A few new weapons in the arsenal

The thing about aches and pains when you're pregnant is that there's really no throwing in the towel and just taking a pill. Your commitment to natural and alternative means of pain relief is all you have.

So I've been forced to continue my quest to cope with or eradicate my pubic bone pain as best I can, without the aid of traditional pharmaceuticals. In addition to those I've already mentioned, here are a few I'm currently trying:

http://www.inspiredliving.com/body-pillows/pillow-pregnancy.htm

A maternity body pillow. This is one of those things I'd always dismissed as kind of silly and unnecessary, but which really seems to be a lifesaver in my current situation. I was prepared to shell out for one, but first put out a call on my local Freecycle instead--and boy, was I glad I did. Within hours I had a high-quality, full-length down one in a washable pillow case. I slept with it last night and didn't wake up once, not even to pee.

http://www.twin-pregnancy-and-beyond.com/exercise-during-twin-pregnancy.html

Swimming. You hear a lot about the benefits of swimming during pregnancy--relief from gravity, decreased swelling, low impact on the joints--but it really hits home once even walking becomes too painful an exercise to bear. Matt and I are lucky enough to live in a community where we have a wonderful indoor pool (discovered last night) as well as 14 community outdoor pools, all of which are well-maintained and very affordable. For $3 apiece last night, we spent about half an hour swimming laps in a just-comfortably-warm and nice-sized pool (the only caveat for those with symphysis pubis dysfunction is to avoid breaststroke and sidestroke), then spent 5-10 minutes loosening up in their hot tub--which was huge, not hot enough to have me concerned, and which had steps that allowed me to sit with my pelvis submerged but my belly and upper body out of the water.

http://www.gaiaherbs.com/product.php?id=168

Arnica oil. Known for its anti-inflammatory, healing, and pain-relieving qualities when taken internally (homeopathically) or topically (as an oil or gel). It has been shown to be as effective as an ibuprofen gel for reducing soreness and stiffness. I'm using arnica oil directly on the painful area, as well as taking internal homeopathic arnica.

http://www.householdgoods.com/tens-unit-two-channel-machine-pads.html

A TENS unit. In other countries, TENS is one of the first modalities used for back and labor pain. It works by blocking the transmission of pain signals from the spinal cord to the brain, and also results in endorphin release. Here's a link to an article from Australia discussing TENS unit use for SPD.

The only thing I'm not yet currently using is the TENS unit--my parents are mailing me one that my dad used to use for back pain. I am, however, using the body pillow at night, applying the arnica oil before bed, taking the arnica internally 1-4x a day, utilizing hot and cold packs as necessary, sitting on my exercise ball whenever possible, and planning to swim a couple of times a week for exercise and buoyancy. I'm also continuing with chiropractic and acupuncture at least 1x a week, each.

What's the cost of all these things? The TENS unit and body pillow were free for the asking, and both could probably be obtained used for $20-50. I already had the exercise ball. The arnica preparations were each around $8-11 and will last quite awhile. Acupuncture costs a minimum of $15 a session, except that Matt and I have been doing a few hours of a volunteer work at the clinic per week and have thereby earned a number of free sessions. My chiropractic co-pay is $30. Swimming is $3 a day. So on a weekly basis, I probably spend an average of:

$30 chiropractic
$15 acupuncture
$6 swimming
$1 arnica preparations
______
$52

Which is not cheap. Neither, however, would medication or physical therapy be, nor would allowing myself to become debilitated so that I'm unable to work for the duration of my pregnancy. And there are certain things in live you just aren't given a choice about; in terms of maintaining a healthy body and a healthy pregnancy, as my dad would say, "Those are the things your money is for." We'll make up for the cost by cutting corners in other ways.