Pre-eclampsia symptoms at 14 weeks - Looking for some advice

[alison6692]

Hiya
I am normally a lurker on your forum but I read a very comprehensive to someone else's thread so have decided to ask for some advice.

Firstly can someone tell me is PET the same as pre-eclampsia? In my notes it says mild PET in first pregnancy. I forget when my symptoms started but I think at about 34 weeks something like that.

Booking in BP this time was 100/50

I have had headaches since Saturday with a couple of nosebleeds. Was advised to get my BP checked if the headaches continued - did that today and its not bad 125/86 - so its okay but its jumped up quite a bit. I called my MW and she didn't really no what to advise so is going to speak to her colleagues and call me on her late shift tomorrow.

Did anyone get symptoms this early on?

Thanks

Alison x

PS - Urine had no protein.

hi
I have been checked for Pre enclampsia symptoms since about 20 weeks.

I had headaches and some swelling in my feet but no protein in my urine and my blood pressure was ok.

I'm now 24 weeks, the up shoot is so far is that I don't have pre enclampsia signs, just some symptoms that can be caused by many other things in pregnancy and are harmless on their own.

One of the reasons my doctor is not too worried is that it is very rare to get pre enclampsia as early as 20 weeks and pretty much unheard of before 17 weeks (although of course it is possible there is exceptions but VERY VERY rare)

the most important bad sign is if you get to the stage that you have protein in your urine, and even then if the levels are not high, it may not be a problem, I'm told.

My and your doctors/midwives are correct to watch us if we are showing the symptoms we have but I guess what I am saying is that it is very unlikley that it is pre enclampsia at this stage and that you should not worry for now but make sure they keep an eye on you.

my doctor said that if i do get raised blood pressure along with the other symptoms then they can do a test for urates in my blood to give a better picture.

sorry for the long winded message!!

Hi Alison,
It is very good that you are aware of the possibility of pre-eclampsia. It is a very severe condition and it's very important to be aware of it. It is very, very rare to develop it so early and indeed some doctors say that by definition you have to be more than 20 weeks. However, there is pregnancy-induced high BP which should be monitored as well.

There is a daily cycle to BP, which tends to be high around noon and then it drops in the evening. So it would be good to measure it at the same time of the day.

Also, you could ask for a 24h urine protein, which you can use as baseline in the future.

I am 23.5 weeks and I have been diagnosed with pre-eclampsia. It is very scary and I hope you will be spared.

Thanks for the replies. I have had some abnormal LFT results recently as I had glandular fever so it might be that not sorting itself out.

Watch and wait I suppose.

Thanks for the replies.

Since all previous posters have only just been diagnosed with pre-eclampsia, or think they may be- can I just add a word as someone who's been there/done that.

I had slight bleeding on and off during both my pregnancies and high blood pressure, in my second pregnancy I went on to develop pre-eclampsia. On both occasions I had to do bed rest, I was given medication and I did have to spend some time in hospital- but dcs did not seem affected in any way, except that they were slightly small, I was induced early on both occasions as they were not growing. But they seem to have come to no harm and did not need time in SCBU.

Even met a woman who had had a fullblown eclamptic fit on the delivery table- obviously something you want to avoid- but both her and her son had been fine in the end, and she even went on to have a second baby (though they monitored her like hawks through that one).

So yes, it's scary, but it doesn't have to be disastrous. But you do need to be prepared to do whatever they say.

Hi Glimmer,
I have been so worried about my symptoms and I'm sorry to hear that you have Pre enclampsia early like I thought I did.
You must be due just a few days after me.
Take care of yourself and I will take hied of your situation and make sure they keep an eye on my symptoms... you to Alison!

Thanks Mrswee. I am glad you are fine for now. Every day counts... I guess there is merit that I have been diagnosed early... All the best for you. Wish you a pre-eclampsia-free pregnancy!

Sorry if my post was a bit scary - it wasn't meant that way. I had severe pre-eclampsia in my first pregnancy and it was quite a bit more dramatical than Cory's experience.

The problem with pre-eclampsia is that while it can stay mild for a long time, it can (sometimes/rarely) turn relatively fast (hours) into a serious condition. So it's good to be informed and go in in case one has the warning signs.

I guess I am trying emphasize that it is important to be informed and hope this will not be misunderstood as scaremongering.
I hope everybody on this thread will be fine.