If you have/had pre eclampsia..

[anonny55]

Did you have signs leading up to getting pre - e?

I'm high risk of developing it anyway
Since around 30 weeks my bp has slowly been creeping up from my usual 115/60. I've had headaches , rib pain, swollen feet, blurred vision on and off for weeks too but nothing that stays for longer than a day.
Bp this month as following

132/84 6th Jan
129/85 7th Jan
135/85 8th Jan
117/78 18th Jan
130/70 20th Jan
112/78 21st Jan
127/96 27th Jan
119/70 28th Jan
121/77 29th Jan

I've had some high bp readings too but unsure what they are as the midwife never tells me! She just does them 10 mins apart then records the lowest one.

Anyway went in to triage yesterday for something unrelated and my bp was high and I had +1 protein in my urine ..after a couple of hours Bp came down so I had a blood test then was sent on my merry way. The blood test results came back as normal today. I have urine dip test at home and today I still have +1 urine

I'm 35+4 today. Just wondering if this is how it started for anyone else and how soon after did you actually get pre eclampsia? I've not been given a follow up just told to go to my midwife appointment as usual next week. I'm a little worried I'll have full blown pre e by then! When do I take myself back to the hospital? Had a minor headache today but again I've had them on and off for weeks so I don't want to go in and it's nothing still..

I'm another one that couldn't wee. I rang the maternity unit but it was a bank holiday. They told me a probably had a UTI and sent me to the out of hours GP. He got quite a fright as my BP was 200/120!

I had preeclampsia back in April with DD2. My BP started rising from 36w but I had no other PE symptoms. This was my second pregnancy and I'd had high BP in my first pregnancy with no PE. I was put on BP meds and asked go to DAU every second day for monitoring / blood / urine checks. At every visit, they were upping my meds or adding additional meds. I ended up on about 10 tablets a day. I got to 39 + 1 when it turned into full blown preeclampsia and DD2 was born at 39 + 3. The night before I went into labour, I had an awful headache all evening. Otherwise I had no swelling or floaters. The only other symptom I had had was that I felt really highly strung and on edge - I think that might have been due to my BP (160s/111 at one point).

Please go back and get checked out. Noone will mind and always better safe than sorry. It was clear every time I went to DAU that they were all expecting it to turn into PE - it was just a matter of time so noone was surprised to see me. Good luck!

Did baby's movements reduce before hand? I've just been told to really keep an eye on the movements more than anything🫤

Thank you all very much! When I go in and they check my bp, urine, monitor baby for 10 mins then send me away. I'm not sure if that's just normal procedure? If the Bp comes down after a while like mine does they say there's nothing they can really do other than to just urge me to come in each time and keep an eye on symptoms. If I have the symptoms on and off all the time how do I know when to go..when they get even worse?

I honestly wish I could just stay there for 24/7 monitoring as I'm so worried somethings going to go badly wrong and it's too late!

Have you seen a consultant? I had preeclampsia at 31/40 with my first (after difficult to control BP throughout pregnancy). I had no symptoms, in fact the only reason I found out was because I was checking my BP and urine at home. Popped into mat triage/day assessment, BP by then was 200+/100+ and all hell broke loose 🤣 admitted and delivered at 31+3 after multiple attempts to control BP.
I think head back in and request to see a doctor if they send you home again. Say you are worried about all the symptoms you're having plus high blood pressure.

No his movements never reduced. I was in labour but turned up at the hospital unaware he had passed away minutes before. I do think mine was a rare case though as I was lied to that test results were clear, but then it all came out that actually they weren't even back at the time I had been discharged. Please just be persistent with them

My BP was high at my 36w midwife appointment so she sent me to the hospital. I ended up being admitted and had to start medication etc. I ended up with a c-section at 38 weeks.

Definitely go and get checked again! Better to be safe than sorry and it's not worth the risk. Good luck and hope you are both OK!

@ChimpiestoftheChimps yes I have growth scans every 2 weeks followed by consultant appointment. I didn't have the protein last week when I see her so haven't had the chance to talk about that yet. I'll see her again after my 36w scan on Tuesday. The midwife was spiralling while I was in there yesterday as my resting heart rate was also high at 136bpm and she couldn't get a ctg reading of baby as our heart rates were mixing. So she went to get a doctor to tell her about this all. Doctor felt my wrist for 5 seconds and said you'll be fine we'll call you if your bloods have anything concerning and off I went🫣

Did anyone have pre - e and didn't have a small baby? Baby was 6lb7 at 34 weeks which seems unusual if I do have it as most say there baby's were tiny?..

My baby weighed 8lb 7oz. Having PE doesn't always mean that babies will be on the smaller side

My DS will be 30 this year so a while ago.
At 32 weeks my bottom BP was 105 and i had odema but no protein. I was in hospital from then until DS was induced at 38 weeks.
My BP never went under 90. At 38 +2 i think my bottom BP went up to 125 and i had protein in my urine. I was induced which took 3 days but he had no problems .
I was monitored every day and asked
If i had a headache
did i see stars
did i have pain under ribs

DS was 8lbs4oz and DD was 7lbs15oz so neither were small but my pree didn't really rear it's head until right at the last second with either of them

Ds was 6lb 7 . Dd was exactly same weight at 37 weeks 2 years latwr but no PE with her

My two were both huge for their gestation. When born, they were 7lb5 at 37+1 and 8lb1 at 37+6. I did only have "mild" pre-eclampsia though. Second time around was milder than the first.

I had high BP, proteinuria, and deranged liver enzymes, but no other symptoms. Admittedly, I was swollen with my first. But I swell in heat anyway, and it was unusually hot for most of my second trimester, and my third was virtually a heatwave. No swelling with my second, but the second and third trimesters were autumn/winter.

My BP crept up slowly over the course of my first pregnancy. It finally hit 'high' at my 36 week appointment. I had missed my 34 week appointment, but it was likely high then too. I had checked it at work and I kind of buried my head in the sand about it. I can't remember if there was protein in my urine prior to then, but this time around there was. My bloods were sent off, and I was told I'd hear back if they found anything untoward. I heard back the next morning. I was mid shift on the delivery suite (obstetric theatres) so they invited me upstairs to recheck everything. I was admitted once the bloods came back. I didn't get to go home again until after my baby was born. I had an induction resulting in an unassisted vaginal birth.

My second was at 34 weeks and my blood pressure was 'very high' and loads of protein in urine. The second check went down to the high side of normal. My midwife said if it hadn't she would have sent me straight to MAU. However, as I also had my toddler in tow and it was COVID (off work from 28 weeks as a result) she decided against it with the lower blood pressure. My bloods were sent off again and I was told I would hear back if they found anything worrying. I did not hear back until 36 weeks, though I did get an appointment for a liver ultrasound come through in the interim. Turns out there had been an admin cock up, and rather than being put in the high risk contact asap pile I had been placed in the low risk contact with a follow up whenever pile. My liver enzymes were extremely deranged, which had triggered the ultrasound as they were worried my liver might be failing or I had liver cancer. Oops. Oh well. They got me in again (I bought my hospital bag this time), and once again I didn't go home until after I had my baby. I had an induction and eventually a C-section. Baby was awkwardly positioned rather than down to the induction.

I had pre eclampsia at 38 weeks
Midwife at GP surgery noticed that my BP was "a little bit raised" but "well within normal limits".
Co incidentally had a hospital appointment where they told me that although my BP was normal for most people, it was high for me.
Had a slight headache
Baby was born the next day via emergency c section after partial placental abruption.

Thankyou all ladies for commenting☺️

@gatheryerosebuds is the placental abruption due to the pre eclampsia..did you have any symptoms of the abruption?

The hospital said it was a direct result of the pre eclampsia.
Fortunately they had admitted me so I was in safe hands, but it might have been another story if I’d been at home.

I got told 140/90 if either number goes above those. Mine would sit above 130s but the bottom value would always be above 90s which they didn’t like. When it got to 80s they were happy.

My baby was born at 35+0 at 5lb4oz which apparently is a good weight for his gestation. The last five weeks are where they start to put more weight on so he missed out on that aspect, although at the state of the placenta he might not have grown to what he could have anyway. During the csection they made a comment on how calcified it was already.

I had no symptoms except high BP and I was kept in hospital both times before each birth.

DS was 7lb 1 oz born 36 wks.
Boys tend to have more problems at this stage. They commonly have jaundice due to immature liver and high red blood cell levels. During the last month of development they gradually reduce their rbc which needs to be higher when in utero. This is done by the liver. At 36 weeks the liver isn’t as efficient at fully breaking down the rbc so they develop jaundice.
The signs can be missed but include the obvious colour, but less obvious is low blood sugar ( it’s takes a lot of energy reducing rbc) so they become very sleepy and often are jittery. They have short periods when they raise their arms and legs and shake- jittery.
It’s worth watching out for if you have a baby 35-36 wks because often they are well enough not to need NICU.
DS’s blood glucose plummeted to 2 at 48 hours and he was rushed to NICU unconscious showing signs of low glucose seizures.
He recovered quickly but I will forever be grateful to the student midwife who spotted it.
I was exhausted after 48hrs of no sleep and despite noticing a strong ketone smell on his breath I just didn’t make the connection. As an HCP I didn’t want to come across as a know it all and didn’t voice concerns. To be honest I didn’t know what day it was or how I was able to stay awake. It was 3am and the midwife had to wake me 3 times while she was helping me feed DS.
I think it was missed because he was a good weight but he was incredible long and still looked premature with no real body fat.
He’s now 20 6’3” and very healthy.
The same thing happened 11 months later with my nephew in the same unit. But his was caught much earlier because they had started to monitor blood glucose with slightly prem babies.
The first question I asked when I went down to NICU was what was his blood glucose at birth. The midwife sheepishly told me that they had stopped doing bf readings at birth.
They played it down but the paediatrician couldn’t look me in the eye. I didn’t take it any further but I think it was a lesson learned. At least my nephew didn’t have to go through the same experience as a result of the change in policy.

Did you Bp ever come down? I'll go in for a couple of hours and it'll come down in the end so I'm sent home. I hope this is just normal procedure!

Went into triage this evening. I just felt really uneasy about this all and headache stayed for 2 days which is unlike me, they usually pass after some water and a sleep. I asked to speak to a doctor and come up with a plan to make sure if I get pre e it's caught right away.

She's requested for my community midwife to see me twice a week for Bp and urine instead of the usual once a fortnight..also said if at any point I'm worried or don't feel right come straight into triage. She said she's seen this many times where people have slow creeping Bp and have the symptoms then in a matter of days have full blown pre eclampsia. I'm feeling reassured now. She said he's measuring quite large and I'm only just over a week away now from being 37 weeks so even if I was to get it terrible in a few days time she'd feel confident to have him out. If all is well i have my planned c section for 39 weeks anyway🤞🏽
So for now it's plenty of resting in bed for me😅

I don't think it did until I had given birth. I didn't feel ill with it, though.

I cannot believe how many people were able to read this comment and just brush past it and disregard it without a word…? I am so sorry this happened to you. Miscarrying is heartbreaking as it is no matter what stage but a still birth at 40 weeks? I’m so so sorry that they didn’t take better care of you and just disregarded you when you originally went in.. I hope you are ok x