Visual disturbances/PE concerns

[Belles86]

Hi all,

Looking for a little advice if you'd be so kind...

I’m 32 weeks pregnant with my first baby and have now had 4 separate ‘episodes’ of visual disturbances. It feels like I’ve been staring at the sun i.e sort of have weird ‘halos’ and I would say I lose about 30% of my vision for about 20-30 mins. One was preceded by a pretty bad headache that lasted a few hours and the other 3 I’ve had a slight headache after and then felt completely fine after about 30 mins.

It transpires that my mum had PE with one of her pregnancy’s and only told me about this a few weeks back, though I perhaps should have asked..

I have been to triage once yesterday where baby was monitored (she’s active and please god seems to be doing ok) and urine and BP has consistently been fine. Well, one BP reading yesterday was 136 and I have previously been 110 but I don’t remember the bottom number and they said this was still in range and nothing to be concerned about.

It’s been suggested that maybe it’s visual, so I’m booked in to get my eyes tested tomorrow and MW is coming round tomorrow morning to check BP again.

I suppose my questions are; has anyone had visual disturbances and it’s NOT been PE? Or has anyone had ok BP and Urine for the majority but felt like something was off and PE came about later on?

I’m just a bit confused and wonder if there’s anything else I should be doing…

Thanks in advance!
B

I had this in pg, it was a visual migraine. Seemed to be hormonal. They didn’t do anything but I would keep getting checked out and see what the MW says tomorrow. Hope it all goes well

I got this frequently in pg too. Not pe.

I had this. It was migraine. I get the odd one anyway, but it was 100 times worse in pregnancy.

I had a couple in my first trimester but I have also had them before I was pregnant. I get the aura without a full blown migraine, just a bit of a dull ache afterwards.

interesting, ok! I had originally wondered if it was an ocular migraine, but have never suffered with them before. Did you ladies stop getting them after pregnancy? Thanks!

The odd one before pg, much worse during. Not had one since giving birth 8 weeks a ago. Hopefully just a pregnancy thing for you & not long to go.

I had them almost daily towards the end of my pregnancy. DS is now 8 and I can count on one hand how many I have had since. Blooming hormones!

ok, thanks people :) think my screens might be triggering it as the past 2 days it's happened within 2 hours of being at work..

Hi! I also had this and was migraines and only have them during pregnancy x

I have similar and it’s focal migraine for me. I am the opposite and they stop in pregnancy!

You absolutely MUST get this checked out properly though. Proper eye test, pre eclampsia ruled out etc.

If you are diagnosed with these migraines you need to be very careful with hormonal contraception (I’m not allowed the combined pill for example.)

Agree with PPs that it sounds very like migraine - you can have the visual aura without much of a headache. Are the “haloes” like shimmering/flickering zig zags?

PE usually means pulmonary embolism (which wouldn’t cause visual symptoms) but I’m guessing you mean pre-eclampsia? As your urine and BP are normal it’s highly unlikely but it would be worth having a chat with your midwife to be safe.

I have these now currently 37 weeks. Used to have migraines when I was younger and it appears pregnancy have brought them back. Been promised they should reduce after birth. You can't take migraleve though just paracetamol and Coedine if your GP signs that off for you.

@Bowlofbabelfish yes understood, will see if eye test tomorrow sheds any light. I was on the same combined pill for years and never had a migraine in my life, but I gather hormones can change everything!

@Darkstar4855 no they are kind of circular and I'd say there's about 3 or 4 in my field of vision, I get it in both eyes but it's normally more one than the other..

My bad re the acronym, yes I meant pre-eclampsia, and have spoken with mw who doesn't seem too concerned. Thank you though

If your BP is normally in the 110s and has crept to the 130s, I'd be very cautious. I had this BP pattern at my 34 week appointment. I woke on the morning of 36w0 days with visual disturbances - floaters rather than the halo you describe - and a burst blood vessel in one eye. I had an appointment scheduled for that afternoon but otherwise would have gotten medical attention that day. At my appointment, my BP was sky high and I was sent straight to hospital for admission. I kind of knew from the eyes that my BP would be high, but I had no other symptoms and felt largely fine. I was tested for pre-eclampsia including 24 hour urine collection (glamorous!) but thankfully it wasn't pre-e, just hyper intensive disorder of pregnancy. My baby was showing signs of IUGR and was measuring small when scanned on admission. Each day, both the baby and I were checked and scanned and a decision taken each day on whether to deliver or not. The moment I hit 37w0d, I was induced and baby born small but healthy. My blood pressure recovered in course but my eyesight still has a lot of floaters that will probably never leave.

In short, don't mess around with these sort of concerns. Go to triage if you think you need to, or see your GP. Pre-eclampsia isn't the only possible thing that could be going on.

Best wishes.

@sycamore54321 eesh that sounds like a tough time for you! Glad your little one was born healthy and well though. Yes, I must admit even though they were telling me that BP was in normal range, I had a small voice saying 'but that's quite high for you'. Take your point on it not just being potential pre-e and thanks for your response