13-11-2008 - HELPFUL TIPS ON COPING WITH SPD

My mood while writing this blog: HEALTHY

OK GIRLS, I REGULARLY GET PEOPLE ASKING ME ON S.P.D AND HOW I COPED WITH AND WHAT I DID TO DEAL WITH IT ON A DAILY BASIS.......

SO IVE DECIDED TO WRITE A BLOG SO I CAN DIRECT PEOPLE HERE INSTEAD OF HAVING TO WRITE OUT SEPERATE MESSAGES! NOT THAT IM LAZY IM JUST A FULL TIME MUM AND DONT HAVE TIME TO BRUSH MY HAIR NOW, SO IT MAKES IT EASIER TO DO THIS!

S.P.D IS CAUSED BECAUSE WE RELEASE A HORMONE CALLED RELAXING WHILST PREGNANT THAT MAKES THE PUBIC BONE/PELVIS SOFTEN TO MAKE IT EASIER FOR CHILD BIRTH, NOW THE PAIN COMES FROM WHEN ONE SIDE OF THE PUBIC BONES MOVES MORE THAN THE OTHER , THEY SHOULD BE PRETTY MUCH STATIC, AND THIS IS WHAT CAUSES THE UNBELIEVABLE AMOUNT OF PAIN.

I WENT FOR PHYSIO AND I GOT GIVEN THREE THINGS, A PAIR CRUTCHES TO TAKE THE WEIGHT OFF MY PELVIS,A SUPPORT BELT TO DO THE SAME, AND A TUBIGRIP THAT HOLDS AND RESTRICTS THE MOVEMENTS OF HIPS AND THE LEGS(THIS ONE I FOUND PARTICULARLY HELPFUL)

THERE ARE EXERCISES AND CERTAIN THINGS THAT AN SPD SUFFERER NEEDS TO DO TO MAKE THEIR DAY A LITTLE BIT EASIER:

1: BATH-TIME: WHEN GETTING IN AND OUT OF THE BATH STAND SIDEWAYS SO YOUR OUTER THIGH IS FACING THE SIDE IF THE BATH. BEND OVER AND OUT YOUR HANDS ON THE SIDE OF THE BATH, TRY TO GET AS LOW AS POSSIBLE AND YOUR HANDS AT ONE END OF THE BATH AND YOUR LEGS AT THE OTHER SO YOU ARE STRETCHED OUT(AT THIS POINT YOUR BODY SHOULD BE LENGTHWAYS IN LINE WITH THE SIDE OF BATH, SO IF YOU LAID ON TOPOF THE RIM YOU'D COVER IT), THIS WAY MAKES IT EASIER TO GET IT AND OUT AS YOUR LES DONT HAVE TO BE BROUGHT UP AS HIGH TO GET OVER THE RIM.......BATH TIME IS STILL PAINFUL, ITS NEVER A PAIN FREE EXERCISE THIS ONE.

2: STAIRS: TO WALK UPSTAIRS/STEPS YOU NEED TO WALK SIDEWAYS OR BACKWARDS, AND ONLY DO ONE STEP AT A TIME. I.E RIGHT FOOT ON STEP 1, LEFT FOOT ON STEP 1, NOT RIGTH FOOT ON STEP 1 LEFT FOOT ON STEP 2 ETC ETC...YOU NEED TO KEEP YOUR LEGS AS CLOSE AS POSSIBLE. AND NEVER WALK UPSTAIRS FORWARD BECAUSE THE HEIGHT OF THE KNEE AND FORCE OF THE FOOT PUSHING ON THE STEP UPWARDS CREATES SOOOOO MUCH PAIN ON THE HIPS AND THE PUBIC BONE.

3: BED TIME: THIS IS OBVIOUSLY DEPENDANT ON THE HEIGHT OF THE BED - MINE WAS AS HIGH AS MY HIP! PUT YOUR BUM ON THE BED AND TRY AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE TO 'SCOOCH' BACKWARDS SO YOU ARE FIRMLY ON THE BED, AND THEN 'GLUE' YOUR LEGS TOGETHER AND BRING THEM ON THE BED TOGETHER AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE. THIS IS THE SAME TOG ET OUT, 'SCOOCH' AS FAR TO THE EDGE AS YOU CAN AND FEET ON FLOOR TOGETHER.....THIS PROVES HARDER AND HARDER AS THE PREGNANCY DEVELOPS AND MUM AND BABY PUT ON WEIGHT. IF YOU DO HAVE A HIGH BED LIKE ME I SUGGEST GETTING A LITTLE STEP TO MAKE IT A LITTLE EASIER.....A CHILDS STEP IS GOOD ENOUGH.

4: SLEEP: IF YOU LAY ON YOUR SIDE GET A PILLOW AND PLACE IT INBETWEEN YOU LEGS AS THIS REALIGNS YOUR HIPS WHILST YOU SLEEP AND HOPEFULLY YOU'LL BE ABLE TO REST MORE. IF THE PILLOW IS FLAT/THIN THEN YOU NEED TO FOLD IT OTHERWISE ITS A WASTED EXERCISE.

5: PELVIC FLOOR: DO YOU PELVIC FLOOR EXERCISES AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE, THIS STRENGTHENS THE PELVIC MUSCLE WHICH TAKES A LOT OF THE STRAIN. DO 30 REPS OF SQUEZZE,AND QUICK RELEASE AND THEN 30 REPS OF SQUEEZE AND HOLD FOR UP TO 10 SECS, MY PHYSIO SAID 10SEC IS UNOBTAINABLE STRIAGHT AWAY SO YOU NEED TO WORK AT IT, THEN RELEASE.

6: MEDICATION: LIKE MANY MUMS OUT THERE I DETESTED TAKING MEDICATION WHILST I WAS PREGNANT, EVEN THOUGH THE MEDS MADE NO EFFECT ON JD AT ALL.BUT IN THE END I CAME TO THE CONCLUSION THAT IF I WAS OUTTA PAIN AND I WAS SLEEPING BETTER THEN JD WAS SLEEPING AND FAR MORE RELAXED TOO.THE MEDS ARE PARACETOMOLS AND CODEINE PHOSPHATE, TAKE THEM TOGETHER 1 EACH.I TRIED TO GET THROUGH THE DAY WITHOUT ANY MEDS AT ALL AND JUST DEAL WITH IT, AND THEN BEFORE BED I WOULD TAKE 1 EACH SO I COULD SLEEP A LITTLE BETTER.

IF YOU ARE ONE OF THE TRULY UNLUCKY ONES THEN S.P.D CAN REOCCUR WITH EVERY MONTHLY PERIOD AFTER CHILDBIRTH AS WE RELEASE THE HORMONE RELAXIN WHEN MENSTRUATING AS WE DO WHEN PREGNANT. THIS IS VERY UNCOMMON BUT IT IS KNOWN, THE ONLY THING I CAN SAY IS I WAS EXTREMELY BAD, BY THE LAST MONTH OF THE PREGNANCY I WAS CRAWLING UPSTAIRS AS I COULDNT EVEN WALK BACKWARDS ANYMORE AND I WAS PRETTY MUCH ON BEDREST AND THIS STARTED AT MONTH 4 SO MY MAN WAS DRESSING ME EARLY ON. I HAVE HAD A MONTHLY AND I DIDNT HAVE ANY SPD EFFECTS AT ALL.

DONT EXPECT MIRACLES AFTER CHILD BIRTH IT CAN TAKE UP TO 5/6 WEEKS FOR THE EFFECTS TO SUBSIDE, IT TOOK ME ABOUT 4 WEEKS TO FEEL 'PROPERLY' HEALED, BUT BY THE 3RD DAY AFTER CHILDBIRTH THE ONLY PAIN I WAS FEELING WAS ACTUALLY FROM THE BIRTH.

UNFORTUNATELY IF YOU ARE WANTING ANY MORE CHILDREN, YOU NEED TO BE AWARE THAT THE SPD COMES BACK WITH AVENGENCE AND EARLIER ON IN THE PREGNANCIES. IF STEVE AND I DECIDE TO HAVE MORE CHILDREN IT WILL DEFINENTLY BE PLANNED AS WE NEED £££ IN THE BANK AS I KNOW THAT I WONT BE ABLE TO DEAL WITH THE SPD ALL OVER AGAIN AND STILL BE FULL TIME WORKING AT 34 WEEKS ON CRUTCHES,SUPPORT BELTS AND 3 HOURS ON PUBLIC TRANSPORT!!!!!

I CAN NOW WEAR HEELS, JUMP,RUN AND THE BEDROOM ACTIVITY HAS DEFINENTLY CHANGED AS I CAN NOW MOVE!

DONT WORRY ABOUT THE BIRTH AT ALL, UNLESS THE PUBIC BONE ACTUALLY BREAKS (HIGHLY UNLIKELY) THEN A NATURAL BIRTH IS FINE, THE C SECTION WILL ONLY BE DONE AS AN EMERGENCY. AT MY 37 WEEKS MATERNITY APPT I WAS MEASURING 41 SO I HAD APPT TO BE INDUCED 6 DAYS LATER, LUCKILY FOR ME 2 DAYS LATER JD ARRIVED ON HIS OWN ACCORD. THE INDUCTION WAS BECAUSE I WAS SOOOO BIG AND ALSO SPD. BUT HE ARRIVED I HAD ALL NATURAL CHILD BIRTH, INC NO PAIN RELIEF AND I DIDNT EVEN FEEL THE EFFECTS OF SPD, IM SURE THEY WERE THERE - BUT YOU CONCENTRATE ON THE CONTRACTIONS!

I HOPE THIS HAS HELPED AND IF ANYONE WANTS ANY MORE INFO OR JUST TO RANT ABOUT THE PAIN AND THE INCONVENIENCE OF SPD THEN JUST DO SO.