i really need advice!

[HelenEmjay]

I have tried to find out any info i can but im not getting very far! i have been itching like a lunatic for about 5 days now and it is getting worse! i have had a blood test for obstetric cholestasis and it has come back normal, but i have since been told that you can still have it and have normal blood results! this is my third baby and my mum is more worried than me i think as she lost her third baby (possibly to this condition) im not sure what else to do short of going to the ante natal clinic and making a pest of myself! unless they have some odd blood test results they arent prepared to do anything (which i can understand) but my sister is a nurse and although she doesnt like to be so blunt she has said that if it is this OC and it remains undiagnosed babies tend to die in the womb at around 37 weeks and im 35! im a little worried, any ideas as to what i should do? am i being over the top?
Helen xxxx

[starlover]

i WOULD keep on at them re the OC

but... I itched like CRAZY especially at the end as my bump got bigger. I made myself bleed I was scratching that much.

try using boots cream i THINK it was calomine and glycerin. it is thicker than calomine lotion and does help the itching.

[MaryBS]

Which blood tests did you have? I suspect the Liver Function Tests. There is another test, which is more of a definitive test - the Serum Bile Acid test. If they won't give it to you, offer to pay for the test, all they need is to take the bloods for you and send it off - it would only cost about £5 - I think the place to send it is a hospital in Birmingham.

See my other response to your post, but a rash is NOT a symptom of OC. When I had OC, there wasn't any rash at all.

Try the helpline - Jenny is fantastic, she knows exactly what its like as she had OC. I haven't spoken to her for a while - I hope the helpline is still in operation.

www.guide-information.org.uk/guide/searchindexdetail.lasso?RecID=G30199

I'll keep checking in here to see if I can help, although I go on holiday Friday. Seriously though, it sounds more like PUPPS.

I did a lot of research into it at the time I had it, I volunteered for the research programme and was given a fair amount of information on it. It really wound my Dr up!

[edodgy]

I was itchy all over the last few weeks of my pregnancy with my dd and it wasnt OC they said it was Pruritic Urticarial Papules and Plaques of Pregnancy they percribed me zirtec antihystemine for this and it did help but it was a nightmare. Apparently a sign of OC is if you have itchy palms and soles of feet so if this is the case you need to go back to the dr.

[HelenEmjay]

My dr said they would do a liver function test from the bloods taken and a full blood count and anything else she could think of too i think! i had very itchy skin before around my bump especially as i got bigger towards the end, i have had from being a hairdresser dermatitis and similar skin irritaions before, but i have never had anything like this, neither can i think of anyone else i have seen with it i do have a rash but my itching is not restricted to that area i would say 80% of my body itchy furiously and about 30% of my body has this rash, but the rash isnt always present, but i still itch like a lunatic! i was up most of the night last night with it, so i feel it is getting worse! but i am reading about this PUPPS thingy to see if it could be that - thanks for the info on that to by the way! i had never heard of it before!!!

[HelenEmjay]

Have read some info on the PUPPS im not sure that its the same thing i have, i dont have a rash on my bump at all, in fact its probably the only place i dont! i do however have it on my feet soles and the palms of my hands and my legs and arms and face i just feel like my skin is a firey burning itch! its the strangest thing i have ever had!

[edodgy]

It does sound more like OC than anything else have u got any of the other symptoms of it such as pale stools, loss of appetite as well?

[HelenEmjay]

I have had a mild loss of appetite to be honest, i have since yesterday had some waves of mild nausea come on too, but that of course could just be normal pregnancy stuff, i havent had any mornong sickness with my pregnancies before except for my last pregnancy for the first 8-9 weeks but not with this one! i havent had any pale stools or anything though, i just feel generally like im coming down with something for the last few days, but i havent got a cold or a bug or anything, i just dont feel right iykwim???

[edodgy]

Well good luck and make sure the DR does all those tests and if not you have to pester the antenatal clinic as well its not worth the risk of not bothering them if it is OC. Hope everything gets sorted soon. xxx

[HelenEmjay]

Thanks edodgy for your help! im off to see my gp now, hopefully he can shed some light!
Helen xxx

[MaryBS]

Good luck with the Dr and call the helpline - they will tell you exactly what you should be doing, what tests you should be having, and if you are diagnosed with OC, what treatment you should be getting.

FTR - only 20% of cases get pale stools, this is a sign of jaundice and v. high raised liver functions.

IF you have OC, then at the time I was pregnant (4 years ago), the best treatment to be taking was UDCA (Ursodeoxycholic Acid or Urso for short). There was another treatment available, but not so effective. Thanks to the helpline, I was able to advise my Dr of this.

Once I was diagnosed, I was put under a consultant at the hospital. I made sure I got one with OC experience!

[HelenEmjay]

Thanks marybs, i have been to the ante natal clinic this afternoon and they monitored baby for a while and took some more blood, which im hopeing to hear the results sometime this evening! hopefully they will be ok! i will call that helpline though! xxxx

[MaryBS]

Good to hear they're doing things. How many weeks are you and when did the itching start?

BTW even if you have raised liver functions, gallstones cause the same symptoms! So you may have to have an ultrasound to rule THOSE out!

The 'fun' thing for me was that although I didn't have gallstones, between my DD and my DS, I was diagnosed with gallstones and had my gallbladder removed. I self diagnosed on that, because apart from the pain, I had intense itching and pale stools!

[HelenEmjay]

Really! i never thought about gallstones! i have no pain or anything, i have been very lucky and have never had anything like this before, pregnant or not! i am 35 weeks pregnant now and although today the itching seems to have stopped getting any worse, it is still there, and i still havent heard back from the hospital about the blood test results - which i can only hope is a no news is good news sort of thing! if i was having any pains anywhere or other associated symptoms i think i would be more worried, but since the only symptom i have is the itching then i can only hope its in the very begginings of this OC, the worst of the itching is on my hands and feet and arms and legs, which im assured is a very notorious symptom of OC! so im just going to sit tight and wait for my consultant appointment next thursday, i wish there was more i could do! xxxx

[MaryBS]

Next Thursday - they mean tomorrow, right?

Call the helpline, if you're 35 weeks pregnant and if you do have OC, this needs addressing with some urgency.

I used to scratch the soles of my feet and palms of my hands until I bled! It was 10 times worse at night. I used to keep a cold bath just sitting there and paddle to soothe the itching at night. I would be up 3 or 4 times a night with it!

Good luck - let me know if you hear any more