Help!!! 28 weeks pregnant and itchy like crazy

[Megan2001]

Hi, I'm a first time mom and 28 weeks pregnant. I keep getting itchy at night mainly when I'm about to go to sleep. Its on the top of both of my feet, my left ankle and my left hand and wrist and sometimes my left arm and left boob.

It starts off itchy and then goes lumpy and extremely itchy and looks like a rash. It's fine during the day and only kicks off during the night. It's been a couple of days and slowly feels like it's getting worse.

I don't know what to do and I don't want to feel like I'm wasting time at the hospital when others could really be needing the help more.

Call your midwife asap, please! Can’t remember the name of the condition but itching can be a big deal.

Give your midwife or EPAU a call today. They like to know about intense itching in pregnancy as it can be linked to cholestasis. They won’t think you’re wasting their time at all, so don’t fret about that.

Do seek medical attention- it could be a variety of things but I had obstetric cholestasis/ICP which is a liver condition which can lead to premature birth. A simple blood test can rule this out, so definitely worth calling the midwife.
www.nhs.uk/pregnancy/related-conditions/complications/itching-and-intrahepatic-cholestasis/
it resolved completely after having my baby, and we were both fine, but they wanted to keep an extra close eye in the last trimester, and induced me at 36 weeks.

Call the midwife now.

Really important that you inform your midwife straightaway - I can't remember the name of it but it's something to do with your liver.

When I was pregnant I had it too - due to other issues I had, the midwife was undecided whether to admit me to hospital or not, but as soon as I mentioned the itching, she said I needed to go to hospital ASAP.

As others have said seek help today OP

I had this as well with all three - did ask Doctors to be tested as it drove me mad at night - had to take cold showers 2-3 times just to sleep, and they wouldn't test me 😬 all ok in the end and when it happened with my second a midwife told me it was a reaction my body was having as I was having boys... but def still see a midwife to rule OC out.

Do get checked out but don’t panic, there are lots of things that can cause itching and there are things they can do.

It does sound like obstetric choleostasis - my DD had it in both of her pregnancies. She was carefully monitored for a while and then prescribed medication.

You need to push for a blood test to test your bile acids. I had cholestasis and terrible itching from about 28 weeks. They need to test your bile acids every 2 weeks until the end of pregnancy, as the levels rise towards the end of pregnancy and it can be dangerous for the baby. If you have it, you will probably be induced around 37 weeks.

Thank you all for your help. ❤️❤️

Has anyone got any advice to stop itching. I've tried using cold creams but with sentive skin I am limited to what I can use. At the moment I'm just trying to avoid itching altogether but not been as successful as I hope.

What did the midwife say when you called them today, OP?

They told me to come to maternity triage and get a blood test and they will contact me tomorrow or Monday with the results and we shall go from there.

www.icpsupport.org/

Get your bloods checked and read all the info on the above website. Don't let them pawn you off and deffo don't fast for the blood test.

Cold showers and menthol cream, baggy clothes rather than tight

I had this in pregnancy. All was normal with my blood tests and the consultant said random itching was not unusual. They prescribed be antihistamines and steroid cream which helped a huge amount.

I had terrible itching from c.30 weeks, started in hands and then whole body. Tested for OC about 5 times over the course of the 7 weeks to delivery. It never was.
My advice is that if it is not Oc and it keeps getting worse then fight for a dermatology referral quickly. I ended up at out of hours 8 weeks post natally and had to pester gp twice a week and finally got a referral and when dermatology saw me they were furious I hadn't been referred sooner. Mine was pregnancy rash but lasted 4 months post natal and it was horrendous, had I got treatment sooner I'm sure it would have been better. I am scarred from it.
Double base cream helped and it's not as oily on hands as hydramol and I had hot showers because it helped satisfy itching with a cold end to the shower to soothe.
Hope bloods go ok and good luck

Delivery of your baby.

Sounds very much like obstetric cholestasis.

Aveeno or double base cream. Aqueous cram might also be helpful. Assuming it's not a medical condition obviously.

Oh dear. I had this at 24 weeks, the itching is mostly hand and feet (although eventually mine was everywhere) and at night. I itched myself raw and bled and eventually could not fall asleep until 5am ish when I was absolutely shattered.

the condition is called cholestasis. This is where the liver is not functioning well, the bile is being released into the blood stream and potentially affects your baby. this is why you have bloods- to monitor bile levels.

I had to get weekly bloods drawn and mine got into the very high range and talks of early intervention at 37 weeks but baby decided to come early at 34. I kept an eye on babies movements and that is stressful.

i hope it isn’t but if it is just read up about it, oh and I’m afraid nothing to help the itching. I tried but it was useless as it’s in your blood