So, when I was pregnant with SB and BW, I had really bad pelvic pain, which I self-diagnosed as sacro-iliac (SI) joint pain and SPD (symphsis pubis dysfunction). SPD can be quite debilitating and seems to be fairly common in twin pregnancies. It sounds a bit comical, but it basically hurts to spread your legs at all. So, getting into a car, turning over in bed, trying to push something aside with your leg - all cause pretty ridiculous pain. Any activity would pretty much increase my pain drastically the next day. Turning over in bed was something I would have to talk myself into and required tensing and contracting certain muscles to hold my pelvis in place as much as possible. I talked to my doctor about my pain, and he prescribed a maternity support belt, which did nothing. It took a few months after SB and BW were born before I wasn't feeling constant shifting and rubbing in my pelvis.
Fast forward to this pregnancy. I had some concerns about pelvic pain, but I thought I would probably be in the clear since I was only carrying one baby this time. I hosted a baby shower for my niece, at around 22 weeks, and by the end of the day I had soreness in my upper pelvic area in back. I chalked it up to being on my feet for the whole day and didn't think much of it. Then, a few days later, I tried to lean over to look into a storage bin. I immediately had shooting pain in my pelvis that made me crumple up on the bed. I finally got upright and hobbled upstairs. I tried all sorts of yoga poses and stretches but nothing helped. Turning over in bed was suddenly impossible without serious pain. I was having to grab the waistband of my pants and physically pull my pelvis around to avoid aggravating the pain. I googled pelvic/tailbone pain in pregnancy and read that the cure is delivery. I wanted to cry, as I didn't know if I could face 18 more weeks of the pain. It hurt to pick up SB and BW. It hurt to get up from a seated position. It hurt to stand. I started developing severe sciatic pain on top of my pelvic and tailbone pain.
I've been a bit distrustful of chiropractors, and I've read some pretty yucky medical malpractice legal cases resulting from chiropractic care, so I've never been to a chiropractor before. But I could tell something was not right, so I bit the bullet and went to see a chiropractor who is also an acquaintance of the hubs and I, and who I know had experience with chiro care during pregnancy. She evaluated me, stated my left SI joint was out of place, and the inflammation was pressing on my sciatic nerve, and then proceeded to pop it back in. It made a massive popping noise when it went back into place, and I had an immediate feeling of relief, almost an endorphin rush. My pain got progressively better throughout the day, and was gone, literally gone, by that night. She advised me to ice and not pick up SB and BW for the next few days and return for a follow up. I did not ice or avoid picking up the girls, but remained pain free. She did a small adjustment a few days later and realigned things again, and said I don't need to return unless it goes out of alignment. It's been a few weeks now, and I am still pain-free. I am amazed at how completely it alleviated my pain. I'll probably go back one more time in the third tri (which is fast approaching) and make sure everything is in alignment before delivery.
Takeaway? Don't rely only on your doctor to point you in the right direction regarding pain in pregnancy, and don't rely on google. Explore other options.
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