big fat puffy hand

[emilie89]

yesterday, early evening, my right hand blew up to look like the michelin man's. it was so swollen i couldn't bend my thumb.

i know swelling of the feet and hands is normal in pregnancy but i'm worried about pre-eclampsia . i think the storyline of Helen in the Archers being rushed in for an emergency c-section after she had swollen ankles and a headache has made me even more paranoid then i am usually am.

i had a 32 week check with my midwife yesterday and my BP was normal and urine was clear, should that be reassuring? my hand is nowhere near as swollen now but it's still a bit puffy and it feels a bit tingly.

last night i said i'd go to the MAU if i was still swollen, but am i over-reacting?

Go and see someone, they won't mind checking you out just to be on the safe side. BP can shoot up at any time so it doesn't matter what it was yesterday.

It's probably nothing, but best to be safe.

No, you're not over-reacting. I had pre-eclampsia with DD1 and it's no joke (although my swelling was all over, rather than localised).

It might be something like an insect bite or tiny scratch that's got infected (I also had that - God, I sound accident prone). That could cause cellulitis, which would need treatment.

Hopefully it's nothing to worry about but best to err on the safe side.

Prinpo was your swelling the main symptom of pre-eclampsia?

I have had headaches for the last 6 weeks but the doctor told me that if they went away after taking paracetamol then it was OK.

My BP has gone up a few times during my pregnancy and I have been referred to the pregnancy hypertension clinic for extra monitoring but things have always looked fine at my appointments. Baby is moving and growing fine.

I am worried that I wont recognize pre-eclampsia quick enough and that something horrible will happen.

I didn't actually notice the swelling (although if I look back in photos I can see it clearly). It came on quite gradually and I think I assumed it was just part of the whole pregnancy getting bigger thing. It wasn't until I saw my consultant and she noticed it that it was picked up. At that point it was picked up that my blood pressure had become very high. I also had 3 +++ of protein in my urine. The fact that your BP and urine were normal yesterday is encouraging. That said, I would still get things checked out.

I know that pre-eclampsia is really nasty but, to reassure you, what happened with me is that I was in hospital for the last few weeks of the pregnancy (pre-eclampsia was picked up at 36 weeks) and I was closely monitored. DD was born as planned (elective cs due to breech) and was a healthy little baby, now a strapping 8 year old snoring away down the hall.

Really hope everything's ok. Let us know what the result is.

Take care.