Pelvic Instability / Pelvic Girdle Pain – Anyone who’s been there or going through it
Hi, I am suffering from pelvic instability / pelvic girdle pain whatever you prefer to call it. It’s terribly painful and I have just come home from hospital as a result of it progressing beyond a point I could handle. I am seeing a physio and taking all the appropriate steps in terms of moving/lifting/support aids etc. I am now also on Endone (only 4 days worth unfortunately) and Panadine to try manage the pain. I also use hot/cold packs etc to help. My reason for mentioning this is I have just gone through the whole process of explaining and proving that I really am at the end of what can be done to help.
The reason for this post is to try find others who are either going through this or have experienced it who can pass on information that could be useful. My primary concern is that I am now unable to move easily (I can slowly do things and shuffle around) and I am the primary career of a beautiful but active 16mth old son. I still have 9 weeks to go and even though my GP, OBS, Psychologist and DH are all supportive I don’t know how to survive the remaining time and recovery period.
Has anyone come across support groups or resources that specifically deal with this type of problem that could help me on an emotional level?
Secondly are there resources out there or ways to find help with the problems of being temporarily stuck with reduced mobility and caring for a small child?
While I don’t want to use the term disabled as it is only temporary I do realise that at the moment my ability to perform everyday tasks and functions of both my own care and my families is significantly reduced. As I have never been in this situation before I don’t know what to do or where to look.
While my DH has taken the week off to care for DH and I he is not in a position to become a full time career for the next however many weeks without affecting his Study/Work and our sole income. My In-Laws are the only other family here but they both work and are already trying to help out in their limited free time.
Hope someone out there can shine a little light on things.
I Know EXACTLY what you are going through. I have a walking frame that I got when my symphisis pubis separated. Thankfully I dont need it any more. I got my frame at 27 weeks pg. I spent the last month of my pregnancy in a wheelchair and had to have one of our parents here full time to care for the older kids. It might be worth hiring a live in nanny if you can't rely on family because unfortunately it wont get any easier. I was on Panadine Forte for 3 months.
I had DD3 vaginally. Avoid drugs so that you are aware of any pelvic pain. Gas and air is fine but if you do need an epi then you need to talk to your care provider about a CS in that instance. If anything the pelvic issues made birth easier, DD came out facing my left leg. I will see if I can find my birth story for you.
All you can do at this stage is keep using your brace 24/7, Ice, pain meds, and lay down as much as possible. If you have any more Qs I am happy to share more of my experiences with you.
You poor thing - I can understand why the pain is getting you down
I had very bad pubic symphisis pain at about the 30 week mark and wondered if I would ever be fully mobile again in pregnancy. While my pain doesnt sound as bad as yours, it certainly stopped me walking distances of more than 50 metres at a time. I could also forget about sleeping without my tummy well propped up and a huge pillow between my legs too.
I got a pre-natal cradle online and also used a belly bra (when it wasnt hot!), but mainly spent lots of time sitting in a lazy-boy. I kept doing my kegel exercises with a vengence through this period despite it being the last thing I felt like doing. I also visited a very good osteopath who would spend 40 minutes doing gentle work on my pelvis.
Then, bizzarely, it seemed to improve at about 34/35 weeks. Now I realise it was probably just pain assosiated with a big growth spurt and a big stretching of my pelvis.
I am now comparatively mobile and can walk to the corner store.....well that is if I hadn't torn my calf muscle.
Keep your chin up. I know the pain feels like it wont end, but the one thing everyone said to me is that it would (and it did).
maranui - I'm glad to hear that it resolved itself for you as it really isn't easy. I will certainly do the pelvic floor exercises as its one of the few activities I can do - probably end up with better streangth down there than I did after DS as a result. Unfortunatly as this has been since week 12 and only increasing I don't think it will get better till baby is out, still if it does I would be over the moon.
alioops - Thank you for reaching out to me, one of the things I am worried about is that I might very well end up in a wheel chair as I can't push myself much further than I am already doing. I might very well need a walking frame just to be able to get up and down off seats, as it is I have a second chair with arms on it to help with lowering me onto the toilet. Pregnancy and bathroom trips is annoying enough without needing to psyc yourself up first.
One of the MW's mentioned that the OBS might want to reccomend a CS, for me this is something I would really object too for a number of reasons. I used the gass last time and was given a pethidine shot but it only kicked in after DS was born (he was rather faster than expected) so I know I should be able to make it.
I had heard that it is more painful with this type of issue though so I had thought that I might conceed to an epidural early on though that scares me too. I hadn't thought that I might need to feel the pain to help direct those around me as to what to or not to do. I must admit I was beyond talking for most of the birth so I don't know if I could tell anyone anything even if I did need to. Thank you for bringing it up as I can see it is something I will need to take into serious consideration.
On the CS side of things I don't know if you had all the pros and cons discussed with you so you may or may not be able to help. From what I understand if I didn't go for the elective CS but had an emergency CS because I couldn't get through the delivery on the day they would more than likely have to cut across the muscles that wrap around the front of the tummy area. From what seems like common sense but I did also ask the physio if they do this then it is that much harder to strengthen everything afterwards to help recovery. However if I did the elective so it wasn't rushed then they could move the muscles aside therefore not need to damage me as much (though it would still be fairly rough). Does this sound like anything they discussed with you at all?
I honestly don't know what to do about this. I know that for me any intervention apart from the pethidine and gass is more likely to panic and stress me out but I don't want my fears to make me choose a path that will cause more damage in the long run. I can see your point about the very same reasons why the joints are a problem being good for a normal birth as there is more room to move so that is a positive I will be taking on board.
Oh one other question, was there any consideration to induce or try have the baby before the due date (thinking at 37 weeks not 40) so that the size is not as large and so that hopefully you can start recovery sooner? I don't want to harm my baby but at the moment she is kind of harming me so its a bit of give and take. Seems kind of unfair that even though I am going through this she is sitting there 100% happy, healthy and fine - its a good thing but still rather frustrating.
Anyway thank you both for sharing, I couldn't use the link for the birth story but I'll have a bit of a search and try find it. I'll just have to see what to do next.
I tried to have an elective CS but my ob would not agree to it. In Emergency CS they do try to make the cut low still, especially considering that if you are in labour that is where bubs head is most likely to be.
We spent a heck of a lot of time discussing pros and cons with my ob and only when she said that she had been with a woman that had also been in a chair and that woman had delivered vaginally was I more coonfident. I did push for induction as I was not coping and my family support could not continue as mum had to go back to Adelaide to look after dad having eye surgery and MIL was in hospital so FIL had to go home too. I was induced at 39+2 and Leah was born in 2.5 hours. I had her half sitting up on the bed. She was tiny and only needed to go to the SCN for the codeine addiction. I was walking again gingerly and slowly 3 days later.
To find my birth story try doing a search for 'Leah Annabel' it should be the top thread
You may also be able to qualify for some in home care at a reduced rate through your hospital.
My physio recommended getting a good baby carrier, like a HAB for after birth so I could use my hands to support myself as needed and still carry her.
I got to the point where i probably should have been using a walking frame but I quit work early instead...the difference being that I didn't need to care for a small toddler at the same time. I was in the ACT at the time and I wasn't able to access any help/services so I took a very DIY approach to getting through.
I would really encourage you to take up some child care for your DS during the week. If money is an issue, you can apply for extra child care hours and "special child care benefit" which is where the service pays your part of the fees for up to 13 weeks (due to financial hardship, esp where cause by temporary illness, etc). If you don't like the child care centre environment, try family day care (run by communities at work in the ACT)- if you explain your circumstances they should try to find you a good carer quickly.
This really is a condition where it does not pay to 'push through' the pain/mobility etc - it WILL get worse if you do too much. You may however be able to stabilise this with good physio and your exercises & support gadgets etc - but only if you rest and don't do too much. If you're still able to drive & move short distances I recommend you get a temporary disabled parking sticker (I didn't do this but wish I had) - every way you can reduce how many steps you take in a day/how much standing/moving/carrying you do will help to reduce your pain and make it more bearable. My DH was away so I had to retain a certain level of functionality (or bust) so I did this by cutting every corner I could. I used a laundry trolley so I didn't have to carry the laundry basket. I put clothes thru the dryer whenever I could. I bought frozen or pre-cut veggie and bagged salads so I didn't have to sit/stand upright to get food on the table every night. I ordered internet groceries and got the man to carry the stuff into the kitchen and put the cold things close to the fridge etc.
I also second Maranui's layzboy suggestion. I didn't get mine until about 34 weeks (once DH was home again) BUT it was the first real attempt at comfortableness I'd had in months. You could look at hiring one of those comfy chairs with an electric lift mechanism in it as a temporary measure, I guess.
Let me just say, I love the positive help-yourself attitude you are taking to all of this. It can be incredibly difficult to deal with such a sudden mobility & pain problem when you are usually independent and self-sufficient. It helps to remind yourself that it's temporary, even if you need physio etc after the birth eventually you will get better.
Pelvic Instability / Pelvic Girdle Pain – Anyone who’s been there or going through it
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