Pre-Eclampsia Watch Dog on the loose. - Page 6

[mtm]

Gossamer and Shannon, my bp spiked today (by 25 points yikes) and I've a wicked headache so my doc is putting me in l and d and going to watch me/likely induce me. I hit 37 weeks yesterday. Just wanted to say thanks again, you made me take this seriously.

[gossamer]

mtm,
I am sorry your bp has spiked, but I am so glad your dr is taking it seriously. 37 weeks is not bad at all. I will keep you in my prayers.

Amandalynn,
I haven't heard from you in a couple of days. Is everything ok?
Gossamer

[mwherbs]

Originally Posted by sarajane

Has anyone heard of a high pulse being a sign of a problem? My pressure is low and my pulse is high....? Wierd.

could be from the low pressure, or could be anemia talk to your care provider. very low likelihood it is pre-eclampsia-

[ramlita]

Just wanted to make sure everyone knew about the book,

What Every Pregnant Woman Should Know

and the site:

http://www.blueribbonbaby.org/

I am impressed with their work done on the subject, and think they make a lot of sense.
Both of my midwives have strongly recommended this style of diet,
without insisting that it needs be followed to the absolute letter.

[mtm]

I went in for my 37 week appt last Friday and my blood pressure skyrocketed as had my weight gain so they scheduled my induction for that night. First they tried a foley catheter which got me to 4, next day they started pitocin. Pitocin is the devil. At 6 cms I asked for an epidural, no luck, all the anaestheologists were in surgery and there was an emergency c awaiting them. He walked in just after Noah was born. Thank god I do fast labours.

Noah Riley was born on Feb 19, 7 pounds, 8 oz. He looks like a little old man, just like his older ds did. He was born with considerable breathing difficulties and rushed to the NICU where we spent several tense days ruling out immature lungs and pneumothorax (hole in the lungs). Turned out to be a bad case of pneumonia so it was a week of antibiotics, the c-pac to help him breathe and a feeding tube among other machines. He's home now though and that's all that matters. Thanks again to all of you on this thread for your support .

[gossamer]

mtm, I am so thrilled for you. I am glad Noah turned out big and healthy. That is everyone's ultimate goal, to have a healthy baby at the end. Success stories like yours absolutely thrill me. They give me hope that maybe some day Mary Rose will have a little brother or sister who gets to come home from the hospital. Thankyou for sharing your story.
GOssamer

[gossamer]

Just wanted to make sure everyone knew about the book,What Every Pregnant Woman Should Knowand the site:

http://www.blueribbonbaby.org/

I am impressed with their work done on the subject, and think they make a lot of sense.
Both of my midwives have strongly recommended this style of diet,
without insisting that it needs be followed to the absolute letter.

Of course a healthy diet is always the best course of action, but world wide there is a stable occurence of pre-eclampsia regardless of diet. Healthy unprocessed foods are always better than highly processed sugary foods, and I do not doubt that poor diet exacerbate a tendancy to pre-eclampsia, in the same way that poor diet could exacerbate a tendancy to gestational diabetes.

Naturally I advocate a healthy diet, but I don't want people to get the idea that a specific diet protects you from pre-eclampsia. Just because you are eating a specific diet does not mean you should not keep an eye out for warning signs and symptoms of pre-eclampsia. No-one is immune at any time.

[shannon0218]

Mtn!! Congrats on Noah, I was wondering what was going on with you
Gossamer, you are so right about diet and perceptions, I was back in hospital for complications from my c-section and a tragedy happened while I was still waiting in emerg that I found out more about later (my OB was on call and it upset her) This woman was under midwife care and in spite of a prior diagnosis of pre-e her midwife told her the blue-ribbon baby diet would solve all--was not even doing bp checks or anything. Ultimately this woman passed out at home, seizured and was rushed in unconcious by her husband. Our hospital air lifted her to a hospital with a nicu and she died in the chopper, baby was born by c-section immediately upon arriving at the hospital and he passed away 4 hours later. The woman was at 37 weeks and had last seen her midwife at 34 weeks and a bp had not even been done then--after all, she was following this diet to the letter so no worries.
When my ob talked to the husband while they were waiting for the chopper he mentioned she'd been having headaches for 6 weeks and swelling for 2. This was definitely 2 deaths that should never have happened.

[ramlita]

That is terrible!
There is no excuse for not providing such basic prenatal care!

I would never suggest that there is one simple, infallible answer-
for this or anything else!
I am shocked that a professional health care provider would do so.

I also want to clarify that in bringing attention to the work of the Brewers, I am not at all suggesting that pre-e only happens to women who don't eat well- that is clearly not the case. It's just that their work seems to be very successful in decreasing the incidence of pre-e/MTLP, and merits consideration,
to be taken with a grain of salt- and a heap of responsible prenatal care!

[Wabash]

I am new to this site, but wanted to add my two cents in since this is a topic very near and dear to my heart. I am currently 23 weeks pregnant with my 4th child. I lost my 3rd child, Jordan Edward, 2 years ago to severe pre-eclampsia and HELLP syndrome. He weighed 13 oz. at birth. He was born during my 26th week of pregnancy via emergency c-section. He fought valiantly for 9 days in the NICU before he died. When I was pregnant with my first child, Sarah, who is now 13, I had the same thing. I had her via emergency c-section too when she was 35 weeks along. She was fine at birth, albeit a bit on the small side weighing in at 4lbs 14 oz. When I was pregnant with my second kid, I didn't experience any signs of pre-eclampsia at all.

I am terrified of going through that again, but have a wonderful, caring OB who has put me on a regimen of heparin shots, baby asprin and mega doses of calcium to avoid another micro-preemie. She is confident that I can make it till my 32nd week (early May). I am aiming for week 36, myself! Since I am coming into the same time in the pregnancy where things started going downhill with Jordan, I am getting pretty anxiety-ridden. My bp is really low though, which is great. I go in to see my OB every week until the end of the pregnancy. They check my bp, protein in my urine, and the baby's heartbeat every time. I am also taking cranberry concentrate so I don't get any UTI's or bladder infections. I had both with Sarah and Jordan and I believe that it started my health cycling downward.

My symptoms both times included an excruciating pain in my abdomen that wouldn't go away, I also couldn't keep any food down. The nausea and vomiting were horrible. With Sarah, I had the symptoms for a week. I called my dr. and was told that I had the flu and to rest. I had also stopped going to the bathroom for several days since my kidneys had already shut down and my liver was shutting down. I hadn't noticed it at the time, I was just too sick. When I finally got in to see the dr. and they took my bp, they had me rush to the hospital. With Sarah, my bp was 130/110. With Jordan, it got in the 155/130 range.

Medical experts have no idea how to prevent HELLP/pre-eclampsia. Unfortunately it is a human-only problem so they can't replicate it in any other species of animal. So us pregnant women who get it are the guinea pigs. It's scary to know that even if I do everything so perfectly, I might still be dealing with a micro-preemie in a couple weeks.

Gossamer, I am so sorry for your loss.

[gossamer]

Dear Wabash,
I am so sorry for your loss. I am praying for your pregnancy that you do stay pregnant to 36 weeks. Please keep us updated as your pregnancy progresses.
Gossamer

[weebitty2]

My little update for y'all

My bp spiked EXTREMELY high all of a sudden late last month - like .. almost doubled from my normal in under 5 hours - so off I got sent for induction.

Induction consisted of AROM She was just ready to come out! We've been home since early this week, and she's doing beautifully .. and so am I - even if we ARE a bit tired.

Take a peek!

She's a good size for a 37 weeker (I made it 37 weeks to the day!) and an absolute stunner. She was born with a TON of red hair, but it's fading to light blonde now, although her eyes are still blue

[shannon0218]

Well Heidi, I have to agree, she's is a stunner What did she end up weighing?? Molly was also born right at 37 weeks--her hair was blond and is turning redder every day!

Wabash, I'm so very sorry for your loss
How are the heparin shots going for you? I know they're a pain but I believe they are the only reason I have my little Molly here with me. Please know we're here for you during this very stressful time as you move closer and beyond Jordan's gestational age. Your story is an important one as especially with your first, your pressure didn't seem horribly high (especially your systolic) and it goes to show what Gossamer has said about it being how high the pressure is compared to YOUR NORMAL pressure.
I hope you feel comfortable with us and sharing your story, Jordan's story may just be that "example" that saves another babes life.
Btw, Gossamer, we have decided what we will be doing with Molly's placenta and I will be sure to send you a pic. We've saved it and in the spring we will be planting a Mary Rose for Molly--and in memory of your little girl. Her story will forever be a part of Molly's life.

[gossamer]

Weebitty,
Your daughter is absolutely gorgeous!!!!!!!!!!! I am so thrilled you were able to stay pregnant as long as you did. COngratulations.

Shannon, you post about the Mary Rose bush has touched my heart in more ways than you can imagine. All I can say right now is thank you.
Gossamer

[shannon0218]

I'm glad Gossamer, I hoped it was not too forward, but as you know we already have one Mary Rose bush (the poor thing was horribly neglected this year because of Molly's pregnancy) and we wanted to do something meaningful with her placenta and your Mary was thought of daily during those 9 mos.

[kimisaur]

Originally Posted by Wabash

I am terrified of going through that again, but have a wonderful, caring OB who has put me on a regimen of heparin shots, baby asprin and mega doses of calcium to avoid another micro-preemie. She is confident that I can make it till my 32nd week (early May). I am aiming for week 36, myself!

I'm so sorry about the loss of your child.

I wanted to tell you that I had severe pre-e at 27 weeks with my third, but thankfully they were paying attention. After 13 weeks in the NICU, all has ended well for us. This pregnancy, I also am on daily heparin shots, baby aspirin, and being closely monitored. I'm thrilled to report that today I am 39 weeks! In my case, I think the treatments really have made a difference, and I hope they will for you too.

-Kimberly

[gossamer]

Kimberly,
That is amazing news. YOu must be so thrilled. I am glad your first little one came home and now you are expecting to bring #2 home. Do you have a family history of pre-eclampsia?
Gossamer

[kimisaur]

Originally Posted by gossamer

Kimberly,
That is amazing news. YOu must be so thrilled. I am glad your first little one came home and now you are expecting to bring #2 home. Do you have a family history of pre-eclampsia?
Gossamer

Oh, this is #4! :-) And yes, I've had pre-e with two of my previous three babies. I'm a bit flumoxed, since I was so expecting this baby to be early as well, and I've been wondering where she is for the past two weeks. :LOL

But yes, I am so thrilled. Heck, I was thrilled when I hit 28 weeks!! Bringing home a term child will just be so wonderful.

-Kimberly

[flyingspaghettimama]

Hi all,

I'm *just* pregnant and am hoping that I don't have the problems I had the first time with preeclampsia, HELLP, baby born at 34 weeks, NICU for a week, and sustained HBP for a week afterwards. My midwife did recommend an adequate amount of protein and healthy diet; multivitamins, and I am exercising 4-5 times a week for 20 min- 90 min (viniyasa yoga) Although this week I got the vomiting flu from my kid, so not so often! She said to keep that up and that it would hopefully make the difference. I would like to have a homebirth. I am also not letting myself eat everything in sight, which definitely happened the first time, and I'm at a better start weight to begin with. I'm lucky though, my 5 year old is now very tall for her age, sweet, and is reading the Cat in the Hat all by herself.

I did read about the Spanish study regarding the baby aspirin therapy at night - does anyone anyone know, is that supposed to be started right away or in response to specific signs during the pregnancy?

I know ultimately though, that I'll do the best I can throughout but that I (nor anyone else) knows what causes it, so there's only so much I can do other than recognize the symptoms (took the doctors a LOOOONG time to recognize last time).

[shannon0218]

Welcome and congrats, I too hope you don't experience the same problems as last time!
On the baby aspirin, the thinking is that pre-e is a disease of the placenta so the baby aspirin is supposed to help the placenta so yes, ideally you start it ASAP while the placenta is forming. Generally they will stop the baby aspirin at 34 weeks or sometimes even earlier.
I think recognizing the symptoms is more than half the battle to be honest, so many women downplay the warning signs as they are common complaints of pregnancy but when they are happening to a worse degree or more than one of them is occuring at the same time it's up to us to know our bodies and insist that something isn't right.