Anyone wear a maternity belt regularly? Tips?

[luckytwenty]

I've been having increasingly painful inner thigh and pelvic pain lately, and it's especially bad at night. If I roll over from one side to the other, the pain is so bad it wakes me up. I have a check up Tues but did hunt around online, and it sounds like I have a condition very common in pregnancy called symphysis pubic dysfunction (it's just an annoyance, nothing serious) and the med sites all recommend those girdle thingies they sell at maternity stores and BRU.

Well, I'm wearing one, and I have to say it's a HUGE improvement walking around/going about my everyday life. I am waddling less and DH says my posture is totally different, and my legs no longer hurt when I walk. At night, that's another story, but at least my days aren't painful.

So my questions about the belt--how on earth do you pee with this thing on?? I have to pee a million times a day lately and every single time, the belt gets undone in some way, so it is adding a lot of time to my trips to the bathroom.

Also, do you sleep with it on? I haven't been able to but I also can't really sleep well wearing a bra or rings, so maybe that's just me. But does it help with the pain at night?

And finally, did you end up needing it your whole pregnancy? I have 11 weeks to go so I am kind of hoping not!

[Momof3Labs]

I had SPD with DS1 and DS2. You do want to wear the belt through the rest of your pregnancy as it will likely only get worse. It may resolve itself after delivery (it did for me with DS1) or it could turn into a full-blown separation after delivery (had it with DS2). A full-blown separation is soooo painful. Either way, try to get some PT sooner rather than later, and definitely after delivery. If I had done that after DS1, I may not have separated with DS2.

[luckytwenty]

Did you get PT during your pregnancy? Didn't know that was possible. Did it ever resolve? I'm freaking out now as I am a runner and can imagine this could make it hard for me to go back to that, if it doesn't go away!

[Momof3Labs]

No, I didn't because my OB (with DS1) and my midwife (with DS2) blew it off as normal pregnancy aches and pains. They didn't even believe me at the hospital when I described my pain (and the level it was at), and sent me home when I couldn't walk and could barely move in bed. I didn't get PT until DS2 was 11 months old because no one told me that's what I needed. I was in so much pain - awful back pain, muscle spasms, etc since it healed badly. Went through PT for a year and she put me back together again, better than ever. So much so that I didn't have any pelvic issues with my twin pregnancy, and they were over 7lbs each at birth!

[SnuggleBuggles]

There were several women in my prenatal exercise class that went to PT during the pg for that issue. Definitely worth looking into.
Beth

[luckytwenty]

Yeah, this is pretty painful. Apparently I was whimpering in my sleep last night because I scared DH. Glad to hear eventually you got back to normal and could have twins!