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Pupps

post #1 of 10
12/11/06 at 6:05pm
Thread Starter 
so i just got diagnosed w/ this...it's on my belly and itches like mad. anyone else out there who has gone through it or has it currently? how do i get relief? my ob said benadryl...but i have read that doesn't do much...oh the joys of pregnancy!
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post #2 of 10
12/11/06 at 6:50pm
Fun :P I havent' had it but I can totally sympathize with the itching. I had severe -- and I do mean SEVERE, so bad the dermatologist was shocked when he saw it - eczema the first six months of this pregnancy. It was all over my hands, tops and palms, arms, legs, and some on my belly. It was maddening. There were times I would hold my hands under scalding hot water just to feel pain instead of itching.

Don't really have any suggestions.. don't know if what helped me would work for you, but... Calendula ointment helped it some, as did moisturizing it a lot. AFAIK the only thing that makes PUPPS better is not being pregnant anymore :P Ugh I am so sorry you're dealing with that, itching sucks worse than pain IMO!
post #3 of 10
12/11/06 at 6:54pm
I had this and it went away when I did 2 things. I changed my multivitamin to Nature's Plus, the one that you have to take 3 pills a day, and I increased my omega 3 supplement from 1x per day to 3x per day. I really think it is the omega that helped. Here's a link to exactly what I take.

http://www.veganstore.com/body-care-...age_5/642.html

For me, it took 2 days to get some relief.
post #4 of 10
12/11/06 at 8:51pm
I had this last pregnancy and really struggled with it...I mean, I couldn't sleep for more than ten minutes at a time. I tried supplements, oatmeal baths (pretty much spent all night in the tub for two weeks straight), aveeno, benedryl, calamine, about ten other lotions, creams, and other otc junk. Heat, cold, meditation, chiropractic. While it was on my belly alone, it was tolerable from a standpoint of I could live through it, but as soon as it spread all over my body (back, butt, arms, legs, belly), I was so miserable I was literally screaming, "God, I'll do anything just make it stop!" I was worried that my child was going to be scarred from hearing me scream and sob all night in utero. Seriously, it's not easy to itch. Beyond that, I was very exhausted, and my blood pressure was super high...I'm sure it didn't help to be freaking out all night long. Finally, DH took me to the hospital and got a dermotologist to look at me. He was so sympathetic and explained how damaging it can be--physically and psychologically--to suffer from severe itching. He gave me a prescription cortico-steroid cream and a stronger antihistamine, both of which were considered safe for the baby. I put the cream on lightly on the most serious spots and had instant relief. Of course, I went into labor less than twelve hours later and then it all resolved itself, but I strongly encourage you not to suffer too much before you consider prescription medicine for this condition. Having not had any sleep for two weeks and suffering the itching for so long really made it a lot harder to find peace in my laboring, harder to have endurance and strength. Hugs to you, mama, and just know that I completely empathize with you. I have never experienced anything as awful as those weeks with PUPPP. I was terrified to get pregnant again, honestly, but so far no rash (it's very rare to recur in subsequent pregnancies!) Also, I read at one time it's more common when you're pregnant with a boy...I was!

Hang in there, and I hope the itching will subside! Oh, also, after the birth, I did have sort of a relapse of PUPPP-like rash on my breasts while bfing. It went away after a couple of weeks, but that can sometimes happen, too, and of course I wasn't going to put a steroid cream on them while baby was nursing, so I just had to suffer with that...ugh. I feel for you!
post #5 of 10
12/11/06 at 8:55pm
I had this just after delivery of my second son. I had to end up using steroid cream for a few days to get it under control, but it took a few weeks to go away completely.
I managed to avoid it during my third pregnancy by increasing my flax oil supplement and adding dandelion root capsules daily. You should ask your care provider about these things first of course, but midwife was absolutely fine with it and it seemed to work! I learned about it from a PUPPPs yahoo support group.
I think PUPPPs feels worse than chicken pox, poison ivy and hives combined!! It's soooo miserable. I'm sorry you're having to deal with it.

- Krista
post #6 of 10
12/12/06 at 12:30am
Thread Starter 
thx for the replies mama...i have been slathering cocoa butter on me since i thought it was the start of stretch marks which i have been able to avoid up until this point...*crosses fingers* i asked the dr. if they actually were but she said it was PUPPP the moment she looked at my belly...it helps when i put a cold wash cloth on my belly and i guess i should be grateful it's not all over like for some women...at any rate the itching is enough to drive you nuts...:
post #7 of 10
12/12/06 at 12:40am
Not in your DDC, but saw this and couldn't help but respond. I had PUPPS with my last pregnancy, and am still trying to get rid of it 2 weeks after delivery. It has gotten a LOT better since I delivered, but the main thing that helped when I was pg was a cream that my OB prescribed called Triamcinolone. It really helped a LOT! Also my OB prescribed an oral med that I had to take every day for 6 days and I can't for the life of me remember what it was called... It was a strange dosage, cuz I had to take like 2 with breakfast, 1 with lunch, 1 with supper, and 2 at bed the first day, then 1 w/ breakfast, lunch, supper, and 2 at bed, etc, each day decreasing by one pill. Hope this helps! Also try to stay cool as much as possible, the heat irritates the itching... my DH was laughing at me cuz I would literally just sit in the house naked cuz it felt SOOOO good to have nothing on! Hope u get some relief soon mama!
post #8 of 10
12/12/06 at 3:10pm
Excuse another barge here too. I just have a rather soft spot in my heart for fellow PUPPP sufferers!

From what I have read, PUPPPs only hits 1 in 1000 first time pregnancies during the last trimester (not to say there aren't unfortunate exceptions) so feel lucky, right?

I did the same thing of trying the oatmeal baths until my tub drain was getting clogged. I had a little success with Grandpa's Pine Tar soap but smelled like a campfire. Seriously, what the PP said about getting something stronger is so true. I had GD, so my diet was spot on- great prenatals, lots of omega 3's, naturally occuring nutrients, but none of that helped. I decided to start with the medical intervention a step at a time- got the rx strength cortizone cream which helped in short spurts, then took Benedryl, then started alternating with claritin (sitll doing the cream) and finally they had me do an oral steroid. It was the only relief! I'm sure there are other risks, but the serious ones didn't weigh heavy enough (IMO) to not take them. The biggest risk to me would really only happen if I were taking them long term and that would be a thinning of the skin. My OB said I would have to be taking them for about6 months solid for there to be any risk and the only good thing about PUPPP is that it goes away after delivery. The risk to baby is that it makes them grow, again, if this were longer term than a few weeks, it could be serious, but with the short time I had left, it wouldn't have time to take such an effect.
What Magen talked about is probably the "oral steroid dose pack". It's 6 days of pills with 6 taken the first day, 5 the next, then 4 until you only take one. All the times to take it are printed on it too. I did that, it did me well for about 6 weeks then I started in again, but only took 1 pill a day for a few days then delivered

So, yeah, even though the itching was managed, my skin still was all splotchy until about an hour after delivery then it was FINE! I did have a bit of itching on the tops of my feet for another month, but the cortizone cream or just good shea butter managed that.

I would have rather have had morning sickness than PUPPP!!!
post #9 of 10
12/12/06 at 11:05pm
yup, had it w/ my previous pregnancy. didn't have a stretch mark until 36 weeks, but once they showed up they started to develop little pock marks that started itching like crazy, and within two weeks the rash had spread all over my lower body (thank goddess it didn't get on my butt!!). took about 2 weeks after having my dd for the itching to go away, and i had scars for a while (the individual pock marks melded into big, purple welts). oh, and the warm water from the labor tub actually made the rash worse for a while after having the baby. during labor it was a godsend, but if you're planning on using the tub keep the water cool.

so...benadryl didn't help me. i supplemented w/ dandelion and was already taking flax oil but didn't up the dosage (and i wasn't taking cod liver oil last time, maybe there's a difference). never thought to change my prenatal. so maybe the pp's supplementation ideas will help. will definitely keep them in mind in case i'm one of the "lucky" ones that gets it twice! i didn't try prescription creams, didn't really want to go there. good thing i had my dd at 39 weeks, tho!

last time i used sarna cream (menthol and camphor, available at some pharmacies), which was OK for temporary relief. cold showers worked, but it was summer in los angeles. wearing a full-body leotard (tank straps but covering the entire torso and legs), inside out so that the seams didn't irritate me, helped me sleep at night. had to get a big one from a store that sold ballet/dance clothes. tight clothes, as opposed to loose baggy clothes, prevented me from itching as much. i think at night i would slather on some sarna, pull on the leotard, and then feel tingly for just long enough that i could fall asleep.

puppps really sucks, hope you find some relief.
post #10 of 10
12/12/06 at 11:11pm
nak
I am going to cut and paste a reply I posted in a thread last year. Hope it helps.

This is what worked for me!
PUPPP is the worst!!!! I am 38.5 weeks pg with twins and started having symptoms at about 35 weeks. This is more than just an itchy belly. It starts with the stretch marks on your belly and then spreads almost everywhere. Not only is it the kind of itching that make you feel like you are losing your mind, but it is an ugly rash. I had little blisters and hives on my arms, legs, tops of feet and hands, hips, butt...it sucked! Over the counter steroid cream was useless, and Benadryl helped me sleep a bit, but did nothing for the rash. Oatmeal baths were useless. I have, however, been completely cured. This may not work for everyone, but it did for me!

1. On the advice of my midwife I took Dandelion Root extract tincture. This seems to have variable results, but my midwife put me on a huge loading dose and I think this made a difference. I took a half a dropperful every hour for the first day, four times a day on the second day and went to twice a day by the third day. She said I would see results within 48 hours and sure enough, I started to get some relief right at 48 hours and within 5 days I was totally better.

2. She also recommended I take Milk Thistle and Choline. I am blanking on the doses she recommended, but I took less...I am wary of taking anything in pg, esp. starting a bunch of new stuff at once. I ended up taking 350 mg of the Choline and 300 mg of the Milk Thistle twice a day. All these herbals are liver tonics.

3. On the advice of another MDC mom (Thanks Shannon0218!!) I had dh paint my body in a water and cornstarch paste with just a few drops of tea tree oil. I left it on for 30 minutes. I think this really paved the way for the rash to start drying out.

I don't know what, if any of these measures worked. I have read in at least one place that the first week is the worst and that the symptoms can resolve on their own, but most of what I have read indicates that delivery is the only real cure. I feel soo lucky to not have PUPPP anymore. It was like torture. People are induced early because of PUPPP or put on high doses of systemic steroids.

For symptom relief I also found that ice packs were really helpful. I would put them in the worst spots instead of scratching.

This is a really helpful website as well:
Naomi's PUPPP page

Best of luck and please feel free to PM me if you have other questions. This is all very fresh in my memory!!