poor me
Posted: February 12, 2007 Filed under: Uncategorized 12 Comments »I feel like a big fat baby because I haven’t stopped complaining for half a day now and, as much as I like to be a drama queen, this is getting to be a bit much.
The fibromyalgia seems to be back. With a vengeance. Perhaps my body has adjusted to the increased progesterone and it no longer acts as a balm for muscle regeneration and sleep. Or perhaps the baby is growing and pressing on nerves in my back or something and this is totally separate from my usual fibro pain. Whatever it is, it hurts. I have the fibro bruised-feet feeling at least once a day. Joints feel stuck. My legs sometimes feel tingly like they are asleep when I walk to work. But the really bad thing is the pain radiating out from my tailbone into my hips. This whole issue has a hint of sciatica about it, but actually fits the definitions of pelvic girdle pain a bit more. It seems I have to do kegels and perhaps some other exercise to help it, although it also says not to do anything that hurts. So I’m not sure how to work all that out.
My blood results came in, though I don’t really know much about them and probably won’t bother to call. I got a message from my doctor on Friday saying that the results were "great" and she told me that my Down’s risk was 1/1700. That’s halved from the normal risk of my age. While that is "great," it actually makes me more solid in my decision to have the amnio, as it is very close to the 1/1600 or so risk that they now quote for miscarriage from amnio. I would be having the amnio no matter what, but this makes me feel more secure in the decision. It is a great result, but not great enough for me. I don’t think any result would be. Others who have had the nuchal stuff – do they give you your risks for some of the other stuff, too? I will look into my other results when I see my doctor in 2.5 weeks. Like I said, they don’t matter much. Mostly, I had the nuchal so they could rush me to a CVS if necessary. I am glad it wasn’t.
We had a lovely weekend spending long blocks of time doing necessary errands like grocery shopping and looking at kitchen appliances at Lowe’s. That sounds like I am being facetious, but I’m not. Sometimes it is just amazingly wonderful to spend time with Wes and Wes alone and I will risk sounding like an utter sap to say that it is truly glorious to be married to someone you love more and more every year, month, week, day.
Of course, by the end of the day I was in the excruciating tailbone pain and having to sit down every 3 minutes while trying to make dinner and screaming like a freak as I tried to bend over to help make the bed, and then moaning like a cow as I tried to find a position that didn’t hurt so that I could sleep. It’s like my tailbone and hips are just incredibly tight and nothing can make the tight pain stop.
All I ask is that this not be a permanent, next-6-months sort of thing. Some of my reading says it can last at least 12 weeks past baby’s arrival, and with fibro I have a feeling that could stretch further. It is worrisome, but there is very little to be done about it, beyond exercises that I know I will do in a half-assed way because they will hurt and I will hate them, so I am trying to take it one day at a time. Much like my constant anxiety and worry about something being wrong in general. TK was alive as of Saturday morning. I am actually becoming less worried about spontaneous death and much more worried about the possibility of bad amnio results. I honestly can’t wait for that whole thing to be over. The other development in the world of my over-the-top worries is a semi-daily fear that I will die in childbirth. It has become a pathetic, mournful refrain in our house, "Weeeeesssss, what if I diiiiiiiee?" Yeah. Not much to say about that.
The good news is, this pain you have now will probably go away. The bad news is that it will probably be replaced with something else. The good news is there will probably be stretches of little to no pain mixed in there
Pregnancy is an ever-changing spectrum of aches and pains, from minor things to bitch about to big things that leave you splayed on the couch ordering people to bring you things. Being able to order people to bring you things is a fine palliative, to my mind! (Sorry Wes…)
Yes, poor you! That butt/hip pain sounds like what happened to me around Thanksgiving and it fucking sucked and you better believe I felt sorry for myself. I could hardly walk. Plus the fibro. You deserve to complain. The good news is, I went to a chiropractor who specialized in prenatal stuff and she truly cured me. After about a week the pain was virtually gone. Fortunately for me, with our insurance I only had a $15 co-pay. It was well worth it. I also got a prenatal massage which felt great but did not “cure” the pain. Meanwhile, here is the advice I got from the chiropractor: Don’t do any housework (sorry Wes). Even things like cooking and doing dishes can strain the area. Obviously don’t go walking around too much and (gasp) exercising. She also said: if you are doing something and you start to feel tired, stop immediately. In this situation, tired is the precedent to pain. I hope you find a way to make it better. But as Sarah said, pregnancy is pretty much a parade of mishaps and pain. But don’t worry, you won’t die in childbirth. If I didn’t die, you won’t either.
Yes, poor you! That butt/hip pain sounds like what happened to me around Thanksgiving and it fucking sucked and you better believe I felt sorry for myself. I could hardly walk. Plus the fibro. You deserve to complain. The good news is, I went to a chiropractor who specialized in prenatal stuff and she truly cured me. After about a week the pain was virtually gone. Fortunately for me, with our insurance I only had a $15 co-pay. It was well worth it. I also got a prenatal massage which felt great but did not “cure” the pain. Meanwhile, here is the advice I got from the chiropractor: Don’t do any housework (sorry Wes). Even things like cooking and doing dishes can strain the area. Obviously don’t go walking around too much and (gasp) exercising. She also said: if you are doing something and you start to feel tired, stop immediately. In this situation, tired is the precedent to pain. I hope you find a way to make it better. But as Sarah said, pregnancy is pretty much a parade of mishaps and pain. But don’t worry, you won’t die in childbirth. If I didn’t die, you won’t either.
shit, sorry for the repeat.
Complain away- it is a cardinal right of a pregnant woman.
I also saw a pregnancy chiropracter because of severe hip pain (could barely walked) and it did help. Her best advice- don’t sit with your legs crossed, which I have been trying to follow.
BUT- your situation with the fibro is much different and I can’t even imagine what you are going through.
Can you take anything? My personal belief is that a momma in agony, not sleeping, not relaxing, feeling horrible, is a greater risk factor than a painkiller might be….
And, the foot thing seems like a great excuse to buy new shoes! Which is the only fun shopping you can do when you are pregnant and you have a good excuse to spend too much money on very comfy ones.
I love, love, love spending time with you, too. It doesn’t matter what we do as long as we’re together talking and laughing.
I highly recommend the chiro. Your joints get loose during pregnancy and you can get so easily out of adjustment. I do not see them except when pregnant and then they are an absolute necessity.
Good luck
I had a lot of the same pain that you are describing. On a couple of occasions everything would lock up and I would just hang onto whatever was around me (to keep from falling down) and cry until it stopped. A woman at work who carried twins gave me some excellent advice. She went to a movement specialist to teach her how to carry the weight properly. The main thing that was helpful was to concentrate on balancing your weight evenly between both legs. Like before you stand up, think about putting both of your feet solidly down and lifting with both legs. When you regularly get up, you push off with one leg or something — when you are pg and your joints are all wonky and loose, this uneven pressure can cause residual pain. Same thing goes for standing. I always put my weight on one hip or the other. That became a BIG no-no.
In bed, it is important when you roll over to move both legs at the same time and not one and then the other. It gets harder and harder to do, but it helps with the pain SO much.
I hope this helps you as much as it helped me. I mean, it still hurt, but it was better.
I know that the fibro must add a whole different dimension to the discomfort and pains of pregnancy, but I also back the recommendation for chiropractic treatment and/or Alexander technique type stuff.
But it is also very probable that it will all go through better and worse stages, as with all pg symptoms, so hopefully you won’t be in such agony for the rest of your pregnancy.
My nuchal plus bloods gave me risk factors for Trisomy 21 and Trisomy 13+18.
one more right of the pregnant woman- to take up a ridiculous amount of room in bed. J bought me a crazy maternity pillow called a snoogle last time around and I started with it even earlier this time around and it does make sleeping easier… for me, at least.
i had the nuchal and then an afp/triple screen around 16 or 17 weeks. i think the nuchal bloodwork was for trisomies and the other test was for neural tubal defects and trisomies, again. good luck! i’m a lurker and i really enjoy your blog. i’m pulling for you and this baby!
hate that the fibro is being such a bitch.
but I adore how cute you & Wes are.
xo