Postpartum preeclampsia

[Hannah58]

Hi,
I was just looking for some advice really.
I’m finding myself really over worrying that I may have postpartum preeclampsia. I can’t stop googling it and it’s symptoms.
The only thing that made me start worrying was that I went for a nap earlier today and when I woke up, one of my eyes was all blurry. It lasted for about half an hour or so but is back to normal now (I think!).
I have had a couple of little headaches over the past couple of days but they went away with paracetamol.
I’m due to go in to triage tomorrow morning anyway to have my stitches checked so obviously they will do my blood pressure etc whilst I’m there and test my wee.
Should I phone this evening anyway to check or just wait until the morning?
Thanks in advance, Hannah x

I had post partum preeclampsia and can honestly say I felt fucking awful! I had a terrible aweful headache that wouldn’t go away with anything, I saw flashing lights and had a stupid high blood pressure (like 180/110, something like that). I saw a GP who dismissed it as me being a bit stressed (!) but my midwife arranged for me to be seen at the hospital as soon as possible.
If you only have blurry eyes it might just be tiredness, but if you are worried call your midwife for advice?

Thank you for your reply. My OH thinks that as I have only had that one symptom and I’m going in the morning that it should be fine. I think I’ve just scared myself silly with lots of googling. Can I ask how long you had your symptoms before you went to the hospital?

Mine was nearly 30 years ago now - I had severe epigastric (top of stomach ) pain in the night that kept me awake, and when the midwife came the next day my blood pressure was high & I was hospitalised with the baby.
I peed buckets of frothy wee (it froths because of the protein apparently!) and was in for a few days.

PS if you've had a couple of little headaches & a temporary slightly blurry eye, I'd think it's fine to wait till tomorrow. Your baby's in no danger now, being already born!

Congratulations on your tiny human ☺️

Just one blurry eye and a headache that goes with paracetamol is almost certainly tiredness. PET usually presents either silently or with a headache that doesn’t go, flashing lights in the eyes, epigastric pain and generally feeling awful. If you’ve no history of raised BP then I would say it’s probably tiredness (though obv can’t be certain) but it can present up to 6 weeks postnatally.
They will check you Bp tomorrow but won’t dip your wee as there will be protein in it regardless (due to lochia)
How many days PN are you? Do you have your recent BP’s to hand?

I had this too- no headache just couldn’t see for about an hour then felt fine happened a few times in the first few months then went away put it down to hormones. But speak to GP and double check everything just incase.

Thanks everyone. I am going to wait until tomorrow morning and hope they can put my mind at rest. Your replies have certainly helped. Trouble is now every little twinge makes me think something is wrong!
I’m 13 days PN and don’t have my BPs to hand- little one is asleep on me at the mo!
The last time they checked it was last Sunday I think and it was a bit high at first (I was in a bit of a state due to my stitches opening) but then they were re done a little while later and the midwife said it was fine.

Hi op congratulations on your baby. I had pre eclampsia and it got worse about two or three days after delivery. Luckily I was still in hospital as id had to have a magnesium infusion after delivery so they were keeping a close eye on me. I was kept in for 11 nights after the baby was born and it was crazy as I felt absolutely fantastic but obviously I wasn't. It was a very scary time so I hope you get things sorted out as soon as possible.

Thanks SparkyBlue. Gosh 11 nights! I was in for 7 nights due to other things with baby and me and that was enough! Hope you’re doing well now x

OP how are you feeling now

I’m ok thank you SparkyBlue. I went for my appointment yesterday and my BP was a little high but the doctor was happy with it. She said the blurry eye was probably just tiredness or maybe I need to go for an eye check at some point if it happens again.

@Hannah58 are you on meds for the bp? I was given bp meds after my first and second baby and gradually decreased them as things fully settled. I'm delighted that your gp wasn't overly concerned and remember to try and rest up as much as possible

@SparkyBlue No they didn’t mention any medication for the BP so I’m guessing it was low enough to not need it. I think I’ll just have to keep an eye on any symptoms and get checked again if I have any. Trying to rest as much as possible- the night feeds are certainly taking their toll though! 🙈

@Hannah58 I totally understand it's hard to get time to fully rest and recharge . After having my drama after DD1 I ended up bottle feeding as I was able to take even that bit of stress off of me. So DH took a lot of feeding duty and used to wash and prep bottles.