Friday, March 30, 2012

Pregnancy Pains

I've had some pain during this pregnancy. I had it during my pregnancy with Adalyn although I didn't know what it was so I never blogged about it because I was told it was just muscle pain probably due to weight gain. I had a lot of pelvic pain (not really a topic that comes up in conversation nor had I ever known anyone that had it so I thought I was just a freak of nature.) Well it came back during this pregnancy and I started feeling the pain really early on before I even started gaining weight.  I was desperate to try anything to fix the pain (since I knew the further into my pregnancy, the worse it would get...been there done that) so when my friend recommended her physical therapist I jumped at the idea.  I went to a physical therapist a couple weeks ago and was diagnosed with Pubic Symphysis Diastasis which is actually bone pain, not muscle pain. It actually was a relief to be diagnosed with something that my PT said can be treated. This is something that seems to happen more often later in pregnancies, but this started in right at the beginning of my pregnancy. Extra hormones have actually made my pelvic bone shift all around causing my pelvic bones to rotate completely out of position causing a lot of pain. I had 3 different areas in my hips and pelvic area that were severely misaligned. My PT said that possibly I was so very misaligned because my pregnancies were so close together and my hips never fully realigned after my first pregnancy.  So now in our (my PT and my) quest to realign my hip/pelvic region and alleviate the pelvic pain, I've gotten pain in my back and hips since my body and muscles don't want to get realigned. I do have to say that maybe the extra Relaxin hormones that are causing my bones to be too loosey goosey was maybe the reason that I had such an easy delivery with Adalyn. So I guess the bad comes with the good! Either way, I'm hoping that within the next few weeks we can get my pain under control. Other than waddling around like I'm 37 weeks (due to the pain) I feel pretty good during this pregnancy. Each week of therapy and exercises seems to lessen my pain so I'm encouraged.  You better believe I'll be going to my PT after Cayden is born to make sure that my hips stay aligned once the hormones are out of my system. The websites say that once you have the baby the pain goes away, but mine stuck around for months after I had Adalyn so I would bet that my hips never realigned themselves.

I thought this time around I'd blog about my pelvic pain since I honestly had never heard of anyone having it...maybe someone else is in this same place and maybe my blog about my weird pregnancy pain will help someone know they aren't the only one with crazy pains. Oh and also Physical Therapists are a-mazing and usually covered by insurance so find a good one who specializes in the pelvic region and also pregnancy and you'll be happy you did! When I had researched this pain online, the places I found through google never mentioned that a PT could completely alleviate the pain... most said to avoid situations that cause the pain. I'd like to say a big HA HA to that since everything I did (even laying in bed) caused pain. Oh and one site recommended pain medication. Why use meds when you can heal the problem instead of masking the pain with chemicals?

So there you have it. I never thought I'd do it, but there's an entire post dedicated to my pelvic region. ::blush::




6 comments:

Aishlea said...

Oh, girl! So sorry for your pain! I'm glad the PT seems to be working for you! How miserable!!!

I tried to reply to your comment on my post the other day but it wouldn't let me. I was going to tell you about boys clothes- so hard to find the cute stuff! Carter's always has good stuff, but a lot of Cohen's clothes are Gap, Old Navy, or from Zulily. :)

Justin and Jessica said...

I'm so sorry you have to deal with this! I never saw a PT about it, but I'm pretty sure that I had the same problem with my last two pregnancies. Sleeping was the worst. I would wake up crying because the pain was so awful. I could never figure out how to describe it someone, so my doctor just thought it was do to the babies being low. The only thing I could describe is that it felt like my pubic bone was broken.

I hope you get some relief from the pain. :-)

Sue said...

OUCH, Abby... I hope the PT works wonders for you Sweetie. I'll pray for you! xo

Jenn said...

I feel your pain sista. My OB/GYN at the time ignored all that I said, the only helpful thing was sending me to PT.

(Apologies in advance for this gigantic wall of text:)
That said, I've spent the better part of the last 2.5 years in/out of PT for pelvic pain. I started when I was 6 mo pregnant. At 34ish weeks I tore some of the cartilage in my pelvis. That HURT. All I did was turn in bed to get out of bed. At 39.5 weeks I was induced (they estimated my son would be between 9-11 lbs, he was 9.5lbs) but they insisted I push, instead of elective c-section. I pushed for 3.5 hours and the anesthesiologist stayed by me the entire time to keep maxing out the epidural because I could feel my pelvic bone/ligaments ripping while pushing. I wound up having that c-section (took them 10 minutes to get his head out of the birth canal- which I felt btw). I couldn't walk at all for the first month after my son was born.

I did 2-3x week PT, massage, acupuncture and meds for about 1.5 years. At that point I moved to meds, 1x per week and actupuncture every other week. I did that for ~7 months and now just take meds and go in for PT/acupuncture as needed.

Try actupuncture as well. It truly does help with pain management. Many insurance companies will cover it too. My PT clinic happens to offer it, hallelujah. My PT clinic has on-site massage as optional part of the therapy. Its designed for targeted pain therapy. Also recommend it.

I've had cortisone shots (was told they're safe for preggo/nursing by my PT clinic) and that was heavenly. I wish I'd had them while I was preggo. I'll be doing them again once I get pregnant again.

I take a medicine now that helps with nerve pain- it is often used for folks with fibromyalgia, which I don't have but since I live in 24/7/365 pain, it helps. It is not safe for preg/nursing however there is one similar (though not as effective as mine) that is safe for preggo/nursing. Might be an option to discuss if the pain gets real bad. I'll be doing this once I get pregnant with my 2nd.

Highly recommend pregnancy full body pillows as well as the girdle. Uncomfortable but helped the pain.

I hope that anything I mentioned can help you. I know the pain and I'm sorry to hear you going through it. Feel free to contact me if you ever want to 'talk' about it.

Lindsy said...

So glad you sought out therapy and although it's not been a "quick fix" it's helping!

Murdock's mama said...

Oh boy do I feel your pain! That is the worst!! :( So glad it's 'real' when I was pregnant I thought I was just being a wimp...it's no joke! Glad the PT is helping! Hang it there...you're on the down side now! :)