Preeclampsia at 19 weeks

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In hospital at the moment with early onset preeclampsia. I may have to terminate unless they get my blood pressure down. Has anyone else had preeclampsia this early? I had my son at 34 weeks due to preeclampsia but can't believe it's come this early. They say it doesn't usually happen before 20 weeks.

@blahblahblah1654 Oh no sorry to hear, it sounds awful bless you.
Can i ask, when you first informed your Gp that you are pregnant did they start you on any medication with you having preeclampsia with your son?

Fingers crossed, mine was much higher than that even on 4 Labetelol 4x day. Xxx

@MrsPelligrinoPetrichor how many weeks were you when you started meditation?c

Once your body readjusts to the lower BP you feel better again. I'm sorry your going through this. It really sucks.

I'm so sorry, OP, that's terrible for you.

I hope so much that they manage to get you to at least 24 weeks (or beyond, of course) before having to intervene.

25 iirc,it was 23 years ago!

How are things this evening?

So sorry to read about what is happening to you. I had pre-eclampsia diagnosed with second DD at 20 weeks (36 weeks with DD1). It came as a huge shock. I had been taking aspirin since I found out I was pregnant. I had a 2 year old at home and all of our family live overseas. In the end I was allowed home but had to come into the prenatal ward twice weekly for checks until the end of the pregnancy. Best wishes. I really hope it all works out well for you.

Hi,

I was diagnosed with severe early onset pre-eclampsia at 22 weeks with my second. We got to 34 weeks and he's a fabulously healthy child now.

I won't lie - the journey to 34 weeks was tough. I was signed off work immediately. Essentially on complete bedrest. Had to go for monitoring at the hospital every other day. Had a big scare at 26 weeks when I was blue lighted to a specialist hospital that dealt with very premature babies and given the injections to help babies lungs get stronger. Thankfully they managed to stabilise me. From 24 - 34 weeks, there were only 10 days that I wasn't in hospital! I was admitted frequently and was in permanently for 3 weeks before giving birth (baby had stopped growing). I was on such high doses of blood pressure meds, baby suffered from withdrawal at birth, but no long lasting effects - we were in NICU for 3 or so weeks - longer than a newborn born at 34 weeks (usually a week or so) as he struggled with breathing and came home with a feeding tube.

Wishing you the best of luck. Try to take each day as it comes and although it doesn't feel like it at the time, there is light at the end of tunnel.

I'm so sorry you're going through this OP. I've never heard of PET starting this early either.

Wishing you all the very best and sending love.

Have no advice but wanted to wish you luck

Hi OP, I’m so Sorry that you are going through this. I’ve had PE twice and have a 28 and a 34 week baby girl. My first was 41+3 and no PE- same dad and all girls. I know how utterly terrifying this is and please fell free to message me if you want to chat. Have you joined the PE Facebook page? It’s called “pre eclampsia, eclampsia & HELLP syndrome survivors global support network”. It’s truly and utterly fantastic, the information on there is second to none and the admin are great. Might be worth having a look. How are you feeling now?

Thanks everyone. Got a high reading this morning again so I've been crying a lot. It just seems there's no end in sight and I've been here since Thursday. It's all really playing havoc with my mental health. Start to feel positive then one crappy reading means I have to stay in. I'm so bruised from all the blood tests and cannulas and my arms are stinging from the hourly bp checks. I haven't been outside this ward since Thursday. I just want to be home with my family. I wasn't expecting to be essentially imprisoned in hospital from 19 weeks.

Morning 🙂
I know how you feel - you become a set of numbers rather than a person! You’re exhausted and sore but I promise you this will pass.
It does sound like your hospital have robust protocols for managing PE which is reassuring.
If you are able to walk around between readings and get some air for some headspace/change of scenery. The thing I missed most was seeing the sky and breathing in fresh air and did feel institutionalised.
Mention how you’re feeling to the staff to see if they offer support on site. I wrote to my Trust to ask that they consider psychological support for patients like us - it is as important as pharmaceutical intervention.
You are doing amazing. I mean it 🌼
There is also some hope too - once medics were comfortable with BP, I could occasionally spend a few hours at home (shower, sleep) then return later that day.
We’re all right behind you and hoping for a positive day/outcome.

@Moonchild79 thank you for your well wishes! My bp is looking a little better and my blood tests above improved. They don't know why but it's a good thing. The bad news is it looks like I'm here for a while, weeks or months. It could still go either way tbh but I need to see if the baby can survive. If things look too dicey they will want me to end the pregnancy. I went outside and home between readings today as I'm a 10 min walk from the hospital. Made me feel a bit better but very sad at the same time. Taking things hour by hour at the moment still!

How lovely you could pop home, I was desperate to do that but wasn't even allowed outside of the hospital and off the ward,it was awful. The fresh air will have done you good.Taking each hour as it comes is a good idea. 💐xxx

Glad you manage to get home for a bit. While I've never had PE I do have an incompetent cervix so had to spend weeks in hospital and it can be quite miserable. Especially with all the worry and not knowing what will happen

@MrsPelligrinoPetrichor yes I'm very lucky I managed to get home. They said I could go for a walk but I'm a short walk home so my husband has gone back with me. I wouldn't want to risk going on my own just in case. It's hard having to leave my toddler each time but it's not forever I guess. Currently in a good place mentally but that changes by the hour too!

@MakesMeFeelSad yes it's so stressful being in limbo. Unfortunately no one knows what will happen so have to take it step by step!

I remember that feeling, one minute you're ok and the next you're most definitely not ! I also had the luxury of not worrying about another child at home which must be very hard for you. I hope you sleep well and tomorrow brings more positive news x

Update. Blood pressure is ok ish. Platelets etc are ok. I'm having less frequent checks but it's still day by day at the moment. If they manage to get me to 24 weeks I will be transferred to another nearby hospital.

That sounds positive!

Try and get some fresh air again today.

💐

Managed to get out for a bit. I've been moved to 4 hour checks as my bp is currently a bit lower than it has been. The nifedipine was causing horrific headaches but that's subsided. I had scans on my liver, heart, lungs, kidneys and spleen today as they are wondering if I have an underlying disease that's causing this so early. No official results back but they thought everything looked fine from an overview which is a relief. Still on a bit of a knife edge. My 20 week scan is tomorrow and they will be able to look at the blood flow to the placenta. That's another hurdle to get through, as if it's really poor the baby will likely not grow properly and cause me more health issues which may mean a termination. I'm trying to stay positive but I'm just taking it step by step at the moment.

Things are sounding much more positive 🤞.
All the best with your specialist scan tomorrow. I found those very reassuring. I did have IUGR and although baby was tiny, they were in good health - small and mighty.
Rest well

@defnotadomesticgoddess it gives me hope that yours only started a little later than mine and you managed to 31 weeks. Did it take a while to get the right med combination? It's still very up in the air at the moment and I have my anomaly scan tomorrow so will see what happens then.

I had highish bp around 19 but not too bad, then at I think 22 weeks It took 3 days in hospital at first. Then my bp was ok and I had to go in 3 x per week for monitoring. Blood tests at least once a week, growth scans (Inc Doppler) every 2 weeks. Oh and 24hr urine collections I think once a week. Then at 27/28 weeks I had enough protein in my urine and was admitted. Not allowed off the ward until I had them. I think I started on metholdopa then they upped the dose to max, then added another one, then another until it was impossible to control. I couldn’t wait to leave the hospital but tried to think every day we got through gave them more chances of a better outcome. (I had twins. This was 23 years ago so I guess your treatment options may be slightly different. I really feel for you and hope all is ok. My babies growth wasn’t affected by it, it seems they were growing nicely and came out at good weights for their gestation.