Help with My Pain

I reread & I don't think it's the same thing I had. Mine was in the crease between my leg & the rest of my body. Baby was laying on a nerve & it ranged from irritating to a sharp stabbing pain. Unfortunately for me, the only thing that alleviated it was to get his big ole head off the nerve by delivery.
Hope it goes away before baby is born!

That sounds just like pubic symphysis pain. I've had it 4 times.
http://www.plus-size-pregnancy.org/pubicpain.htm

I would definitley see a chiropractor who specializes in pregnancy. You can find one here:
http://icpa4kids.com/locator/index.htm

I've been seeing Dr. Young at Natural Balance in Stapleton for back pain associated with pregnancy. Here's the website if you're interested http://www.naturalbalanceintegrative.com/

Good luck!

Sounds just like the round ligament pain i've been having. My suggestions are walk slowly, be very careful as you turn over not to shock anything, and find a good belly support band to wear during the day, that's the biggest key for me. Hope you get some relief!

didn't read all the responses but agree it's very likely pubic symphisis pain and that chiropractic will help.

http://www.babycenter.com.au/pregnancy/antenatalhealth/ph...

Here's some advice from the site (I found the one about keeping your knees together while rolling over especially helpful at night):

There are things you can do yourself to ease your pain:

Regular pelvic floor and tummy exercises can ease the strain on your pelvis. Get down onto your hands and knees and level your back so that it is roughly flat. Breathe in and then as you breathe out, squeeze in your pelvic floor muscles and at the same time pull your belly button in and up. Hold this contraction for between five and 10 seconds without holding your breath and without moving your back. Relax the muscles slowly at the end of the exercise.

Avoid moving your legs apart when your back is slumped or you are lying down. Take care when getting in and out of the car, bed or bath. If you are lying down, pulling your knees up as far as you can stops your pelvis from moving and makes it easier to part your legs. If you are sitting, try arching your back and sticking your chest out before parting or moving your legs, as this also helps to stop the pelvis from moving.

Avoid pushing through any pain. If something hurts, if possible don't do it. If the pain is allowed to flare up, it can take a long time to settle down again.

Move little and often. You may not feel the effects of what you are doing until later in the day or after you have gone to bed.

Rest regularly by sitting on an exercise or birth ball or by getting down on your hands and knees. This takes the weight of the baby off your pelvis and holds it in a stable position.

Avoid heavy lifting or pushing. Supermarket trolleys can often make your pain worse, so shop online or ask someone to shop for you.

When climbing stairs, go up them one step at a time. Step up onto one step with your best leg and then bring your other leg to meet it. Repeat with each step. Only use stairs when you have to.

Avoid swimming breaststroke and take care with other strokes. You may feel swimming is helping your pain while you are in the water, but it could make you feel worse when you get out.

When getting dressed, sit down to pull on your knickers or trousers.

So sorry you are hurting "down there." Isn't that the worst!? I'm pregnant with my fifth and I've had a similar pain (on one side, like you said) with this one and the last one. I haven't quite figured it out, but it seems to be pretty dull at times and then sometimes the intensity is enough to send me limping around. I chalk it up to the baby sitting on a nerve and sitting or changing position for a while seems to help most of the time, at least a little. I've also noticed that when I have a full bladder that compounds the problem, so I try to go more. It's no fun, especially with the holidays coming up when we tend to be on our feet a lot. You'll have to respond and let us all know how you found relief! Good luck.

Hi S.,

It sounds to me like you have a strained round ligament. There are three round ligaments that connect the uterus to the skeletal system. Very often in pregnancy, one, two or all three of these ligaments get strained. It happened to me, on my right side, at about 24 weeks or so. I was actually at work and suddenly I was doubled over in pain in the lower abdomen, right below the bottom of my expanding belly. It felt to me like an extremely sharp pull on a muscle, kind of like when you get a charlie horse in your calf muscle. It hurt when I walked, slept, and sat in any one position too long. My doctor recommended some advil, but there was not much else to do about it. Ligaments mostly need time to heal, and if this is what has happened to you, just hang in there, the pain will likely lessen as your pregnancy progresses. Good luck.

Find a chiropractor in your area. I was adjusted through both of my pregnancies and it helped so much!

Dear S.,

I had similar pain during my last pregnancy, it started quite early on and I was very worried. My OB/GYN checked me out and was baffled as to what it might be. There were no signs of why so his suggestion was quite odd. "maybe it is musculo-skeletal?" So I went to the chiropractor. Got a regular back/neck adjustment and as he was adjusting me he noticed that my hips were off (normal for me actually) and I told him about my other pain and he said there were two possible reasons. One he could do nothing about until I was no longer pregnant and it was quite scary, and the other was that my pubic bone was off-kilter. So laying there on the table, he looking away but coaching me through feeling this out, I felt down my stomach to the top of my pubic bone and to my surprise it was tilted both OUTWARD and higher on one side than the other! He continued to adjust my pubic bone the rest of my pregnancy. It helped SO MUCH. It is an awkward adjustment and one that most chiro's don't take lightly.

You may or may not want to go to the same guy I went to. If you do, Health For Life Chiropractic in South Ogden. I see Derrick exclusively. The other two in the office do other specialties. And the office gals and the other staff are incredibly fun as well. Always a joy to go there.

V.

It sounds to me more like pubic symphysis problems than sciatica or round ligament pain. Google Pubic Symphysis Diastis or check out this link (is this allowed?): http://pregnancy.about.com/od/symptomsofpregnancy/a/pubic...

I had this very early on with my most recent (2nd) pregnancy, and it was excruciating up until even several weeks after delivery.

A maternity support band could help take some of the pressure off it, but mostly I found there wasn't much I could do about it. Change posititions frequently, avoid movements or positions that misalign your hips, and don't ever put all your weight on only one leg (raising my leg to step into the car, get in and out of bed, put pants on, or even roll over in bed made the pain unbearable for me).

From what I have read, a chiropractor could help with the pain. I never got around to seeing one but I would say it's worth a try.

I had sciatica with my first but it couldn't even compare with the pain that I experienced with my second. Nothing was as painful to me as pubic symphysis diastis. I am terrified of having a third, because my midwife told me it just gets worse with each pregnancy.

Another possibility is a varicose vein down there. If you suspect that, you could try wearing a big puffy pad (maxi pad) to cushion the vein and take pressure off when sitting. It sounds weird, but that's what my midwife recommended before we realized the problem was what I explained above and not a varicose vein.

Sitting on a big exercise ball instead of a chair would probably help with either issue.

Good luck, I hope you can find some relief!

I would try the chiropractor - I had some issues during my most recently pregnancy and seeing the chiropractor worked wonders for me. Also, I had a friend who used an exercise ball, rather than a typical chair, when they sat at work after having similar pain issues and it helped decrease the pain. Best of luck!

Did your doc ever mention Sciatica? It is fairly common with pregnancy. You need to stay off your feet as much as you can, thats the only way it will stop..if u have it that is.

When I was pregnant with the twins I had a horrible pain there too. My doctor sent me to physical therapy and the first time it didn't work, but the second time (different PT office) it worked. There is a muscle that can get out of sorts that will press on the nerves that cause huge pain. Mine got to the point where I couldn't even walk without the pain. Anyway, she massaged that muscle and nerve 2 times and the pain went completely away. I was so thankful! I would suggest going to Physical therapy where they know about the muscles and nerves and can help out.

I do not have any suggestions for the pain besides lots of walking. But, a pharmacist told me that tylenol PM was dangerous for any age fetus. You do not want anything to make you sleepy.

Maybe Red Raspberry Tea would help with a little cammomille(sp). It will relax you and the baby and maybe release a little tension that could be building up in that particular area. These herbs are safe for pregnancy.

If diagnosed with SPD during pregnancy you should try a fab little band from a site called lafeenoire.com.Its called Hug-a-Bump and is a maternity support band designed to help with SPD and back pains. Worth a try x

I see you have many suggestions about visiting the chiropractor, and I think you would get relief there, as well. I would also like to suggest you try acupuncture. I had a lot of pain with my second pregnancy, too, and acupuncture was wonderful! It's so relaxing to get a treatment and you start to feel better immediately afterward. You may only need a few treatments to stop the pain completely for the rest of your pregnancy! Check out East West Health Center and see if you can get in with Dr. Lin. She will really help you; you deserve to feel great in the last half of your pregnancy!

Go see a chiropractor that specializes in pregnancy and that does the webster technique. If you are in Denver the two that I love are Dr. Lisa Goodman and Dr. Julie Seymore. Fabulous people. It sounds like your baby is sitting on some nerves, or that something isn't aligned properly so that you can have the optimal fetal position.

I had the exact same problem with my fourth baby. It was horrible!!! Some days I didn't think I could even move. Needless to say, take the Tylenol PM or Benedryl to help you sleep (benedryl helped me a lot) and during the day take regular Tylenol. I tried as often as I could to go without anything but would have to cave once and a while. Other than that, I would take short hot baths (5 minutes or under). I really ended up just suffering and reminding myself that this is short lived.

The good news is, it pretty much goes away once the baby is born. I do however have a mild case of pain during my period still but nothing unbearable.

Good luck!

S.,

I'm imminently due with my third and I know your pain well. As has been mentioned I recommend a chiropractic adjustment. However, I highly recommend Christine Stitcher at Family First Chiropractic here in Salt Lake City. She specializes in children and pregnant women. Her number is ###-###-####. She makes all of the difference for me during my pregnancy and postpartum pains. Although you will want to call right away as she is due in the middle of December with her own baby. She'll be working until the first week or two in December. If you choose to go tell them that J. Palmer referred you. You won't regret it! You will get relief.
J.

same exact thing is happening with me ... my doctor told me that with every pregnancy it gets harder on your body. It could be the pulled ligament but my doctor told me to buy a belly band to help support my belly. It did not seem to help at first but it started helping a few days after wearing it, it took 3 weeks but I no longer wear it and the pain like a bowling bowl is getting ready to fall out is a lot less frequent!

Hi S.. I am so sorry to hear about your pain...just know that you are not alone! I had the exact same thing with my second pregancy. It turns out my body produces too much prolactin while pregnant, which was causing my pelvis to open early. While it wasn't a danger to the pregnancy, it was extremely uncomfortable! I would recommend avoiding stairs as much as possible, sitting whenever you can, and sit down whenever you have to do something like putting on shoes so you don't put pressure on only one leg. I found a ton of good ideas on the internet, so you might want to try that too! Good luck!

I had the same pain most of my second pregnancy. I told the doctor I was constantly feeling like I had been riding a horse all night long. As I got farther along it just felt like the baby was resting on my pubic area. I tried to sleep without the big body pillow between my knees and that helped for awhile. It hurt constantly, but I did not want to take medicine. Wish I had another answer, except I had the same kind of pain and nothing was wrong. I did deliver 5 weeks early, so I am not sure if that played a role. I think my second was just sitting much lower than my first and constantly putting pressure on that area. Best of luck.

possibility... in pregnancy the ligaments start shifting causing laxity in the pelvis even early on... sometime that can result. sometimes seeing a physical therapist can help correct alignment issues as well as teach some basic exercises to do to help with the pain. Ask your physician if it would be ok or if he thinks it would help.

YES! You can treat round ligament pain. Try using hot, moist heat (like from a rice sock) on the crease between your leg and your abdomen. You can also try chiropractic, hopefully one that specializes in pregnany. They are the round ligament miracle workers. Taking a Calcium supplement may help, as well.

C. M., CBE, CLD
www.westsidebirthconnection.com