Hi Ladies,
I just joined the forum so I could post on here, even though I've been lurking for a long time!! I also apologise if this is a long post....it's kind of a long story
I live in Germany and have a hard time being pregnant here because my doctor and I have communication issues and she's not the most understanding!
Anyway, I had (well I'm sure I did) SPD towards the end of my first pregnancy but when I told my dr she just said that it was contractions and wouldn't listen to me. I had it for about 6 weeks and just gritted my teeth and got on with it because I wasn't working or doing anything and had plenty of opportunity to rest.
This time however, it started at around 24 weeks and it got bad really quickly. I have a 21 month old and I live up 4 flights of stairs so I think carrying him and lifting him up is what made it so bad. I made my husband come to the dr with me to tell her how much pain I was in and she immediately sent me to the hospital for more tests. The dr's there were TOTALLY useless and just told me there was nothing they could do because I just have a small gap and my pelvis is unstable. The Osteopath even told me that he wouldn't give me a support belt because it was too dangerous for the baby!
So, I did my own research on the internet and found some shorts that they sell in Australia for this problem. I had seen them during my last pregancy but they're EXPENSIVE so decided I could do without them.
This time however, I really thought I would end up crippled and didn't know how I could cope considering all my family live 10,000 miles away and my husband works away during the week.
I was a bit sceptical because i couldn't find a lot of reviews on the internet about the shorts and I hate spending money on things that I'm not sure are going to work.
I found a seller on ebay who offers a money back guarantee so I emailed her and asked if she would offer me a longer time to try them considering I live OS. I also emailed a physio in Oz to ask her professional opinion because I noticed that lots of physiotherapists sell them there.
The ebay lady was great, she raved about them and said I could send them back no probs. The physio also wrote back and gave me a really detailed email about SPD and said the shorts are amazing. She also said that she specialises in SPD and can help the symptoms totally disappear, or at least help to a point where you can function. I'm going to keep looking for a physio near me that knows more about it because it seems to be something they can help with. I have to add that the physio knew I lived in Germany and knew she wasn't getting anything from me so had nothing to gain from her email. I actually sent her a package of chocolates because I was so grateful for her detailed reply.
So, I did buy the shorts and they really do everything as promised, I haven't taken them off since I got them and dread washing them because I have to be without them for a couple of hours.
The clicking bones when I turn over in bed at night has completely gone, the pain when walking and doing normal jobs has also completely gone and I can actually sleep (something I couldn't do before). I still feel the pain a bit in the evening but it's mainly when I've done too much.
As I said, these shorts are expensive!!! However, if you're really desperate like I was I think they are worth it.
I'm sorry this post is so looonnngg!! I just wanted to tell everyone because i was frustrated by the lack of personal reviews when I was looking to buy them. I also wanted to provide the background info so people didn't think I'm just trying to advertise/sell the shorts!!
I'm not sure if I'm actually allowed to say the name etc of the shorts on here but I'm obviously happy to give as much info as I can