First, congrats on the pregnancy! You have a tough few months ahead, but it will be well worth it.
I have a few questions for you. Were any of the surgeries on your back? Spondylolysis with anterolisthesis usually means you have an unstable area in your back. If it doesn't heal with conservative therapy they often do a fusion for this. Have you had a fusion done? If you have not, I worry that you have an unstable area in your spine.
Have you had physical therapy? If you have, remember the exercises and tips they gave you about posture and positioning. For instance, you are going to want to walk a lot on flat surfaces. Sitting as you would sit in a normal chair like an office chair is going to put the most pressure on your low spine. So you need to change position often, walk as much as you can, and when you aren't walking try not to sit a lot at the 90 degree straight-backed chair angle. You may be able to do some water exercise or aqua therapy, and that will probably feel great.
There are some pain medications that you can take during pregnancy, preferably sporadically rather than daily. Doctors are very careful and hesitant about this, so you may need to see a pain therapy specialist if your pain gets severe. You could probably have epidural injections at some point if you really needed them. Some women have surgery during pregnancy, so it's all about balance and risk versus benefit for you and the baby. I say this so you know that you don't have to just suffer with terrible pain through the whole thing, there are things that can be done to help you. There is a pain safety net for you.
Pregnancy does stress your back; even women without your diagnosis have back pain while pregnant. But they do have babies. I found a page on Spine Universe this morning: http://www.spineuniverse.com/experts/spondylolisthesis-pregnancy
I want to look through my references for resources and get back to you with more information. Please remember that many doctors who are not obstetricians are a little afraid of pregnant patients. I'm not insulting doctors at all. I've worked with terrific doctors, but once you say "pregnant" they get very hesitant about meds and treatment because it is sometimes a gray area and they don't feel they know enough to prescribe. They nearly always defer to the obstetrician out of this nervousness and fear of harming a baby with their lack of expertise in that area.
Most pain therapy clinics will be familiar with this as they are the last stop for patients with pain. I think if you work with your obstetrician and a pain therapy doc as needed, you will do well as long as your spine is stable. If you can answer that for me, it would be helpful, and I'll get back to you with more specific resources, hopefully today.
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Hi Djwill575-
First, congrats on the pregnancy! You have a tough few months ahead, but it will be well worth it.
I have a few questions for you. Were any of the surgeries on your back? Spondylolysis with anterolisthesis usually means you have an unstable area in your back. If it doesn't heal with conservative therapy they often do a fusion for this. Have you had a fusion done? If you have not, I worry that you have an unstable area in your spine.
Have you had physical therapy? If you have, remember the exercises and tips they gave you about posture and positioning. For instance, you are going to want to walk a lot on flat surfaces. Sitting as you would sit in a normal chair like an office chair is going to put the most pressure on your low spine. So you need to change position often, walk as much as you can, and when you aren't walking try not to sit a lot at the 90 degree straight-backed chair angle. You may be able to do some water exercise or aqua therapy, and that will probably feel great.
There are some pain medications that you can take during pregnancy, preferably sporadically rather than daily. Doctors are very careful and hesitant about this, so you may need to see a pain therapy specialist if your pain gets severe. You could probably have epidural injections at some point if you really needed them. Some women have surgery during pregnancy, so it's all about balance and risk versus benefit for you and the baby. I say this so you know that you don't have to just suffer with terrible pain through the whole thing, there are things that can be done to help you. There is a pain safety net for you.
Pregnancy does stress your back; even women without your diagnosis have back pain while pregnant. But they do have babies. I found a page on Spine Universe this morning: http://www.spineuniverse.com/experts/spondylolisthesis-pregnancy
I want to look through my references for resources and get back to you with more information. Please remember that many doctors who are not obstetricians are a little afraid of pregnant patients. I'm not insulting doctors at all. I've worked with terrific doctors, but once you say "pregnant" they get very hesitant about meds and treatment because it is sometimes a gray area and they don't feel they know enough to prescribe. They nearly always defer to the obstetrician out of this nervousness and fear of harming a baby with their lack of expertise in that area.
Most pain therapy clinics will be familiar with this as they are the last stop for patients with pain. I think if you work with your obstetrician and a pain therapy doc as needed, you will do well as long as your spine is stable. If you can answer that for me, it would be helpful, and I'll get back to you with more specific resources, hopefully today.
Be good to yourself.
May 14, 2010 - 7:16amThis Comment
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