Thank God for Chiropractors!

For the past 3 weeks I have had excruciating pain in my pelvic area. I wake up in the middle of the night in tears because I can't roll over to my other side because it feels like somebody's making a wish as they pull (or should I say rip) my legs apart. When I get out of bed I can barely walk. One night I had a nightmare that I was miscarrying (is this normal??) and I jolted myself awake crying in pain. Thinking my dream was reality I hobbled myself to the bathroom praying everything was okay. And of course it was, but as I sat there in so much pain I immediately grabbed the bible of pregnancies What to Expect When You're Expecting to see what was happening to me. I was NOT expecting this symptom - for sure! Symphsis Pubic Dysfunction. That's me, that's what I have.

This picture above is what our pelvic bone looks like normally.

This is what is looks like during pregnancy.

And this is me. Misaligned and in alot of pain - me.

It's rare, like 1 out of 300 women get it, but it's starting to become more common, especially in pregnancy. In a normal pregnancy a hormone 'relaxin' softens and relaxes your muscles, ligaments, and pelvis so they can spread open to make room for the baby to pass through the birth canal, but for women with SPD that gap can cause severe misalignment, which is why there's so much pain. It feels like someone took a hammer and hit me really hard on my pubic bone. I can't roll over in bed without tucking my legs under me and rolling them together at the same time. I also have to sit flat and put on or take off pants or shoes (no more standing on one leg and leaning). It hurts WAAAAYYY toooo much! And I understand that pregnancy does things to your body that just is. You're making room for a baby to grow and that can really alter everything about you, but to be in this much pain just isn't normal.

So, after calling my OB and not getting the answer I wanted (they told me to take ADVIL and put a heating pad on my pubic bone) I called my friend April Simmons who happens to be a Chiropractor and she immediately knew how to treat my problem. She had a patient with the same symptoms and while she was doing her internship she witnessed alot of pregnant women in the same situation. Luckily April (or should I say Dr. Simmons) is in my network so she adjusted me and gave me some stretches that I can do to help alleviate the pain. Unfortunately, nothing can cure SPD except to wait until after the delivery once the hormone is out of my system and let everything sort of shift back into place. So in the meantime, I hobble around like a funny pregnant lady except I'm not nearly big enough to look like I'm pregnant and I need to keep up on my adjustments. I'm still very surprised at how well I'm taking this. As I've said before I'm the biggest baby I know when it comes to pain or anything being out of place. So, maybe I'm just growing up. ; )