Oh, That Tingles

Yay! Another fun pregnancy symptom has found its way to me. Although I've been dealing with sciatica issues for years, and the pain has certainly increased since I got pregnant, I have another issue that recently developed, and one article says, it's related to sciatica.

The pain in my left leg due to the sciatic nerve has been crippling at times. I am on my feet a lot even though I quit teaching full time; I have been subbing at a private school now and again and that's kept me on the go. Those days are hard, because I'm with kids under the age of five, and my back and legs constantly hurt while there. You'd think there would be a release when I sit in the car to drive away, but I get none. To be honest, it almost hurts worse to sit in the car. I usually have to bring my left leg up in the seat with me and drive home like that. I try to stretch a lot throughout the day, but it is only a temporary relief. The sciatic nerve definitely causes me to lose feeling in my left foot from time to time. I've gotten used to that, even if it's not pleasant. 

As usual, walking any length after a long day really causes me trouble. Leaving the early childhood center and walking to my car in one of the school's parking lots is a bit of a challenge, even though it's only equivalent to about a block. I went shopping on Monday to find a small gift for my husband, and I was in so much pain that my face flushed and I honestly thought I'd have to have someone drive me back to my car...I literally contemplated asking the security guards at the mall to help. I bent over in Belk's, one foot in front of the other, stretching as best I could, but I was embarrassed that other shoppers might wonder what in the world I was doing. I pushed through my excursion, taking deep breaths often, self consciously thinking others noticed, finally made it to the shop I needed, got a gift, and was able to get home.

On top of the sciatic issues, for the last few mornings, I've woken up with tingling hands. I thought I might need to look into what was causing this new phenomenon since it has occurred multiple times. I remembered stories of my best friend having trouble with her wrists (6 years ago when she was pregnant) and I texted her asking what it was. The tingling was an issue for her too, and it turned into carpel tunnel syndrome. My hands weren't tingling all the time, but waking up with the numbness has been troublesome. It's been harder to open the bedroom door, and when I've gone to dry my hair in the morning, it's been more difficult to blow out with my dysfunctional fingers. My friend assured me that she'd dealt with it too, but unfortunately she said there's not much you can do other than wear braces. I'm not sure I agree with that, as I'm more open to acupuncture and chiropractic than she is, so I'm determined to find something to help.

I went ahead and googled "tingling hands while pregnant" and found a good article. Click here to read more. The article is what alerted me to the tingling being associated with sciatica, and that it was really common during pregnancy. Although there wasn't much in the article on how to treat it, it did assure me that it's not a problem with which to be overly concerned. When I visit the OB next week for my anatomy check, I will mention it to him, and I'll certainly let my chiropractor know when I see her next time, but for now, I guess I'll keep reading up on the subject and see what I might can do on my own. It's not something that worries me a great deal, since I've had a rather "easy" pregnancy so far, but I do wonder, since I have all these back issues, how much worse will it get? I guess I'll go back to mindset and keep telling myself "I am healthy. I feel good. My body functions without pain." We shall see how far that gets me!