SPD and me..

I didn't like pregnancy.

There I've said it. I feel bad for saying it as I know that I am so lucky to have been able to carry my child and bore him into the world healthy and happy but I really hated pregnancy. 

Why did I hate pregnancy? Because I suffered with SPD.

Whats SPD I hear you ask? Well, unless you have suffered with it (and I say suffered as it really is suffering) you probably won't know what I am talking about. The NHS website describes SPD, or PPGP as it's sometimes called, as the following:

PPGP is a collection of uncomfortable symptoms caused by a misalignment or stiffness of your pelvic joints at either the back or front of your pelvis. PPGP is not harmful to your baby, but it can cause severe pain around your pelvic area and make it difficult for you to get around. Different women have different symptoms, and PPGP is worse for some women than others. Symptoms can include:

• pain over the pubic bone at the front in the centre
• pain across one or both sides of your lower back
• pain in the area between your vagina and anus (perineum)

Pain can also radiate to your thighs, and some women feel or hear a clicking or grinding in the pelvic area. The pain can be most noticeable when you are:

• walking
• going upstairs
• standing on one leg (for example, when you’re getting dressed or going upstairs)
• turning over in bed

It can also be difficult to move your legs apart – for example, when you get out of a car.

There is treatment to help, and techniques to manage the pain and discomfort. If you get the right advice and treatment early on, PPGP can usually be managed and the symptoms minimised. Occasionally, the symptoms even clear up completely. Most women with PPGP can have a normal vaginal birth. 

Sounds bad? Having it is worse and I know that any woman that has suffered with it will agree!

Mine started at about 27 weeks pregnant and started as a sharp pain that would shoot my up lady area every now and again which I just put down to things growing and stretching down there. I knew it was something more than that we it started to feel like I have been kicked by a horse in my "foof" when ever I walked. Over time it got worse and I ended up speaking to my GP who signed me off work and referred me to physio. The physio gave me a belt to wear and some exercises to do but if I am being totally honest, none of it helped. It was honest excruciating and I remember that even walking to the car would almost bring me to tears sometimes. The only time I was able to get any relief was when I was swimming. Swimming was a god send and I would have quite happily lived in a swimming pool for the rest of my pregnancy had the option been there!

Apart from the pain, there was another repression of SPD that made me dislike pregnancy. I felt as though I missed out on a lot of things that I should have been enjoying through those last few months. As I got bigger the pain got worse and it meant that I spent a lot of my time either on the sofa, in the swimming pool or bouncing on an exercise ball. I couldn't do so many of the things that I had planned to. I wanted to go on a few more 'pre baby' dates with hubby and do things like mini golf and cinema trip etc. That didn't happen as I was too uncomfortable. I was unable to help hubby decorate bubbas room. I vividly remember the mixture of emotions as I laid in bed watching hubs paint our little boys bedroom. I felt immensely smug and happy that my little boy was going to have such a wonderful Daddy but at the same time felt so sad that I couldn't be in there helping and making those memories together. There were family events like BBQs and days out that I couldn't enjoy as I was just in constant pain. Yes the pain was bad but the feeling of missing all of these things was worse as I knew that once bubba came along I wouldn't be able to get any of those moments back again.

The saving grace for me, however, is that literally as soon as bubba had popped out and my epidural had worn off, I had no pain! It was amazing and I was suprised. The doctors and midwives I had seen whilst pregnant had said that it could take a while to settle down and that it may even still continue once I had given birth but as soon as Bubba was out I was pain free. Well, of course not pain free as I still had to deal with all the normal post partum stuff but my SPD was gone!

So to all you ladies out there suffering with SPD or PPGP or whatever you want to call it, then have hope. It should and hopefully will get better. And if not, get in the pool :) it might bring a little comfort.