Back To Work, New PT, Starting Prolotherapy, Etc.

So, it's been almost ::gulp:: two months since I last wrote. Needless to say, a LOT has happened since then. Here we goooooo -

* I went back to work on August 30 (I'm a middle school Spanish teacher). I hadn't been working since maternity leave started in the first week of February. So far, being back in the classroom has been really great for my mental health - it turns out that I had missed teaching tremendously. Even with my physical limitations, I can basically be my "old self" when I'm in teacher-mode. My coworkers and my students have all been very understanding and supportive, too - so good. I'm taking on a new role as part of my building's Leadership Committee, and have new classroom to boot - GOOD changes.

* My work with my OMT is going well so far. She and her wife have a son who's about a month and change younger than R, so she *gets* what my situation is, and how much of a struggle my injuries entail. I've seen her twice thus far, once for an initial consult, and just over a week ago for my first round of prolotherapy (also known as regenerative injection therapy). Prolotherapy (from here on out, I will refer to it as prolo) has been around since the 1930s, but isn't necessarily considered "common" - I had never heard of it before. You can read more about prolo here (http://www.prolotherapy.com/), but in nutshell, this is what prolo does: injections of saline and dextrose into the ligaments around my damaged joints (primarily my PS and my left SI) are promoting healing. The injections purposefully cause inflammation in these areas, and are prompting my body to restart the healing process. After a few rounds of prolo, I should feel a significant decrease in pain. After that starts happening, I'll be able to start more manipulation work with my OMT, which should jump-start my mobility gains. For about 6-7 days post-prolo,I was REALLY sore (as prescribed). I took Tylenol (but no anti-inflammatories!) for about a week to help myself along. For the first time, pain IS gain, as far as my recovery is concerned. Time will tell how successful OMT/prolo will be for me. I'm feeling cautiously optimistic.

* Work with my new PT is also off to a great start. We are about three weeks into working together. She's also a new mom (her daughter is 18 months old), and, as with my OMT, we can relate on many levels. She is a pelvic PT, and does have experience working with patients recovering from PSD/PGP. We meet twice to once a week, and I'm doing exercises independently at home every day. The big focus has been core work. At our first meeting/after her first examination of me, she informed me that I have two areas of diastis recti (who knew?!). Nothing crazy, but - enough of a separation that it's been affecting the ability of my core to strengthen. So, we shall continue to work on that! Slow progress, but - progress.

* I have started to use the stationary bike again! I am terrified of biking on the road, but I have always loved a good sweat session on my Airdyne stationary bike (a birthday gift to myself when I turned 25). For the past three weeks, I have been slowly getting reacquainted with it: I started with 4 minutes total, and have cautiously added minutes. I'm now up to 15 minutes, and am trying to get in at least 4 rides a week. I feel zero SI pain when I bike, and my PS is only a wee bit sore afterward. I have the blessing of both PT and OMT to continue biking as my body tolerates it - wahoo! Since I was an avid athlete pre-baby/pre-injury, it is amaaaazing to be able to sweat even a little bit again. :)


OK, off to work - happy Hump Day.

Update-a-roo-ski: A Cane, OMT, Pelvic PT, Etc.

Alright, here are some updates. I'm a huge fan of the bullet-style blogging (if you haven't already noticed), so - read on...

* I have a start date for OMT: September 15. Unfortunately, that's a long way off. This OMT (who has apparently treated SPD/PSD/PGP before, wahoo!) only sees three new patients a week, so... that's me. Since she's one of few in my area, she's obviously booked out. Also, I'll travel about a hour and 15 minutes to get to her. I'm on the cancellation list, so we shall see if that happens. In any case, I'm excited to see what OMT has to offer me!

* I met with my ortho doc again yesterday, for x-rays and an examination. The bad news: my PS gap has hardly closed. I was at 2.5cm at 10 weeks PP, and am now at about 2.3cm at just over 6 months PP. I say "bad news", because my heart sunk when I saw that. However, my doc says that, even if the width of my gap stays stubbornly where it is, my recovery can still progress, with continued focus on core strength, pelvic floor work, and gait training. I see that I should believe this, because (a) if I don't, what do I have left?! and (b) he (my doc) has treated SPD before, and seen nearly full recoveries happen.

* The good news from my ortho doc: I am officially ditching my walker, and moving on to using a cane! I have secretly been using a cane for the past few weeks, at first just around the house, but in the past week while out and about, too. I decided to go for it after hearing from some of the ladies in the SPD Facebook group: many were moved from the walker to the cane at around 3 weeks postpartum, on the recommendation of their pelvic PTs. I confessed all of this to my ortho doc, and he nodded sagely and said, "Good for you - that's the right choice". I told him about my PTs being gun shy about progressing me, and he wrote them a note for me to deliver, explaining that now is the time to let me "weight bear to tolerance". #letsgoooo

* In addition to continuing with my current PTs and pool work, I'm going to see a pelvic PT, too. I found a woman who practices about 10 minutes from the school where I work (!!!), and asked my ortho doc if it would be a good idea for me to see her, too. He said that, while he has a lot of knowledge after having practiced for 35 years, he is open to trying new things (such as writing a referral for a PT he has no personal knowledge of), and gives me his medical blessing. So. Stay tuned for more on that!

* Little R slept for the entire night, with no wake-ups, in his crib last night, for the first time ever. He also started daycare this week (he'll be going 3 days/week), and he (nor I) has suffered too much with the transition so far.

Speaking of the devil, he's done in his jumparoo for the time being. Time for a diaper change, a bottle, and a nap. More later -

Newly Discovered Resources

In the past week or so, I've made some amazing connections, re: exploring treatment options and finding a group of women/people who "get" PSD/SPD/PGP (Pelvic Girdle Pain - apparently, this is the most recent name for this condition, with or without a rupture of the pubic symphysis).

* Pelvic Partnership (http://www.pelvicpartnership.org.uk/): This is a non-profit group out of the UK. They provide TONS and TONS of great information on their site, re: symptoms, treatment, sex, pelvic floor muscles, going back to work, tips for sleeping, sitting, driving - the list is endless. I found their page via Facebook. So far, the biggest take-away I've gotten is this statement: "The good news is that because PGP is a mechanical joint problem, it does respond well to manual therapy." Hmmm. As I've been exploring my options for starting osteopathic treatment (in addition to PT), this really resonated with me. Stay tuned for more there.

* The closed Facebook group, "Diastasis Symphysis Pubis/Pelvic Instability: Separated Pelvis Group" : What an outstanding group of women. I've learned more about PGP from this forum than any medical provider to date. This is what I've been looking for, if subconsciously - someone, anyone, who really understands how I'm feeling, both physically and emotionally. I was alerted to this group's existence by Lexi, who commented on one of my recent posts here on Blogger (thanks, Lexi!). This group has a range of members: ladies who experienced PGP during pregnancy, ladies who had a rupture of the PS during pregnancy, ladies who had a rupture of the PS during delivery, ladies who are pregnant and starting to experience PGP, etc. It was within this forum that I really found the final push I needed to start pursuing OMT treatment in earnest. I suppose I've been hesitant to explore other treatment options due to a fear of "striking out", of these treatments not improving my condition. However, with my return to work coming up in mid-August, I think it's time to get back on the horse and keep moving!

OK - off to see if little R will nap in his crib. We're slowly transitioning him there from his cradle, and so far, he's a bit freaked by all the space the crib has to offer! Wish us luck -