Preeclampsia blood tests

[dancestomyowntune]

Hi, I've posted quite a bit recently but just for those new to my predicament I'll start by giving a little recap. I am currently in hospital with preeclampsia and I am not expecting to leave still pregnant. I am 30w+1 and have erratic blood pressure, occasional protien +1 in urine and occasional blurred vision/pain in upper tummy.

I have been having regular blood tests (some days three :( ) which they keep saying are mostly fine, kidney and liver function all ok etc but I am aware that the uric acid is raised and has been steadily rising. Having stupidly googled this I am now panicking as it looks like this can be a bad sign!

Does anyone have any experience of this? All other bloods are apparently normal. Tia

[shelley1977]

Sorry no experience but could be heading this way myself. Hope it all goes well for you x

[RL20]

Hi dances, sorry another one here with no experience of this although I did scare myself last week at my midwife appointment (I'm 29+1 at the moment) when the younger student midwife took my blood pressure and then passed it to the other saying "I think it's a bit on the high side" but the other midwife quickly disputed this saying "nope it's absolutely fine" and then said "we'll do another one in about 10 minutes". But it never came round and wasn't mentioned again. So I frantically googled and spoke to my mum about causes of high blood pressure, how I can lower it, what will happen etc. I worked myself up and spoke to a lady at work had preeclampsia towards the end of one of her pregnancies when she was younger. She told me how high her blood pressure was (a lot higher than mine was) but it hasn't really stopped me thinking about it, just incase. So I do sympathise with you.

They'll do their absolute best to get your baby here safe and well and won't deliver unless it's absolutely necessary, so remember every moment that passes is another moment your baby is happily unaware and is still "cooking" away nicely! Do you know how long you're going to be in for? It does sound like you're bloods are coming back ok though by the sound of it x

[RL20]

Oh and I've got to say well done for having numerous blood tests.. I'm not necessarily a wuss with needles but I've always felt a bit queasy with blood tests! I can't watch them at all. At my midwife appointment last week I was literally going more light headed as the blood was being drawn! I had to ask for a cup of water and to turn the fan on for me! They let me lay down on the bed for 5 minutes. They were really good with me but I felt so silly afterwards!

[DropYourSword]

Don't worry yourself about it, apart from anything else you'll just make your blood pressure worse!
Symptoms you have are 'clues' for pre-eclampsia, but your blood work is the proof as to how mild or severe it is. Your blood won't lie, so if your levels are good, that's good news!
Just remember that there is a LOT of information online if you google. Lots of it good, plenty of it awful. I'm sure you'll have seen threads on MN about a subject you have a lot of knowledge on, and roll your eyes incredulously at some of the advice or statements people make on them. There's a one at the minute about a maths question. There's only one real answer but plenty of people will state their answer with absolute certainty. That maths question is your pre-eclampsia, don't worry about all the other answers.

Very best of luck to you.

[Katnipp]

Step away from Google! My severe pe last time meant bloods were all bad. Liver and kidney functions. Kidney function went back to normal about a week after delivery. Liver ok (but not good) for a while. After 2 weeks it and my bp were ok enough for me to go home. Had weekly bloods for another 2 months until all normal once was off bp meds.

The bloods are another monitoring tool to see how the pe is progressing and how fast. If the Drs are ok with the results then you need to try and trust them. Clearly all the monitoring means they are keeping a close eye on you.

[Katnipp]

Sorry forgot to add - if you want an explanation of any of yor results ask them. They should tell you what the tests are telling them and at what point there needs to be further action and what that would be.