From the day Stella was born, I've had a dull, low-grade headache that doesn't go away and gets 100 times worse when I nurse. Is it dehydration? Am I having lactation headaches? I don't know, but I traded in the unbearable nipple pain at the beginning of our nursing career together for a forever-headache.
And now my hip pain has also returned. I have had chronic hip pain for around 10 years now, something that no one is able to figure out. I've seen Dr's, I've had physical therapy several times a week for long stretches, and I even gave up gluten (and other things) for almost the entire year before Stella was born. While the pain may have lessoned during my gluten-free time, it's hard to know why because I was also exercising a lot less due to house hunting at night, etc. It's also hard to tell if my next assessment is accurate due to all the things going on in my life at the time, but it seems that my hip pain was drastically less during pregnancy. While it was still very much there, I could "tailor sit" and handle other positions that I could never do before. During a time when all my other joints ached and moaned with the ever growing weight of the baby, my hips endured like champs.
Unfortunately it's time to start over with the exploration of its cause. I once thought it was the asthma medication I was on, but I gave that up when I went gluten-free. I started eating gluten again when I got pregnant (because it's in everything you want when you're pregnant), and I can't fully say I noticed the difference. And to give up GLUTEN, I need to notice the difference - it's just too much work for a "maybe". After $100's in fees for consultations with nutritionists to handle it the natural way, I am back at square one, disappointed, discouraged and most of all, in pain. I still want to handle this the natural way. I've been on miracle arthritis and anti-inflammatory drugs that made me sing with joy, but they also covered up a pain that I knew was getting worse under all of the meds. I don't want to trade in my hip pain for a heart attack one day from these crazy drugs! I want to know what the problem is.
Where to start. Do I go see my GP so that she can refer me to have X-rays and then tell me to take drugs I don't want (paying for all of this stuff in the meantime)? Do I go see a naturopath and begin to invest in a long process of herbal and homeopathic remedies? Do I try acupuncture just to find out that it works but that I have to go every week and pay almost $100 a pop? Or do a see a chiropractor?
I'm incredibly fortunate that I have health insurance unlike millions of people in this country - I'm fortunate to have a choice at all. I never lose site of that. But the years of pain sometimes converge on me in the middle of the night when I'm lying on my side (my hips), nursing, sleep deprived and with a headache, and I just want it to go away. Thankfully, I have accepted that I at least need to take something for my headaches - there is now a big bottle of Tylenol next to my bed. As for the hips...
Mainly, I want to be able to easily get down on the floor and play with my daughter. I don't want to wince every time I lower my body or when I get up out of a chair. At this point, my grimaces go unnoticed by me, but other people can't help but ask if I'm OK because I look worse than their grandmother. The long journey of questions will begin again so that I'm not in a wheelchair at 50.
In other news, the joy of my life:
("Thanks, Beth and Brock, for my favorite (and only) floor-time toy"!)
4 comments:
She has beautiful eyes! I know you weren't asking for advice but I do have a suggestion (sorry :) You might look into an osteopathic manipulator. They are D.O.s, so they may be covered by your insurance, but they also practice a form of muscle and bone manipulation similar to chiropractic work. I've had two clients that saw an OM for chronic pain during pregnancy and had excellent results within one to two sessions.
Whatever you choose to do, I hope you have some relief soon!
Sorry to hear about your pain! I hope you find a solution that works for you, and soon. From what I hear, acupuncture provides good relief to some people with those sorts of symptoms, even after just a couple of sessions, so it might be worth a shot. Good luck and all the best!
So sorry to hear your body is feeling so broken right now. All I can say is that I can (to a lesser degree) relate. My hips totally killed me for a long time after Lucas was born, I had postpartum bleeding for 9 weeks, and the boobs were not exactly cooperative either. :) Remember that though it was a natural process, your body was totally trashed by a very lengthy labor and birth not very long ago! If you had only run a marathon you would have rested for 4 weeks before seriously running again! I wish you the best with your search for relief! If you want my 2 cents, I highly recommend an athletic trainer I saw who took one look at me as I walked into his office and correctly guessed all my painful areas, and then prescribed me some exercises that totally eradicated 15 years worth of back/hip pain and also some mommy-related shoulder pain. He's in south austin so if you're interested just email me. And Stella is the cutest baby girl EVER by the way (in case you aren't told that enough already!)
Mmm, the pain is not good, given how challenging it makes the simple act of enjoying life, living in the moment.
Might I suggest, in no particular order:
yoga (incredible for aligning and strengthening), acupuncture (I can refer you to my incredible and very inexpensive clinic/practitioner), and of course, massage therapy.
While this is not a personal plug, I have been a therapist for 11 years, and I work with a lot of post-partum mamas. The headaches could have something to do with your jaws or neck (both of which can get thrown out of whack from breastfeeding and frequent spells of waking in the night).
In other news, Stella is a DOLL!
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