Cholestasis

[SaraKitty]

Not sure if I have spelt it correctly ! Looking to hear peoples experience suffering from this liver condition, my husband commented that my legs look very yellow tonight and then i noticed the same. My feet are itchy but nothing too extreme . I’m 27 weeks pregnant and my family have covid so I don’t want to go rushing to the MAU straight away . Curious to hear what symptoms others had and at what gestation and I will speak to my doctor on Tuesday when our isolation is finished .

I should add this is my third baby and I’ve not had it before .

Call the maternity unit. This can be very serious and needs to be checked out.

For me it was the unremitting itching. I was under specialist consultant care anyway and they took it seriously straight away. My initial blood tests were inconclusive but was treated anyway, within a week my blood tests definitely showed OC

I got diagnosed with this at 35 weeks, admitted to hospital immediately and induced a few days later. They would have induced me straight away but didn't because there were no NICU beds available (DD didn't need one anyway).

My symptoms were incredible itching (so bad I drew blood scratching myself), yellowish skin and yellowish poo). I also had paid under my right rib which I put down to normal pregnancy stuff but was in fact my liver dying. My husband came home one day and told me I looked yellow so I googled the symptoms and called my midwife who told me to go to hospital for blood tests. She had previously been dismissing the itching as normal pregnancy symptoms. The itching had been going on for about four weeks prior.

Definitely go and get it checked out if you suspect it.

That was my second baby. I was fine with my first.

I was diagnosed at 26 weeks after 2 nights of constant itching (the 2nd night I scratched my skin raw with a hairbrush). Was put on URSO and within a week my bile levels and liver function were back to normal range. I've been monitored every week and they are looking to induce me at 37.5 weeks (currently 35)
When I first went to the assessment unit, I was told 100% I had done the right thing getting myself checked out.
If you are concerned then I would say get checked so they can rule it out or not.

@ClemFandangoCanYouHearMe can I ask you a bit more about the pain near your rib? I've been experiencing the same but all of my blood tests are coming back normal (I'm 26 weeks and had cholestasis in a previous pregnancy).

I haven't had itching or yellowing but should the pain under the right rib be something I bring up? I've never heard of that being a symptom before.

The itching doesn't have to be intense. Mine wasn't and it actually stopped when I took urso even though my cholestasis remained severe. I got a call 34+3 saying I needed to come in that day to begin being induced. This was the day my second blood test results came back, just 3 days after the first blood test, so it was quite a shock! Baby was born an hour into 35 weeks and had already passed meconium. Fortunately he was fine and needed no additional help.

If you have itching you should call the number you're given within 24 hours. IME they'll have you in quickly for a blood test. Results usually come back within 24 hours, so it should be a quick turnaround. At 27 weeks it's probably less urgent than if you were approaching 35 weeks (that's when the main risks to baby kick in if cholestasis is severe) but I would still call sooner rather than later. Cholestasis needs to be monitored.

Dramallama

Pain felt a bit like the baby was pushing up against that area if you know what I mean. Nothing too intense - more of an ache.
Certainly worth mentioning though to your midwife.

I'm in New Zealand so may not be able to answer you right away, but ask if you have anything else.

@ClemFandangoCanYouHearMe yes thats the sort of feeling I have experienced! I thought maybe baby's foot was prodding it or something. I will definitely mention it to my midwife, luckily my bloods and bile acids are all coming back normal at the moment but I will keep a close eye on it. I didn't develop cholestasis until quite late in my last pregnancy so I feel quite paranoid that it'll happen again but later on.

I’ve actually had that pain you describe since quite early on in my right hand side just under the rib. I knew it wasn’t baby as it started so early on she wouldn’t have been up that high. My doctor wasn’t concerned said that ribs just expand when pregnant as the uterus expands and hormones can soften the bones. But if you get that along with itching or yellow skin
/ urine I think they will run your bloods . I’m going to ask for my bloods to be done this week to check but the yellowing of my skin that I started this post about has gone away , I think it was just bad lighting ! So I’m not too concerned now but seeing posts here saying about the rib ache and the mild itching I think there is no harm to ask for the blood test , I’m doing the GTT and 28w bloods on Friday anyway .

I’d phone your maternity ward tomorrow morning, don’t leave it. Do a lateral flow, if it’s negative they might be ok with you going in. Cholestasis can be very serious.

Yellowing of the skin is a symptom of cholestasis but I believe it's not very common at all. Itching is often the only symptom, and as I said, it doesn't have to be severe. I wouldn't suggest you should be worried - there is almost always a good outcome for women with cholestasis - but it does need to be taken seriously and reported quickly.