I honestly cannot believe how I have done this all on my own with 2 toddlers for 9 months!!!! I go in today for some CTG monitoring and find out when my c-sec is... next week??? I HOPE!!!!
My mum is such great help with the kids ... I am so so blessed!!
Mumainlice - I get clunking through the back sacroiliac joints when I'm in bed, but not at the front. My osteo is forever telling me to turn on my pelvic floor muscles before I do ANYTHING (i.e. getting up, rolling over etc) and it does seem to help (not always, but sometimes!). As for the smiling face... weeeell mine has definitely slipped at times but I keep on keeping on! In regard to whether it get's worse or not, well mine was much milder last PG and pretty much stabilised at 30 weeks.. don't think it will this time tho. How are you feeling now?
fionas - you sound like you've got this very well sussed, I'll have to keep picking your brains! I probably sound like a broken record, but I think you're amazing to cope so well.
Didi - I've said congrats elsewhere... but I hope we don't see you back in here for your sake
AFM, well I've proved to myself that the support belt definitely leaves me feeling worse not better - it just does something to my front ab muscles.... they just cramp. So my physio has suggested a tubigrip support bandage instead. Looks very sexah NOT lol. My mum went home on Monday so this week has been challenging. Tues night/weds morning I thought were gonna be crutches time with a lot of trouble standing but then it settled again and I've kept those crutches dusty for another week woo hoo. Am still working out how to juggle being housebound with minimal pain (cos i"ve done nothing) versus getting out & about but then suffering afterwards. In the meantime am organising lots of playdates. Have also managed to reduce picking up DS by an amazing degree. Baths have been covered by DH doing the lift in & out and I can do the "in-bath" stuff by kneeling carefully and getting into a good position - it helps if I can get up very slowly and carefully afterwards while DH has DS. Housework/chores have just been minimised and I do things in little bursts of activity with rests in between which seems to help. Still can't believe how much I've always taken for granted being able to walk/go to the playground/run errands/pick up shopping - this is a different way of life. Am working on my baby girl excitement which is helping. Plus I'm on insulin now for GD so probably won't go past 38-39 weeks... so only about 8 weeks to go woohoo.
Belfie - re the being housebound with minimal pain versus getting out and about and paying for it afterwards, that essentially is THE dilemma with this. The killer for me was the 18 month recovery last time so I'm doing all I can to avoid that. I know if I minimise the pain during the pregnancy this time then I have a much better chance of recovering a lot sooner. So I've 'chosen' (not that it's much of a choice) the housebound route rather than being more active but being in a lot of pain.
The other thing is that this time around it struck really early for me and I really wasn't sure, even if I managed it well with minimal activity, belt, icing, pilates, how bad it would get so there was the fear of the unknown. I guess I reached a point a few weeks ago where I got really confident about my limits and confident that if I stuck within those limits that I could minimise the pain. I may have said this before in this thread, but last week I went to the physio and we high-fived each other. I basically said I'd beaten this bloody SPD because I'm in so little pain. Almost about to give birth, I'm in less pain now that I was 12 months POSTNATALLY last time. Don't get me wrong, I've had to make HUUUUUUUUUUUUUGE adjustments to my life to do that but as long as the recovery this time around is shorter, then I will be really pleased.
What I'm trying to say is that you will figure out for yourself what you can and can't do to keep the pain under control and you'll probably find that you'll feel much less frustrated once you have because you're dealing with the known rather than the unknown, if that makes sense. You'll kind of know, OK, if I walk this far then it will mean x amount of pain for x amount of time, sort of thing.
Didi, I must have missed your BA... Congratulations on the birth of Nate!! So glad your SPD has gone.
Belfie, the support belt does nothing for me. I find it uncomfortable to wear and it doesn't reduce my pain, so this pg I am not using it. Not to say it isn't great for others.
I have been soooo careful this pg and have not done anything to aggravate my pelvis. I am very careful getting in and out of the car, rolling over in bed, not sitting on the floor with crossed legs.... constantly conscious of my pelvis. And it's working... I still have pain, but nowhere near the same as my last two pg's at this stage. Interesting, usually my SI joints are most painful, but this time my SP is giving me more trouble. It's starting to ache any time I stand... good excuse to lie on the couch I reckon!! Anyway, I know I still have a long way to go, but I am being careful, being positive and hoping to get through without the agony I experienced the last two times!
Someone mentioned clunking? I've just started to 'clunk' a little. I can feel the bones in my SP rub against each other when I roll over... not pleasant!!
heys thought I might join. was also reading the pelvic instability association website. thanks to everyone for sharing your stories.
My pain is (so far) in the left sacroiliac joints at the back which is annoying. Today I've just been moping and reading up on it all, it doesn't look like a fun journey to be sharing with you all.
Kazbah - welcome to this dubious club! Sorry to hear you have to join us, but hopefully you'll find some useful information to help minimise it! My pain started Right SIJ but has moved to the left , so saying, I'm finding that I'm "managing" it far better than I was, so at present am still better than I was at my first flare-up. I have my fingers crossed that you'll be able to help yours too. Have you found a good physio/osteo/chiro? I'm in Vermont, so not far from you if you want any recommendations.
Nickel730 - i'm glad to hear I'm not the only one who doesn't find the support belt any help. You sound like you're managing so well to keep it under control . As for clunking, i never clunk at the front, but always at the back (I've got clunk in my trunk )
Fionas - I think you've hit on the dilemma at the heart of this all. For me, this was very mild last time, so I still find it hard to comprehend the thought that it might still be around post-birth. I battle with the "I should just tough it out" mentality (Codral has a LOT to answer for!!) versus the "minimise/manage/ask for all the help you can get" mentality! I'm starting to work out the sanity/immobility balance for me I think... but as always, just when you think you've got it right, it can trip you up. I had a day last week sitting at home feeling SO trapped and not coping mentally at all - compounded by a lot of trouble walking first thing and worrying if I could cope with my toddler. Then another day I "toughed it out" and went to TWO things (one was a BB catch-up lol) but paid for it later in the day... but geez I felt more sane! Sometimes I think I'd rather be sore and keep my sanity... but if it tips over into barely being able to walk then it isn't worth it!
Didi - I'm so thrilled to hear you're feeling good it gives me great hope! Enjoy your babymoon hun, you deserve it
AFM - my mum is Back again this weekend (as DH is o/s for a week) so I'm going to utilise her to the HILT as I have a heap of house/room rearrangement to get this place ready for bubba. I've also gotten DS a swing/slide set which Dad is gonna put up in the backyard so I can run DS around much more easily. That combined with a heap of playdates has definitely helped. I'm getting better at asking for help and not turning down help. It's a big learning curve this whole SPD thing, that's for sure!
Fionas - just had to add one more bit, as I woke up at 6am thinking about you (do you feel special now! ). I guess what's slowly occurring to my fuzzy pregnant brain that in SPD as with anything else in life we still have choices. Yes, our choices may be not of our making, or substantially more limited but at the end of the day we can still choose how we react, what we do, what we limit and what we can still do within our limits. Maybe that's why you seem (I could be wrong) much more at peace with your SPD cos you're making active choices, so you HAVE beaten it . I feel like i'm getting closer to that state of mind and no longer wasting time railing against my misfortune but rather looking at what I CAN do.
So with that profound thought, I'm off to have a fabbo day! I hope everyone else is going well
Urgh looks like I'm going to be joining this group!! Already at this stage my sciatic is just killing me, especially at night. Just waiting for the pelvic pain to kick in right along with it. My chiro told me last friday that my pelvis is already out of whack.
Aah that's no good Mel sorry to hear it's kicking in early (and congrats by the way!). Fingers crossed it doesn't get too bad, sounds like you're on it early with your chiro.
Well I think I was silly this week.. have been tag-teaming osteo and physio, one each week (yeah, cos i wanna be bankrupt soon lol) but was grumpy at my physio cos she didn't get back to me when she said she would... so didn't bother with physio appt this week. Now I think i'm paying for it. I've gone from just having pain/discomfort ONLY if I overdid it to now getting very sore every arvo/evening ... roll on Monday I want oste'o'clock! Even sitting at the PC is painful now darnit. Only 2 days to get through, and thank goodness it's the weekend.
Belfie, you're a sweetie and I am very flattered thank you! I'm currentlyvin hospital with 4-day old Gabriella so can't write much but WOW what a good decision it was for me to have a Caesar this time around. I'm pretty chuffed. I don't appear to be in any pain from my pelvis whatsoever and the things that were causing me problems immediately before the birth such ad getting out of bed and taking those first few steps without hanging on to a wall, are no longer an issue. Obviously I haven't tried walking very far but all newsxis good at this stage. It was quite funny when the midwife came to help me out of bed and shower me for the first time. She cautioned me to take things slowly as, "the pain can be quit ferocious." I got up, walked towards the shower and beamed at her. She said "Omg you are doing so well." I told her it was a little bit hurty but compared to what I've put up with in the last three years an absolute walk in the park.
So belfie I do think you're on the right track for thinking of this in terms of choices. I realized after NMR first experience with SPF that no one will give us a medal for being a trooper and the price to pay in terms of a longer physical and emotional recovery is too high. I see resting as a proactive choice which ensured my recovery will be as short as possible meaning I can get a life back quicker.
I have gone from being in tears four months after dd1's birth because of the amountvof pain I was still in, thinking there was no way I could have another Baby to four days after dd2's birth thinking that purely from a pelvis point of view that a third baby is not out of the question
Fionas I am so pleased you are feeling so much better. Our bodies are amazing things! I remember feeling the same after DS2 was born, I could have climbed a mountain just minutes after he was born (although I suspect my midwife would have stopped me had I tried )
well i'm feeling rather sad & sorry for myself at the moment, and everything is so painful. Painful in the groin area, painful in the hips, pain in the back. Yesterday I blew my nose and it hurt so much I was crying. Great look at work. Planning my trips around lifts and the like. And there's only 20 weeks left. Oh yay. How do I get out of this headspace?
Also, what painkillers can I take?
Sorry, I'm just not coping. Reading the happy stories on here is good therapy as to what can be, I just can't see it at the moment. I want to be a yummy mummy. Can't see that happening.
Oh Kazbah, I'm sorry you are in so much pain. It's just rotten I know so vent away, we all understand.
I'm assuming you are seeing a chiropractor or a physio? If not then make this a priority. Also ice the painful area. I know it's winter but it will reduce the swelling and ease the pain. Wrap a doona around you whilst you ice if it makes you more comfortable.
You can take paracetamol safely, so don't be afraid to do so. And planning your trips around lifts and access is an excellent idea. I would avoid the supermarket if I could not get parked outside, and under no circumstances would I walk up stairs if there was any way around it. Do what you have to for the next 20 weeks, I know it seems like forever but it will be over before you know it
I'm aching with you Kazbah, particularly at the front. I'm actually dreading having to do things that involve walking... grocery shopping, going to the post office - those every day things most people take for granted!
I only take Panadol and I try not to use that every day. Don't know if any thing else is safe... I'm averse to taking anything whilst pg!
Hi girls, sorry to say that I think I might be joining you. (nothing personal I promise... ) I have been having a lot of trouble getting comfy at night for about the last week. My hips, pelvis and legs get really painful and it doesn't seem to matter which position I'm in, I wake every hour or so in pain. I've been doing some reading and SPD seems to describe ALL my symptoms. I'm going to see the doc and physio today to find out for sure and to ask about continuing work (I'm a teacher, primary- so on my feet all day) I've had to take off yesterday and today due to pain.
I guess this is my payback for telling everyone how fantastic this pregnancy has been so far!
Do any of you sleep sitting up? I only ask as I notice the pain seems less when I'm sitting rather than lying down.
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, so saying, I'm finding that I'm "managing" it far better than I was, so at present am still better than I was at my first flare-up. I have my fingers crossed that you'll be able to help yours too. Have you found a good physio/osteo/chiro? I'm in Vermont, so not far from you if you want any recommendations. 
. As for clunking, i never clunk at the front, but always at the back (I've got clunk in my trunk 
)
... roll on Monday I want oste'o'clock! Even sitting at the PC is painful now darnit. Only 2 days to get through, and thank goodness it's the weekend.
hehe
) I have been having a lot of trouble getting comfy at night for about the last week. My hips, pelvis and legs get really painful and it doesn't seem to matter which position I'm in, I wake every hour or so in pain. I've been doing some reading and SPD seems to describe ALL my symptoms. I'm going to see the doc and physio today to find out for sure and to ask about continuing work (I'm a teacher, primary- so on my feet all day) I've had to take off yesterday and today due to pain.
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