'll do if that happens.

^ sounds fair enough, annoying but fair enough! lets hope your able to cope and get as far as you can. just remember not to do too much, or you will end up going on leave earlier than you want to.
good luck!!

Hi everyone.
This warmer weather is really getting to me and the satin pajamas don't help!

Hope you had a better night KTW but don't expect you did. You need to make sure the consultant knows exactly how bad you have got.How are you going to actually get there? I think you are really good at dealing with pain and if you think how much worse you are than some of the other immobile pg women on this thread then I think you are dealing with A LOT.
MrsS that is not my belt and I'm really glad it's not, it looks sooo uncomfortable. I found mine by putting in WMB/2 but there's no picture. Mine looks more like something you'd put on to go rockclimbing and far less medical. It goes over your clothes and you do it up with one lot of velcro very low down round your hips and then tighten it with the next lot of velcro. I also have a carriwell support band on and that's just soft elastic and cost about a tenner from Jojomaman. With dc1 and 2 I had a 'bellybra'(bumps maternity do them) which is really nice(and looks nice too in black) but my bump is bigger this time and so I bought the carriwell as I thought it would be cooler.For your work, is there ANY way you could be allowed to lie down somewhere during the day for 10mins or so? It would probably help getting the weight off your pelvis even for a short time. Take those stairs one at a time!

I am trying to stick to the stairs one at a time rule. And I know it is backwards not to do everything I can to reduce this, but I am really worried they will notice how much pain I am in and either make me go off sick or change my hours or something (hence lose this training). I know, I know, I have to look after myself (and baby), and I know if I dont do everything I can now it'll be worse later - these are all things I would be saying to someone else in my boat... but I just keep carrying on like it isnt happening. I can't stop myself.

I'll write down the name of that belt LooLOO so I can ask the physio about it.Mind you, if I do use it at work there'll be no hiding the facts then!!

I feel like a real fraud considering everythign you are going through kt, i hope you are managing to get somewhere with someone to help with you pain/early induction plans.

LooLOO is it like this one then? If my physio wont give me a belt or only gives me a rubbish one I will buy one myself, but want to get the right one.

Yes that's the one but mine is black as the physio says it's less obvious over clothes. Maybe if she gives you a tubigrip one you should try it and buy one like this and see which is better, I think they each have their own use.

hi girls, is the spd sofa's creche open today? i could really do with booking DS in. I had v little sleep due to pain, had a moan to DH in the morning about how bad i felt. his reply was 'lets only talk about positive things and that will help how you feel' Needless to say, he made me cry! He didn't mean to, said he wished he could stay at home with us and that I was to take it easy today. Easier said than done with a very active 22mth old! hey ho, sorry, didn't mean to come on and just moan but today's the worse i've been with it and i'm struggling with DS

MrsMiamla My heart goes out to you! I'm pretty much sofa-bound and I know the pain is awful. It is difficult for my DF to say anything to make me feel better! Most of the time he just looks sort of helpless.

It can't be easy with a LO to look after. Have you been to physio? Have you got anything to treat the pain with?

Thanks guys!
Ok so ive seen the dr, although it was only the registrar, my consultant was too busy unfortunatly (made me cry at just the thought of seeing the miserable registrar).
the plan is that on wednesday 26th at 9am I am going into hospital to be induced. the registrar said that they will try 2, maximum 3 prostiglandins and then they have to goto csection if were not getting anywhere. i know its not ideal, but i was in floods of tears because the dr wouldnt let me have any more painrelief.

if the induction doesnt take and we have to go for a semi-urgent csection anyway, but im willing to give it a try, because i think i will actually go stark raving mad if i try and do this for 3 weeks. 1 week is going to be damn near impossible, but we cant do it earlier than that.

got myself a TENS machine to try and help with the pain for the next week, had it on for about 30mins so far, not really doing anything, but im giving it a fair shot, im really willing to try anything right about now!!!!!

Oh kt you poor thing. You've really been through the mill haven't you?

I hope that now there is a plan in place and a date to concentrate on, you can start to feel a bit more positive. I'm not surprised 3 weeks seemed impossible to you - it probably was!

I'm sure the next 6 days will go by quickly and then your gorge baby will be here and you can give your SPD pains a flick of the victory V!

thats the hope!!!!! DH and i are going to go out for dinner on tuesday night, luckily DH is off from work now (signed off because of his lung problems/stress) so hes going to be around to keep me company and amused until that induction, so fingers crossed i can get through this one day at a time.

That doesn't sound like such a bad plan KTW at least they're not going to go for the dreaded syntocin drip.I'm quite angry that they can just tell you that there's no more pain relief. tens is about as much use as a hot bath so since you can't get to the bath the tens is worth a try and at least you've got a button to press.

poor you mrsM 22 month olds don't really do much playing on their own do they? i can't remember what I did with dc1 when I was expecting dc2 (they are 16m apart), all I remember was it was really hard work and everything seemed to happen at knee level.I did used to let him just get everything out and make a real mess and then I'd leave it for DH to tidy up when he got home.Are you booked in for physio yet?

i've had a really crap afternoon with pains in the back of my pelvis(I normally get it all in the front) was in tears getting into the car to go and get dc1 from school, but by the time we'd got back the back twinges had gone, don't know why. 33 weeks today, 7 weeks and I'll be walking to the school again.

Leoni, thank you. Nope, haven't even got an appt through to see the physio yet but (fingers crossed) the referral should be on its way to them by now. As for treating the pain, only paracetomol and its just not touching it! Cbeebies is definitely my saviour today

kt oh no, sorry to hear you didn't get to see consultant. i completely understand your frustration at seeing his mignon. So Wednesday the 26th it is! I'm so pleased you've got that sorted at least
loving the thought of giving spd pains a flick of the victory V although i suspect you'll be giving them more than a flick!
oh and good news (but obviously not because of the reason why) that you've got DH at home with you

yeah, ive had the TENS on for a while now girls and it doesnt seem to be doing anything, but i will keep going just incase, you never know. It just didnt help at all that they basically told me point blank that im not getting anymore painkillers, aparently although i could technically have Oramorph, she wasnt willing to give it to me, despite the fact that i was in tears trying to tell her that i cant cope with the pain!

mrsM the younger ones do sometimes find it hard to play on their own, its a shame as it sounds like you could do with the rest!

looloo i hope that the pains stay away and dont come back. wish you didnt have to do the school run!

kt from my experience with tens machines, you need to get the frequency, wave length and strength absolutely perfect otherwise it doesn't do much (oh, as well as obviously putting the pads in the right place!). what model did you get? are you able to fiddle with the settings to see if it helps? i'm amazed they wouldn't give you the tablets. what was her reasoning?

sorry lool00, crossed with you earlier... he's usually pretty good at entertaining himself but its been a vicious circle of him winding me up, me winding him up etc etc this afternoon. only 2.5hrs til DH home

wow kt, next weds is pretty exciting. I hope you cope ok btwn now and then. I'm hoping to have mine on monday, though that's only a question of wishful thinking.

The race is on!

mrsM ive got a Lloyds own labour one, its the only one 'safe' for this period, technically its only for 37weeks +, but we figured one week off and the dr telling me to do so, a pretty safe bet. i can fiddle with the frequency and pulse and level etc, the insructions give a good guide on it.
it doesnt seem to be helping the hip pain, but it is helping a little with the sciatica down my legs, so who knows!
not sure of her reasoning, she just said that she wouldnt give them to me! hence why i dont like her!!!

i understand the winding up, my patience is wearing thin with the kids, although im lucky enough that my kids goto preschool all day, so they are pretty much entertained so i dont have to worry whilst all this is going on.

whimsi i hope you manage to go into labour! lots of curry sex and pineapple then is it??!

i reckon the first prostiglandin def wont take, the second might. it took 2 with my DD2 and i was 41weeks. heres hopingit just takes too long or doesnt take lol, i just want the csection, but this way both me and the drs are happy

Thanks KT i wish I didn't have to do the school run. I have to go 3 times a day as dc2 does mornings at nursery there. I actually don't have to do it as 2 friends have offered to deliver the kids for me,but I think the kids need a bit of normality so I'm not resorting to that yet.

Dc2 is getting really fed up with me being so boring, but I can't really take her anywhere, although if I take her to sains at least I can park closer in the child parking.To be honest I'm getting a bit fed up with me being so boring too!I havn't even walked to the end of the garden for about 4 weeks, the grass is lumpy and it does me in.

Actually what I need to do is stop moaning and sit on the gymball for a bit.

Hope you all get some sleep tonight.

Yeah i did the normality thing for as long as i could, luckily my kids preschool is literally down the road so i walked them to school for as long as i could stand it, made packed lunches etc, the normality helped me a lot, not just them.

sleep is a distant memory, but at least there will be a different reason for that this time next week with any luck.

im just doing my last check of the hospital bags over the weekend. anything im likely to have forgotten girls? is there anything you reckon that i will need on the ward that most ppl wont? im taking my wheelchair in, i dont care what they say, its staying with me as im not hobbling round the ward in pain if i dont need to. DH can always chuck it in the car if i find i dont need it anymore, will be taking my crutches aswell if i want them, any ideas?

kt have a think about what makes you feel more at ease/comfortable at home... hot water bottle? a particular pillow/blanket? I know its not the weather for blankets but I took mine in the heart of the summer with DS because the texture of it was lovely. Oooh, and a secret stash of sweets for when you need a sugar hit (or is that just me?!)
Actually, any pain meds you take at home too. Sounds daft but I had a recent stay in hospital and to get the meds that I normally took was such a performance that I really wish I'd just hidden them in my bag. I know this is naughty and they need to know what you're taking in case it conflicts with other stuff etc but just throwing it out there for you to think about!

lool00 yup, i agree as well. normality for as long as possible here too. how are you doing today?

i'm pleased to report pain alot less over here today