Pregnancy or Piriformis TMS?

[HollDoll]

Hi all,

So I'm nearly 36 weeks pregnant with my first baby. I've had a super healthy pregnancy up until this point and have been able to continue all my normal activities, including weight lifting, pilates, cardio etc. while modifying as necessary and feeling great. A few days ago I felt a twinge of acute pain in my right butt cheek- what feels like a stiffness / tightness that has become increasingly worse and is sometimes accompanied with low back pain on that side. I went from happily doing jumping jacks 4 days ago to barely being able to walk or bend over, the pain feels so intense.

I've successfully gotten over low back / hip / knee pain in the past after discovering Sarno and have not had any body pain for a few years now. I'm really honest about my feelings- including my fears about my husband and me becoming new parents in only a month's time.

I also acknowledge that having a baby is probably one of the most stressful transitions a person can go through- so it doesn't exactly surprise me to be getting hit with this sort of pain right now, when both conscious and unconscious anxiety and fear are pretty high.

Of course, if you take to the internet, you'll find this sort of pain as "very common" in women late in pregnancy, with the belief that the baby moving lower is pressing on the sciatic nerve and causing pressure down there that can result in pain. I'm not exactly convinced of that though and am looking for any sort of support, encouragement, or words of personal experience I can get.

Thank you!!

 

[JanAtheCPA]

Hi @HollDoll and welcome to the forum!

Congratulations on all kinds of things - like your impending parenthood, and your successful ability to manage TMS! I think you can manage this, too.

I have never been pregnant, but it seems to me that it would be hard to avoid unusual symptoms associated with this strange - and still growing! pressure in what is normally a fairly compact part of your body - and that your primitive brain is reacting to this with a certain amount of panic. It's more than capable of taking the new sensations and creating alarming symptoms to warn you that you need to be aware that Something Is Happening (LOL) and that you need to get to a safe place and get ready.

Remember, your brain still lives in a very primitive and unsafe world. And as we know very well, it can create much more pain than is justified by what is actually going on physiologically.

Here's my suggestion: (1) try to visualize what is going on physically (2) acknowledge and accept the symptoms, and (3) assure your brain that you are fully aware of what's going on, you are taking care of yourself, and you are not in any kind of danger.

Keep us posted!

~Jan

 

[HollDoll]

Hi Jan, thank you for responding, I really appreciate it! And thank you also for the congratulations!

I completely agree that my primitive brain is reacting very intensely right now in response to this pain. My doctor said what I pretty much assumed she would: that baby's head must be pressing on the nerve that aggravates this muscle. If that's the case, if the baby shifts then the pain could lessen/go away- or at the very least be gone upon delivery...But if that ISN'T the case- if it IS TMS at play- well then I'm going to have to start pushing through this pain at some point.

The thought of just assuming it is all physical and then taking it very easy this next month- not pushing through the pain really- causes me more anxiety than if I start approaching it as TMS now. If I assume it's purely physical and the pain remains after delivery, I know I will be more stressed only just starting to approach it from the TMS mindset while also caring for a newborn for the very first time, than if I started to approach it / "get on top of it" from a TMS perspective now, while I still have a month to go before the baby comes.....if that makes any sense?

In response to your suggestion- trying to visualize what is going on physically is stressful if it IS physical, though I have come up with the helpful visualization of the painful area being loose and flowing like jello in response to it being TMS, to counteract the thought of it being cramped up. I am acknowledging and accepting the symptoms and know that I CAN handle them- that all it is is physical discomfort and I can live with that. And thank you for the #3 in your suggestion because I certainly need to be doing more of that right now!

-Holly