Preeclampsia??? I'm so scared...

[xmelx]

I'm 36 weeks and over the last couple of weeks everything has changed... I went for my ob appointment today...
in 2 weeks, i gained 14 lbs...
my blood pressure was really high.. (i don't remember what it was exactly)
and i've had headaches & swelling suddenly show up int he last 2 weeks....

The doc ordered another sonogram, and nonstress tests 2x/week until birth.
I'm also doing a 24 hour urine sample so they can test for protein.

He didn't say WHY he was testing for protein in my urine, he only said that if it was present in high levels, he would be taking the baby early...

I came home && of course hopped on google only to find that these are all symptoms of Preeclampsia... and I read about the dangers it can cause baby & mother, and now i'm very afraid. Can someone please give me some kind of advice or share their story with PE?

 

[krockwell]

Hopefully the girls here can help with your worries.

 

[Whatme]

I have high blood pressure, and swelling, had headaches earlier in the week, I was told of by my midwife for not ringing in, but I'm only being monited weekly? She said I can call if I get another frontal headache, all in all she doesn't seem too concerned.
If your being monitored every 24 hrs, they seem to be on top of it, try to relax! Easier said than done I know.
Oh and leave google alone!! No good can come of that..

 

[Honeybear1976]

Hi,
Try not to stress as if it is pre eclampsia that will make your blood pressure worse! I had severe early onset pre eclampsia and our son was delivered at 31wks, he is now 3 1/2 and perfect and he was discharged 5wks before his due date, I had probs with my bp for a few months afterwards but most women are fully better few days after delivery at most. I'm sure you'll be fine and they will take care of you so don't worry yourself too much. Plus best bonus is at 36wks your baby will be lovely weight so will be fine too

 

[bouncychick]

hey im 40 plus 5 and was sent to hospital with suspected pre - clampsia saturday they take it very seriously so will sent you in if they have concerns. I have now been sent home - I have had protein in my pee for the past 3 weeks and high blood pressure. I have had midwife every other day to be tested.

have you got your notes?? have a look your blood pressure may be on there??? its the blood pressure thats the biggest concern xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

[sweetpea01]

Hi! I am going to be induced on Wed next week for Preeclampsia. Was dx at 33 weeks and noticed that the modified bed rest they have put me on has helped extremely. They need to check the protein to make sure your kidneys are working properly and not spilling any protein...mine was very borderline as well as my blood pressure being very borderline. Last week if I would have taken the protein test for the first time, I would not have been dx with preeclampsia because all of my numbers were down to normal and so I guess the modified bed rest they have put me on is helping but they are still inducing early any way because they don't want to take any chances..seems like the closer you get to your due date the worse that it can get and I guess once dx you can't be undiagnosed because it can change pretty quickly for the worse. Please try to rest as much as possible....find someone else to cook and clean even though I know it is hard to depend on someone else and although I know it is hard, try not to stress too much for it will not help the situation at all. Take care and let us know what happens.

 

[vintage67]

Toward the end of my pregnancy with my son, I gained 20 pounds in about 5 days, so I was scheduled for an induction! I was so swolen that I couldn't get any shoes on my feet. Had to go to the hospital in a pair of stretchy house shoes!

 

[katy1310]

Hi hun

Please please try not to worry. Worst case scenario, they will deliver the baby sooner rather than later, and at your gestation, the chances are everything would be absolutely fine.

I developed pre-eclampsia at 25 weeks, and Sophie was delivered at 27 weeks exactly. With me, as soon as they noticed the first signs, they monitored me every day, and they were just watching to make sure they kept Sophie in as long as they could, without it becoming dangerous to either me or her. As soon as things started to deteriorate for us both, they did an emergency c-section. My whole story of those two weeks, and up to Sophie being home from neonatal is in my blog in my siggie if you want to read it. I really need to update it some more!

To cut a long story short, Sophie spent 12 weeks in neonatal (bearing in mind she as 13 weeks premature, and only 1lb 13oz!) and came home weighing 5lbs 6oz. She had breathing problems and had to be on CPAP for weeks and tube fed, but by the time she came home she was breastfeeding and didn't have to be on oxygen at all.

She's now 16 months old (13 corrected, ie the age that she SHOULD be!) and has just started walking in the last couple of weeks.

I was one hour from organ failure when they delivered Sophie, and her heartrate wasn't doing too well, and she had IUGR as well, but we are both absolutely fine now

Keep us posted

ETA - if you get a headache that is like nothing you've had before, and you get major major swelling, go to your hospital straight away. I was admitted at 26+5, and on the night before Sophie was born, I had a headache that was seriously like nothing I've ever had in my life, and i get migraines. It was worse when I lay down, and it was a really scary headache. Also my fingers were so swollen I couldn't bend them at all. They told me to look out for a pain at the top of my bump as well, but I didn't get that. Just wanted to let you know that you should get yourself checked out if you experience anything unusual, or any of the things I've mentioned - better to bother them a million times and it be nothing, just to be on the safe side xxxx

 

[we can't wait]

Hi! I had preeclampsia with my daughter. I was diagnosed at 31 weeks, and spent four days in the hospital. I did a 24hr urine that came back a little high, my doctor was talking about pulling the baby then, but I wanted a second opinion. I switched doctors and the doctor I ended up with was fantastic. He said he would only induce me if absolutely necessary. I was sent for blood pressure monitoring and fetal monitoring almost every week. My only symptoms were very high blood pressure and some protein in my 24hr, not in my dip at the office. At 37 weeks I was sent for a biophysical fetal profile and another 24hr urine. I had about 14 tubes of blood drawn within a week. Anyways, my 24hr urine came back higher, and I had ++ protein in my office urine dip. The decision was ade to induce me. My blood pressure didn't spike up enough to interfere wiht my labor, and I was able to have a very stress-free delivery.

Try not to worry too much. I was so stressed about my preeclampsia during my pregnancy & spent so much time at hospital, but it never became an emergency situation. It would be worse if it went unnoticed. Your doctor is monitoring you, so you should be fine! You're almost full-term, as it is, so you and baby should be fine, even if induction becomes necessary. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to message me. I'd be glad to help you out! Good luck! I hope everything goes smoothly from here!

 

[lizi]

Hiya - Just a ray of hope for you. if you manage to go into labour naturally its normally very quick with PE - i did mine in 3 hours!

However most hospitals will keep you in at least 4 days after labour - this is cuz you BP peeks as your milk comes in. I ended up having to be sedated day 3 PP but had only been boarderline prior to giving birth.

i hope that helps - PM me if you have any specific questions xx

 

[Pramaholic86]

This is exactly what I had hun
I had to go to hospital every other day to check baby's heartbeat and my blood pressure and protein.
I did the 24 hour urine sample too, I had all the symptoms apart from the headaches and visual disturbances so they were talking about inducing me. I went in to labour naturally at 38 weeks though and me and my baby were absolutely fine
I think 36 weeks is earlier than they like to induce but even if they do your LO is far along enough to be perfectly fine
Hope all goes well for you, do keep us updated

Oh, don't forget to do the lid up on your sample carton, mine came undone in my bag and soaked through, I was absolutely covered in wee

 

[soybeangirl]

I also had pre e and delivered by emergency c section a week ago. Honestly, high BP is something you should take very seriously but keep in mind that stressing over it will only make things worse. My advise... follow doctor's orders. If he tells you to stay home and off your feet, DO IT. That's the only thing that got me as far along as I was able to go and at exactly 37 weeks I had a beautiful little girl!

I had some very serious pp issues and had to be out on anti siezure medicine to avoid a stroke. Cases like mine are rare but believe me, you do not want things to take a turn for the worse. Just hang in there!

 

[Perfect_pink]

i agree with the above lady it needs to be taken very serious, i was in intensive care for 3days after havin my baby at 25+3 due to pre eclampsiaa, i wasnt so lucky i had to have an emergancy c section as the pre eclampsia cause an abruption, my bp at one point was 190/144 and had a siezure due to it, so was intensive care on Magnesium sulfate, which is the anti seizure meds the above lady mentioned so i didnt have any more and to avoid the stroke too. Im living proof of how dangerous it is, please take all advice your given from doctors x

 

[Cazzyg]

Please try not to google too much. The internet is full of worse case scenarios etc that will only panic you. It sounds like you are being monitored correctly so it will be picked up if you do have pre eclampsia. Please try to stay calm - getting stressed isn't good for your blood pressure at the best of times!

It can be quite serious, so if you start fo feel ill, bad headaches, visual disturbances, pain just under your ribs, then get seen to straight away. At 36 weeks, your baby is pretty close to term

My story is that I started to have BP issues at 33 weeks so rested. Unfortunately at 36 weeks my BP rose again and I was readmitted to hospital. My daughter was born by emergency section after I started to get quite ill. She's now a very happy and healthy toddler.

 

[Baby2ontheway]

Google is horrible but I will admit I do use it! I am horrified as I have GD and I am now showing signs of his BP!~ Good Luck and I am hoping our little ones bake as long as possible!!

 

[Mrs-C]

I develope pre-e, which was picked up at my 36 week check. I was sent to hospital at 36+2 and had tests. They called me in at 36+4 and said I wouldn't be leaving until I'd had the baby.

I was checked all day long and they didn't want to induce until I was 37 weeks. Then my consultant came round at 36+5 and said they had to induce me then.

My hospital leave 24 hours between inductions, and I had to have a second at 36+6. That finally worked bang on 37 weeks. My waters went by themselves and I had the hormone drip. Less than 6 hours later my DD was born.

Stay away from google and try and relax. They take it very seriously and if they decide it is necessary, they will induce you early. Your baby has a great chance at this stage.

They induced me before 37 weeks because my blood pressure was really high and the protein levels were too - they had MWs going "wow, that's higher than we normally see".


My advice is to pick up some early baby / tiny baby clothes, just in case - we only had newborn and they swamped her!

 

[soybeangirl]

I also onlt had newborn clothes and my family had to scramble to find things for her to wear! I would have at least a few preemie things on hand. If you have been diagnosed with the Pre-E, you should hope for the best but plan for anything! Your baby will likely be just fine. Remember, at this stage, the concern is YOUR safty. That little bun is going to be perfect!

 

[maybethisit]

Just to add that later onset pre-e like this is usually less serious than the earlier onset kind, so hopefully you won't hit any of the more serious complications (less likely anyway). I developed it around 35 weeks and my blood pressure was significantly raised but only spiked above the pre-e thresholds a few times, but I did have protein levels about as high as they can go (according to consultant) by the time they induced us at 38 weeks. But they will monitor you really well, we were in and out of hospital for the remaining few weeks and they did so many tests - although it was quite stressful and a bit confusing, I did feel very well looked after on the whole and although they originally wanted to induce around 36 weeks in the end we made it to 38 weeks and Amelie was born 7lb 8oz, apgar of 9 and in perfect health xxx

 

[tummymummy]

Hey hun try not to worry too much they are doing all the right checks on you and if they become concerned they will just deliver bub. My lo came at 37 weeks due to severe pe but we were both well. Just ring them if anything is worrying. xx

 

[Snuffy]

I also had pre-eclampsia, it was only officially diagnosed when I was in labour, although I had been borderline and monitored every other day since 36 weeks.

Please try not to worry. I know it's easier said than done, but they are keeping an eye on you. The real danger with PE is when it goes unchecked - now you are on the radar you will receive the best possible care xx