Pre-E questions....anyone have experience?

[jindc]

I saw a different doctor and she didn't sem to be too concerned - bp was 131/82 and no protein in my urine. Dropped off my jug o' pee and gather I'll get the results at my next appointment.

I didn't get the sense that anything on my chart indicated to this doctor that would seem to push for induction at this point, which is good.

[Anonymous]

I'm glad to hear that your bp is pretty close to normal and that you had an unenventful (and induction-discussion free) ob visit. Good luck going forward.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I also had mag and my baby was in the NICU. During the 24 hours of post-birth mag (which they shorted to 18 hours since my labs looked so much better), the nurses did bring me, in an oversized wheelchair with the mag drip and catheter, to the NICU for a brief visit with baby. I was so out-of-it from the pre-e and mag that that was all I could manage. But I was not prevented from seeing him.

Pp here who couldn't see the baby for 20 hours. Where was this? I'm gathering up "it's not done this everywhere" evidence to steel
Me for my complaint letter to Inova Fairfax.

I seem to recall you have posted your story multiple times on this board. Have you ever had a conversation with the Head Nurse or someone in patient relations at Inova? As another posted stated, there very well could have been either a medical reason or a L&D staffing issue that caused your situation. I only say this, because clearly you are still processing it, and I think you would feel better if you had more information, rather than just writing a letter. I can tell you that I had a complicated delivery at Fairfax, my baby was in NICU, and I was not prevented from going to be with her, although I was stabilized pretty quickly and it was dead in L&D.

PP here, and, you're right, I've posted at least twice in response to folks asking about experiences at Fairfax Hosp. I have not talked to anyone in patient relations beyond a nurse manager when I was in the hospital itself. What I was told then is that no one on magnesium is allowed to go to the NICU, but it would be interesting to talk with someone else about it. Thanks for the tip.

And to OP, I'm SO glad your new doc is easing your mind! Hopefully your pee jug will be all clear and you can enjoy these last few weeks. Keep vigilant about any changes in symptoms but congrats at keeping that little baby in the oven!

[Anonymous]

I had HELLP with my first son. No symptoms, just slightly high BP at 36 weeks so they did a blood panel. Induced immediately. My son son was small but fine. That said, I was not allowed to be alone with him or even hold him die to magnesium. Mag sucks. HELLP sucks. 6 years later and the whole experience still saddens me, even though I have madey peace with it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I had HELLP with my first son. No symptoms, just slightly high BP at 36 weeks so they did a blood panel. Induced immediately. My son son was small but fine. That said, I was not allowed to be alone with him or even hold him die to magnesium. Mag sucks. HELLP sucks. 6 years later and the whole experience still saddens me, even though I have madey peace with it.

How elevated was your BP?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I had HELLP with my first son. No symptoms, just slightly high BP at 36 weeks so they did a blood panel. Induced immediately. My son son was small but fine. That said, I was not allowed to be alone with him or even hold him die to magnesium. Mag sucks. HELLP sucks. 6 years later and the whole experience still saddens me, even though I have madey peace with it.

How elevated was your BP?

Sorry for all the typos!
It was 6 years ago... I think it was 140/90, so borderline.

[jindc]

Wow how did they diagnose you, pp?

[Anonymous]

jindc wrote:Wow how did they diagnose you, pp?

With borderline BP, I was sent for follow on bloodwork just to be safe. The bloodwork showed high liver enzymes, low platelets, and hemolysis. I was immediately induced. Magnesium sulfate is given to reduce the risk of seizures. I was asymptomatic - I did not have headaches, see stars, have pain in the side. 90% of women will have these symptoms. I was in total shock - went in for a routine 36 week appt and ended up being induced a few hours later. Not what I had planned... But at least my son was healthy!
And just to add it in - I was not overweight. Prior to getting pregnant I ran marathons and triathalons. Obesity has nothing to do with it. I did a ton of research after the fact, and there is no causation between obesity and pe and HELLP. Obesity can raise BP, but high BP alone is not a diagnosis of either.

[jindc]

Thanks for the reply, PP - I'm sorry that happened to you. But I am glad that I volunteered for blood work. I should have the results at my Tuesday appointment, at which I'll be past 37 weeks so that is comforting (sort of).

[Anonymous]

jindc wrote:Thanks for the reply, PP - I'm sorry that happened to you. But I am glad that I volunteered for blood work. I should have the results at my Tuesday appointment, at which I'll be past 37 weeks so that is comforting (sort of).

Good luck! And 36+ weeks is a great place to be!
Not to scare you (HELLP Is rare) but if it happens, things go downhill fast. So if you feel off, get yourself checked out immediately.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

jindc wrote:Wow how did they diagnose you, pp?

With borderline BP, I was sent for follow on bloodwork just to be safe. The bloodwork showed high liver enzymes, low platelets, and hemolysis. I was immediately induced. Magnesium sulfate is given to reduce the risk of seizures. I was asymptomatic - I did not have headaches, see stars, have pain in the side. 90% of women will have these symptoms. I was in total shock - went in for a routine 36 week appt and ended up being induced a few hours later. Not what I had planned... But at least my son was healthy!
And just to add it in - I was not overweight. Prior to getting pregnant I ran marathons and triathalons. Obesity has nothing to do with it. I did a ton of research after the fact, and there is no causation between obesity and pe and HELLP. Obesity can raise BP, but high BP alone is not a diagnosis of either.

I had a similar situation. Borderline BP, no typical symptoms, yet HELLP syndrome within a couple of days. I did go to the hospital because of a spike in BP (maybe 156/100 one morning), and asked for a 24-hour urine test (it was on the weekend, so I couldn't just go to my OB's office). They almost sent me home the next day because the 24-urine test was negative and I had no other symptoms. But then they were cautious and kept me... And I had a c section the next day. My only risk factor was twins, no obesity here either. The doctors thought it was all quite unusual. They did let me go to the NICU the next day, I think I went with my IV.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I had HELLP with my first son. No symptoms, just slightly high BP at 36 weeks so they did a blood panel. Induced immediately. My son son was small but fine. That said, I was not allowed to be alone with him or even hold him die to magnesium. Mag sucks. HELLP sucks. 6 years later and the whole experience still saddens me, even though I have madey peace with it.

I had to read this a few times to make sure I didn't write it. This happened to me too but I was nearly 39 weeks. My son was also small (5 lbs 12 oz) but perfectly healthy. I concur that mag sulfate was the worst. I felt like I had the world's highest fever the whole time and it sucked not being allowed to have him in my room with me unless someone else was there. I am just glad my OB sent me for bloodwork when I had slightly elevated BPs during that last visit. I also had headaches daily in the last week but no other symptoms.

[jindc]

Op here....
My 24hr urine and blood test results were all normal. My doctor thanks I cold just have mild hypertension, not pre-e or HELLP. My second bp reading is always lower. I joked maybe they should take my Bp before they weigh me!

I hop it isn't helpful to have no real baseline bp because I don't have a PCP.

That said, she said if I do have mild hypertension, which we don't know, she doesn't know how far past 40 weeks she is comfortable letting me go. She is trying to send me for a growth ultrasound in case baby is measuring small (doubtful).

I am 37 and 4 and only a cm dilated (I think still 50% effaced). So we'll see what happens.

But the lab results being normal is good!

[Anonymous]

Glad to hear your tests are not showing any pre-e!! Turkey from the October thread here. Hoping everything stays on track and you have a happy healthy little one in a couple of weeks!

[Anonymous]

OP, 130s/80s is really not a big deal. This is the conclusion I came to when I checked out the literature. See, e.g., these links:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17253478

http://www.hindawi.com/journals/jp/2012/105918/ (this is the full article, see in particular sections 8, 9 & 10)

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3746761/

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19250798

http://ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15842284

In all of these, *mild* gestational hypertension is defined as 140/90 and above. The conclusion in the literature is that mildly elevated BP in the absence of proteinuria and/or other symptoms of preeclampsia/HELLP does not pose a risk to the fetus, and in fact that treatment is riskier than expectant management (and does not affect the risk of developing preeclampsia in any event). If your doctor wants to induce at 40 weeks, it is simply because she doesn't think there is any benefit to the baby staying in past your due date, not because you *need* an induction for very slightly elevated BP. Hopefully you will go into labor on your own and this will all be moot, but I personally would not consent to an induction (particularly not as a FTM since they are far less likely to be successful) in the absence of a specific clinical indication that one is medically necessary, i.e. signs that preeclampsia is developing. Good luck!