It's hard to believe that another week has come and gone, and that we are another week closer to holding our babies! This last week was pretty rough on Elizabeth. I'll tell you about that, and then I'll update you on today's appointment. Don't be too disappointed, but there won't be any pictures with this post.
Elizabeth's near picture-perfect pregnancy had a little hiccup this past week. Luckily, there is no risk of harm to the babies or permanent harm to mom! She developed a condition called PUPPP, which stands for Pruritic Uricarial Papules and Plaques of Pregnancy. Translation - really, really, really itchy rash. It started out on her belly, and then over a couple of days spread to her arms and legs. Once we figured out what was going on, we called the doctor, and they agreed with our diagnosis (we're pretty good diagnosticians considering this problem affects around 0.5% of first pregnancies). Elizabeth met with a nurse practicioner at the doctor's office on Wednesday, and they referred her to see a dermatologist the following morning. He gave her a steroid shot, some oral steroids and asked her to take Claritin and Mangesium Sulfate supplements every day. Including her prenatal vitamins, she's now taking 14 pills a day. Her skin is already starting to look a lot better, but she is still experiencing quite a lot of itching. She has had several nights with virtually no sleep.
Today's appointment had a new surprise as well. The doctor noticed today that her blood pressure was starting to rise (they described it as the upper end of normal), and that she had gained more weight than expected last week. These things could be early signs of pre-ecclampsia, or (hopefully) they could be related to all of the steroids she is taking. In order to be sure everything is okay, she is going to go back in on Wednesday to have her blood pressure checked again and to have her urine checked for protein. The doctor said if it was still elevated then that we would "have to talk." I checked her blood pressure here at home this evening with our automatic machine, and it was was very similar to what it has always been. So, hopefully everything is fine and it was just a fluke. Until Wednesday she is on doctor's orders to rest as much as she can on her left side, drink lots of water, and to avoid salty foods.
Other than the elevated blood pressure things seem to be okay. Both babies' heart rates were in the 130's.
I will be sure to update the blog as soon as we know something on Wednesday. If I don't get something posted by the end of that night, you can probably assume that we had to deliver the babies.
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1 comment:
Liz, I also had PUPPS when I was pregnant with Cody. I too was being check for pre-ecclampsia due to elevated blood presure and weight gain (4-5 pounds between each visit, which was every two days)I started taking medication for the High Blood Presure on Friday(I also stopped taking the Breathen,which was given to stop contractions)and on Sunday I went into labor. I can feel for you. Keep up the good spirits.
Love, Angie
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