What a pain

I never want to be one of those people who always complain about an ache or a pain.

So, until recently, I didn't really do anything about mine except suffer. Every day. Every moment. I kept thinking it would go away eventually. During pregnancy, I experienced sciatic pain at night while I slept. It felt sort of like an jolt of electricity tingled down my left leg. After giving birth, I felt that all the time, but it was worse. There was a little cluster in my back that hurt all the time. I couldn't bend over. At all. Until recently, I never picked up Max without hurting. In home videos, I noticed that I move awkwardly because I'm trying to move in the way that hurts the least.

A couple of weeks ago, I almost dropped Max twice and my back gave out on me once and sent me to my knees. Plus, the tingling started down my right leg. It occurred to me that I was planning a first birthday party, which meant I'd hurt every day for the last year. It seemed impossible for me to fathom.

So, I made an appointment with a doctor. I'd been to him two other times in the last year and mentioned the pain, but this time the appointment was specifically for that reason. Long story short, he told me that I "just got old faster than most" and that I would "probably hurt for the rest" of my life. Yep. Seriously. You can imagine how devastated I was.

However, I'd met a therapeutic masseuse in the office one day. After a few minutes of talking she told me she thought she knew what was wrong. Last week, I went to see her and am so glad I did. At one point she shifted my hips on the table and pressed here and lifted there...and I felt nothing. No pain. No pressure. No discomfort. I almost sobbed with relief. Apparently, it's fairly common for women to get their hips out of alignment during pregnancy. Who knew? Um, apparently not the doctor!

In a book, she pointed out what was hurting and why. She poked and prodded the same places the doctor had--and I nearly leapt off the table when they both did a test. But with her, she said, "Ah, that's what I thought." With her massage and yoga exercises she instructed me to do, I've felt little to no pain for the last week.. For the first time I've been able to play with my son without wincing.

I enjoyed being a mother before, but now it's even better.

So, if you ever know in your gut that something isn't right. Don't let people tell you otherwise. Keep trying until you get what you need. It's worth it.