Pre-eclampsia mentalling thread

[Fishandjam]

A place to come and kvetch/worry/chill for anyone at risk of developing pre-eclampsia in their pregnancy. We have buckets for those still feeling sick, cushions for those who are just plain knackered, and crisps and ginger beer for everyone else. Come and say hi!

When you say "feeling up to it" err, it's fun, yes, but also, we're kind of trying to gently encourage LO to come out, and sex is supposed to help. And no, the pain really isnt' that bad headache wise (I have no desire to smack my head against a wall, so it's basically managable).
Phoned MW, went in (think they were bored) and BP is same as yesterday. Nowt in urine...again...been told to rest more and basically stress less. Still going with mild migraine theory. I just don't feel stressed, just curious about what's happening and thus wondering if I should beb more concerned IYSWIM...rather than mentalling about PE itself, it's the mentalling about not being that concerned...
Going to have some DrP and paracetamol and then go to bed...

Keisha, go in tomorrow, ask them to do preE blood tests.
My BP never went over 78 lower number and I had no protein untill after my first seizure. Headache and feeling of impending doom were my symptoms.

Oeisha, not Keisha, bloomin smart phone!

titan It's standard procedure in this country to see the consultant so frequently - although now I'm getting all worried about a recurrence of PE and think I should probably ask again on Weds about it. She has said before that there were no indicators that I'd be affected again, but of course mn is full of women who've had it more than once.

My husband is on red alert for symptoms, but I don't think he'll be testing my wee...

Oeisha - just to echo what paranoidandroid said. Do ask for pre-eclampsia blood tests if you're worried. My bp was normal, no protein in urine, but severe pre-eclampsia was picked up in a blood test (my liver was about to fail) at 37 weeks. Only symptoms were swollen fingers and ankles, mild headaches / flashing lights and feeling generally crap for about a week or so before (which I had just put down to late pregnancy). The only reason I had a blood test was because midwife called me back after a routine appointment and asked me to get checked out again at the hospital as she had a "feeling" something wasn't quite right. Really glad she acted on that feeling!

Yep, my fingers were swollen too. Couldn't get wedding rings on after about thirty weeks. Had seizures at 38.

Sudden onset vomiting CAN be a symptom, Oeisha. PLEASE at least talk to someone today!

afternoon ladies. this thread is moving fast!! i was at work last night and have had 5 pages to catch up on!!

interesting to read what people's experience of care is. we moved 7 months ago, and i am struggling to access care down here. my previous obstetrician was great and i had a really reassuring plan of care. i am 12 weeks and have my 12 week appt and scan next week, so hopefully will be picked up by a team. i don't think my mw takes it particularly seriously and i had to really push for an early scan and ended up paying for another one a few weeks later, but on the private list of an nhs consultant. previously i had understood i would be monitored from bfp and have scans and dopplers etc regularly. really hope i get somewhere next week, because i too am convinced that i will have pe again, and that it's just a matter of when, despite the aspirin, which i insisted my mw ring the high risk team for advice on - she then texted me to start it at 9 weeks!

oeisha did you get checked out and is everything ok?

i would quite like to try vbac if i am ok but absolutely don't want to be induced. pe can happen too rapidly and some of the induction drugs, raise your bp anyway.

Righty, yes, I've been checked out, and they've taken bloods. Basically via an aneasthatist...I went there to check out a reaction I had as a kind to a sedative, and the MW I saw there insisted I went to triage for bloods specifically because of the raised stats...(slow raise over 3 weeks).
Up to triage (who were very busy), so didn't get seen for ages. First BP was in fact 125/90 so I had to get hooekd to the CTG and have a repeat after CTG. CTG was good. Though I did have a dizzy spell. After CTG (so about 5mins after dizzy spell) my BP was down to 110/60...so bugger knows what's going on. They sent me home, but I'll be seen again for a stats check Sunday.
When asked why we were in triage, we explained the MW at the clinic sent us for bloods, she initially was only going to do BP and bloods, but because of the 125/90 I had the CTG.
Anyway, we said that the MW downstairs sent us up for the 20/20 increase, and this MW looked very puzzled and said that it was no longer considered a criteria for automatic concern (the 140/90, headache with lights and positive dip were), but combined with the headache & lights, they'd do the bloods anyway. This fits with the documents I've read on PE on the APEC website.
Upshot is I'm being seen Sun, and we're taking it from there...unless the bloods come back with anything interesting....would have heard by now if they had.
Hadn't seen a consultant, but she was going to run figures etc. past him and thought I'd be better off at home relaxing if my BP was an issue as it in itself could be causing the headaches with no ill effect other than headaches/migraine IYSWIM.

Good that you've had the bloods done. Do stay vigilant to your own feelings as well though. Better safe than sorry. Take it easy at home, get lots of rest.

Hello :)
I have had preeclampsia in three of my four previous pregnancies although got through pregnancy number 4 with only PIH. Now on pregnancy 5 which was a bit of a surprise and totally in a panic about the whole thing!.

The story so far is I am 32+4 and am now on labetalol (200mg a day ) although tbh I think that was MAINLY due to the anxiety i was getting at the appointments pushing mu bp up. I have a machine at home which has proved to be pretty much the same readings as when i get it done in hospital and it seems ok at the moment I have been told to take and record a reading once each morning and once each evening. So far all is ok I have had growth scan which show the baby to be doing fine and I am having weekly bp checks with the mdiwife as well. I have already had blood tests a few times which have come back normal to check for preeclampsia just in case i think!.

I have been told they will induce on my due date if my blood pressure stays under control or before that if it goes up.

At the moment my main concern is my sister. She is 35 week with her first dc. Very high bp she is now taking labetalol (I think last i heard was 600mg a day) and her bp was /95 on that dose - it was/60 at 12 weeks as she was told it was quite low. She had +3 protein and swelling and yet she has just been sent home from the hospital after waiting 14 HOURS to see a doctor because they were so busy. She has been told a midwife will come to the house on TUESDAY! is it me or is this totally under reacting? I am really very worried about her!

Tell her to demand blood tests! PE has hereditary links, if you've had it she is definitely at higher risk. She should really be on hospital watch with her symptoms.

dirtydishes That's shocking! I am not a medic but surely those are worrying stats - too busy indeed. :( I don't think she can wait until Tuesday!

eeek dirty!! definitely not just you. she needs to be seen before tuesday. agree with paranoid - she should really be on hospital watch with those figures and she definitely needs bloods doing.
hope she is ok

I had pe in both my pregnancies . I made it to 38 weeks with dd. I had a horrible birth and waited 7 years to have another baby . I was told I wouldn't get it twice. I was high risk on my notes and under consultant care but I actually diagnosed myself at 29 weeks . I woke up one morning with swollen eye lids and fat ankles . I knew it was coming but my midwife disagreed. Anyway fast forward a lot of tests and I spent a month in hospital . I was pretty poorly but very closely monitored and made it to 33 weeks when I had a emcs .
My ds was 3lb 13 and was in scbu for a month but he is on my lap now nearly 7 months later and 15 pounds. !! I have had it twice and didn't really realise the severity of the condition . While in hospital I had mini stroke among other things but until the other day I didn't realise me or ds could have died . I don't want to scare anyone but you must take it seriously and get checked out .

dirty did they do blood tests and a scan on your sister? From what you have said it does sound worrying. My PE came on at a similar time. I had severe swelling, protein, very high bp etc. They didn't deliver immediately but sent me home and I ended up having a section a few days later. I think they decided it was okay to wait because they blood tests weren't too bad. My platelets were lower than normal and my liver blood tests were a bit raised but nothing dramatic. Maybe that's why they decided to wait a few more days?

The factor that prompted my section was a scan showed severe IUGR and abnormal blood flow in the baby. In combination with the worsening PE they decided he would be safer out than in. They did say if I was earlier on in pregnancy though they would have tried to wait a bit longer.

Just out of interest, those of you that have had PE in 2 or more pregnancies, did you have uterine artery dopplers to try and predict the likelihood? The one person I have met told me her dopplers were normal at 24 weeks but she still developed sudden severe PE at 37 weeks.

titan before we moved my previous obstetrician told me i would have an intrauterine doppler at 24 weeks - yet to hear what they will say here. interesting that your friend had a normal doppler but still got pe later on

From what I understand it's the best test they have but it's still not that accurate. It seems it's better at picking up people likely to get severe PE but not good at picking up those who go on to get moderate or mild PE. My friend did get it later on in pg the second time and with less severe IUGR but the symptoms still came on very suddenly and rapidly. I don't think the results of the dopplers change how they would monitor you if you're high risk anyway, as there isn't any treatment.

Dirty , I was on 900 ml and my blood pressure was still sky high , they wouldn't let me leave hospital because of the risk ( hence being there for a month. There is 4 tests I think and all four must be elevated for her to be pe . Did they do bloods? Sorry I'm a bit vague as I have tried to block it all out and move on . They test your lactic acid levels in your blood. Test urine , look at blood pressure and something else . Only when all four are high are you considered pre e lamp tic but she should Go back if you are worried . Has she any visual disturbances , pain under ribs and any oedema?

Hello everyone, can I join too? Is it uric acid levels that they look at as well? I remember being told they were very high when I had DS1 when I had PE. I'm 31 weeks today with DC3 and starting to get anxious about developing PE again. I was about 32 weeks when I started to have PE with DS1 although we managed to last out until 36 weeks until he was delivered by EMCS. No trace of PE with DS2, although I was paranoid about developing it throughout the pregnancy. This time I'm starting to get anxious because my feet and hands have been swelling slowly over the last few weeks. I've also had low level headaches a lot of the time, although these could be due to a cold I've not been able to throw off. I also had visual disturbances a month ago, but had my BP checked at that time by the GP and it was fine at that point. Due to see MW on Tues for 28 week check (delayed due to Christmas) but don't worry, I'll insist on being seen sooner if I have any more swelling or headaches.

Yes Uric acid or something like that . I had my blood taken every day for a month in hospital ( crap) and they tested for a few things but like I say I have tried to block it out .

we fell off the first page and half way down the second !!
i am just bringing us back as i don't want the thread to disappear - it seems like there are a few of us that are going to need support through our mentalling over the next few months

Good idea broccoli!

Well 5 weeks today I should be going in for my elcs, assuming I make it that far.

I've got a growth scan on wednesday and am seeing the consultant then - I'm going to ask a few more questions. I think I've been kind of ignoring the situation as she's been quite confident that I wouldn't be affected again and I've not been doing urine tests - this was partially how it was picked up last time by my mw (bp & wee every visit).

No swelling, no headaches. Bloody knackered walking around but I'm old and heavily pregnant with SPD, normal right?