SPD in pregnancy??

back2square1

Don't be scared, I had SPD in both of my pregnancies. Not surprising when my first born was 11lbs and I am a standard size 10. When I fell pregnant the second time round SPD was a lot worse (only had 1yr gap between pregnancies).

I went to a pain clinic which was organised by the maternity unit at local hospital. I was issued the belt which I wore from 11weeks onwards, it kind of helped but it did not provide any pain relief. At 15wks I was on crutches and at 23wks I was in a wheelchair because I could no longer withstand the pain and get about. This then meant I became an in patient at the hospital until I had my caesarean. As soon as I had the caesarean the pain was 90% better.

I always attended every physio appointment, did every exercise and was very determined to be back to my previous health and fitness. The physio is essential if you wish your condition to improve.

The Physiotherapist gave me some very useful tips whilst I was pregnant. I lay 1 pillow horizontal across the mattress which went underneath my tummy (lying on your side) I then had another pillow between my knees.

Unfortunately SPD cannot be alleviated until your baby is born but with good pain management (I had paracetamol and dihydrocodeine plus Fragmin injections which were needed due to me being immobile and prevent blood clots) and listening to your Physio advice it will help the situation

dollydoodah

Oh you have my sympathy as it is a horrible thing to have - take the advice from previous posters and the good news is that it does go away pretty quickly after birth.

Just a quick one - do you know the sex of your baby? Don't know if it is an old wives tale but apparently you are more prone to SPD if you are having a girl.

Woby_Tide

dollydoodah wrote: »

Oh you have my sympathy as it is a horrible thing to have - take the advice from previous posters and the good news is that it does go away pretty quickly after birth.

not to put a downer on it but that isn't strictly true. My wife was still suffering from SPD 18 months after the birth of our first. Rather than go through to the next stage of treatment we opted for cortisone injections and to have a second now then try and clear it all up once this latest one is born in a few weeks. She has been on crutches since about 17 weeks and we are now in the process of showing just how much a shambles the whole maternity system is with regards to SPD.

Rule 1: if you have SPD don't give birth on yuor back and don't have an epidural so you know when you are reaching your pain threshold so as not to cause damage
Rule 2: if the pain is so bad now you need an epidural, lie on your back, you won't feel a thing

Thanks, thats a great help grrr.

cammysmum

I totally sympathise. I had dreadful SPD in my last pregnancy, and am glad to say it did disappear immediatley after giving birth, thank God.

I used to be literally crawling around by 5pm every evening, and after one especially bad weekend of it I went to my midwife in tears. It was all the more difficult as I was still limping aroung after my 2 1/2 year old! Anyway, my mw first of all gave me stronger painkillers (co-codamol) which took the edge off the pain a wee bit but not fully. She also gave me a belt which was just uncomfortable. Then she referred me to an acupuncturist - by this stage I was willing to try anything, so went along - and can honestly say that after just one session the pain had all but vanished, after two sessions I felt human again. I did need to keep going for sessions throughtout the rest of my pregnancy (this was from about 25 weeks on) and it truly was amazing. I can't recommend it enough.

Try to get referred, beg if you have to! I have no idea how it works, but it definitely did work for me and hopefully would help others with this awful condition too.

Good luck!

violetmva

I am feeling a lot better with the belt now, but just scared that previous problems i had and still have with my back and neck can trigger something bad and bigger if i give birth naturally, which i would love to do - don't like the idea of someone cutting me :eek:
I thought in the beggining of my pregnancy it will be a girl as my skin was soooo bad and spotty, but at my 20 week scan the lady who did it was very stroppy and just mumbled it will be a boy, i don't think she even looked for the gender, she didn't say a word throughout the whole scan - very disappointing as i was expecting it to be much fuller experience than the 12 week scan.
The pillow advises are really helpfull - my physio tought me the same and it does miracles.
Just 66 days to go - can't wait :j

Lydia.42

You have my sympathies.
I went from being very fit (climbed Ben Nevis and 7 other Scottish mountains at start of pregnancy, to not being able to walk the 5-10 stroll to the shops.
OH had to come and rescue me in car as my ligaments were the first thing to play me up. Felt like a bad stitch that got worse with every step until i was doubled over. Pesky hormones.

Then joy of joys, the SPD arrived. I have been lucky in that i have not had to resort to crutches/wheel chair, but have taken midwifes advice and started to take things easy when i was diagnosed.

Like the other posters have said, read up on the internet all you can about keeping legs together when getting in and out of car/bed etc. Try not to stay in one position for too long....i found driving long distances for work was agony when i tryed to get out of the car at the other end of the journey, as i had seized.

Also, as one of the OP said, make sure it is is your hospital notes. I have read on a number of sites that if you are given an epidural, your legs may be spread wider than you would normally comfortably allow, and this can actually cause long term/permanent damage. Some people suggest measuring with string how far you can comfortably spread your legs (sorry, no polite way of phrasing it), so that if you do have an epidural you can show how far apart your legs should go.

Physio and a support belt are also recommended to help, although i found the belt only helped a little with my ligament pain, not the SPD.

Good luck - i am due on the 11th May and keeping my fingers crossed that i will be one of the lucky ones that finds relief when baby arrives.

violetmva

Good luck, Lidia!
I hope all goes well for you, fingers crossed for the lucky ones i hope i'll be one of them too

super41

Can sympathise with everyone as I had this with both my pregnancies (boy & girl). Would echo what people have said about asking for physio etc. If you're offered crutches accept them, they're great even if you just use them round the house, as they take the strain off your pelvis. Would also emphasise have it put in your notes as you won't be in any mind to tell the MWs about this when you get to labour. It was in mine but it would seem no-one took much notice as they ended up getting me into all sorts of psoitions that are not a good idea (was told this by a physio in my 2nd preg). For the 2nd I had a ceasarian for a number of reasons one being the SPD. I honestly can't imagine going into labour as I could hardly move by the end and was in tears with the pain. One year on it has gone though I get a lot of twinges in my ligaments which I put down to the SPD.
One of the most upsetting things I encounterd was other peoples attitudes. With my first no-one seemed to have heard about it (and the health profs were a bit vague as well!) and seemed to think I was either imagining it or putting it on. So if you get a diagnosis of SPS I suggest that you show people some infomration about it otherwise you get the 'what's the fuss you're only having a baby' attitude.

Welshlassie

Thanks all for your comments. I spoke to the MW yesterday who said my pain (because of the position) sounded more orthopedic than pregnancy related and to see my GP and an urgent case. Managed to get in lunchtime yesterday and GP has said that it could be pregnancy or not, he didn't mention SPD at all.

I have hypermobility in all my joints and this could be part of the problem, normally they would xray me to check for arthritisis and imflammation, but obviously don't want to just yet, so he has prescribed some strong co-codamol and referred me to an obstretric physio, so should hear from them soon.

He also said he would like to see me once my pregnancy is over just to check whether it was the pregnancy causing the problem or something else.

I took the painkillers before I went to went last night and slept so much better, although I'm still tired today I feel much better knowing I can at least sleep over the weekend. I'm sitting tight waiting to get the referral through and will be seeing my MW for a routine check next Thursday anyway so will find out what the timescales are like then if I haven't already heard.

Thanks again for all your comments I'll follow as many of the tips as I can and hope it doesn't get worse.

tallullahbelle

Reading through this has made me cry...I had spd 6 years ago and was so bad I was induced 3 weeks early. The birth was quick and easy- I think your pain threshold is higher as you are in constant pain anyway. 6 years ago hardly anyone had heard of it, and I felt very isolated.
My advice would be to take any pain relief offered (I didn't as I was worried it would harm my baby, plus the tablets made me feel sick and didn't touch the sides of the pain), but if I had to go through it again I'd find a painkiller that worked and would take it too...accept any offer of help, and ask if you need to...take the crutches...wear the belt even if it feels useless...get some big support knickers for after the birth to help pull your bones together...
Chin up...6 years on I still suffer but not all the time. People laugh at me because I walk everywhere, but when I was bedridden and could only crawl to the loo, or hobble around on crutches I vowed I'd never take walking for granted again, and now I walk everywhere simply because I can.
If anyone needs any advice or moral support on this please feel free to mail me...