More bad news...amidst the good

Been doing some reading up online about these pains I've been having in my right leg and I have more or less self diagnosed myself to have Pelvic Girdle Pain (PGP), a condition that affects the back of the pelvis believed to be due to a less stable or 'unlocked' pelvis.

Our pelvis is a wonderful, very complicated and essential part of our body that is truly under appreciated. Until you experience pelvic pain or have mobility trouble (no, not having a car or driver's licence does NOT count which leads to my 2nd mobility problem but that's for another day). Another condition that I may have although not as severely is Symphysis Pubis Dysfunction (SPD) which basically attacks the pubic area in the front of the pelvis. So basically I have pains in the front AND back of the pelvis.

Splendid.

Reading the symptoms that define PGP was like the author was writing about me. It was so spot on, it's freaky. Ok fine, granted this is not a rare illness but a relatively common condition that affects pregnant woman but hey, this is my first time producing a human being. I think I have the licence to be a little more drama queenish than usual. So the symptoms as taken from Babycentre.com (comments in yellow are what I have suffered):-

• Pain is often one sided and may be concentrated in the buttock area (Oooh yeah, right side to be exact)
• It may appear to jump from side to side or be accompanied by a general back pain or Symphysis Pubis Dysfunction (uh huh..what did I say about this SPD?? Front AND back pains. There's no running away lah!)
• It can send shooting pains into your buttocks (heck yeah!) or down the back of your legs (right down to the back of the knee!)
• You may also have pain in your hips (right hip! Feels like someone hammering the right hip socket)
• One or both of your legs may feel weak (hence I have crutches now) and you may not be able to lift your legs, particularly when lying down. (hell, I can't even move them sometimes)
• The pain is usually made worse by lying on your back, turning over in bed, walking and standing from a sitting position (you don't say? So basically it's all normal human mobility functions? Sheesh, no wonder I couldn't move)
• It is often worse at night (and there I had thought it was having the husband at home) and the degree of night pain you may experience will probably be related to how active you are during the day (And there I thot I was just being lazy but it was actually self preservation)
• Separating your legs, especially when sitting in a slumped position or lying down can be painful (ooh...husband will NOT be pleased to hear that)

Although it is good to know what I have and to learn what I can do to relieve some of the pain, something I had hoped to learn from going to the doctor which of cos did NOT happen, reading the article further kinda crashed my spirits a little.

'If you experience PGP in one pregnancy, it is more likely to recur earlier in any subsequent pregnancy, and without professional advice or treatment, may be more severe.'

So not only will the likelihood of this torture return to plague me if I decide to have more children, it may return MORE severe if I don't get help? Just thinking of how it can be MORE severe than what I've experienced so far sends shivers up and down my spine and definitely makes me wonder if this baby will be an only child. Hmm...

And more bad news...

'PGP can linger after delivery and it is important that any treatment continues after pregnancy. Around 50% of women can still experience pain at 12 weeks after delivery although it is usually much less severe than during the pregnancy. It is more common to have pain that lasts for longer than 12 weeks if you have experienced PGP in a previous pregnancy.'

More common to have pain for LONGER than 12 weeks (which is essentially 3 mths!!) if I was to have a 2nd child??! Bad enough knowing I will have this pain (tho not as severe) for about 3 mths after birth but to know it not only will come back but will last longer for my next child and the next and the next??? What I can say for RIGHT NOW is that if we were to have a 2nd child, it will NOT be a planned one. Uh uh...nope..definitely not planned.

But apart from treating the pains that I face now DURING pregnancy, I am also worried and frankly freaked out by what I will face come labour. But one silver lining in this black cloud of pelvic pain is that it is SUPPOSEDLY rare for PGP to cause any problems during labour, with appropriate advice of cos. And if possible, I should consider delivery positions other than lying on my back. Ok, so it seems I have to be somewhat upright when pushing this melon of a baby out, either kneeling, standing (eee-oooh!) or any other gravity assisting position which it seems is more comfortable, if comfort is possible during the most painful period of a woman's life. Apparently, this is all due to my difficulties in separating my legs due to the PGP (a condition I OBVIOUSLY did not suffer from pre-pregnancy).

So what have I learnt so far other than this pain is not a figment of my imagination, overly exaggerated or to be taken lightly? Being in a lying or slumped position makes the pelvis more unstable therefore more painful while being in an upright position helps to 'lock' it into place thereby giving some relief to the tortured mother to be which is actually VERY good advice and something I may have taken FOREVER to figure out since my first reaction to pain is to lie down (my lazy genes in play again). Plus I should do minimal twisting actions (no doing the Twist then, sorry Chubby Checker) and no lifting or pushing which includes the supermarket carts (an extra chore dear husband has to take up in addition to everything else). Oh and best of all, I should try to march like a damn duck everywhere I go by arching my back and swinging my arms to lock my pelvis in a stable position and activate the muscles responsible for stiffening my pelvic joints.

Fine, stiff is good, soft is bad. Got it. And arch arch arch my back!