Anyone else have Full-Blown Eclampsia????

Shannon - posted on 07/23/2009

Olivia was born at 1 pound 14ozs and 15inches long... I had gone in for one of my check ups and my blood pressure was elavated along with my weight but i was basically told by the nurse that was ok because i was pregnat and not thinking anything of it continued on working, sleeping, and doing everyday things. I was at work and my coworker told me i needed to go checked out due to my legs and feet getting severely swollen and wouldnt go down. i had to buy new shoes (men) and everday the lases would get shorter and shorter lol. for a few days i had been getting severe chest pain/acheing that would go away with some tylenol and some rest. well i thought i had pulled a muscle because i had gottan stuck in the tub and thought it would go away in a few days... well on sunday aug. 31st i got up and didn't feel to well didn't feel right and was extreamly sick to my stomach and a headache.... it was getting harder and harder to catch my breath but i just kept going and took more breaks... went home took a nap and than got ready for bed.. when my husband got home from work i woke up in a panic and crying because i hurt so bad and knew something was wrong... thougth maybe a heartattack... i didn't know. i went into emergency and my bp was 245/185 or something like that and when the er nurse went white i knew something wasn't right i was transfered to another hospital after being there all morning and by sept. 1st at 811pm i had my daughter. by emergerncy csection. (they had gottan my blood pressure under control but than the baby heart kept dipping and it was taking longer and longer to come back).



thankfully i went in when i did because i was close to having seizures and a stroke could have lost the baby... and high protien in the urine

Pipa - posted on 07/21/2009

hey, your singing a song i know only to well, just under 5 months ago i had my, well they pull him out of me in a hurry. my day sarted the same as any other i was tired and felt off but nother to worry about, at about lunch time i had a small headache so i took a nap thinking that would fit it, when i woke i still felt woossy so i thought i needed somthing to eat, after eating my yogot i had what i thought was reflux later to find out it was my liver trying to filter the toxic stuff from my body, the the head ache just got owrse and worse i had taken arneca(think thats how you spell it) and rescue remidy and panadol and nothing was working around mid night i started to be sick and after the 3 time throwing up it was starting to get bloody, i looked in the mirror to see my face was a big as a beach ball, my partner had been looking on the net to see what was wrong, i came out saying i think its time to call the mid wife (who i had never met as i had only just moved down here a month before the fact) so at 2 am we called the mid wifewho said to my partner she needs to come in emeeditly but dont worry her, we headed off about half an hour away from home, as we got there i had started getting a colorful spot in my eye she diped my urine to find it was off the chart and my blood pressure was through the roof, and as she started to explan what to do now and that it may be a emergency c section, i ran to the bathroom to throw up some more, by this time there was nothing let to trow up so it was mainly blood, as i look back to where she was my sight had gone, she told my partner to rush me to hospital as a abulance woudnt get here quick enough, we rush along where i was deturned to ring my mum as i couldnt see he got the phone going and i called her, what was werid i was earaly calm its was strange, as we got the hospital we werent sure where to go so i remeber being draged up and down a hall way till we found the labour ward, the nurse said come sit here, whitch was like where? i cant see as i got on to the bed tehy were trying to get a line in and trying to get the bealts on to see how my boy was doing well that didnt happen as i fitted as soon as they tryed, so i was rushed down the hall for my c section it was all go slice and yank him out when he arived 10 weeks early his lugs werent working so he was rushed to nnu i was stiched upi and sent to icu for about 4 days i think as they pumped me full of magnesium and blood prssure meds, i was so week i couldnt even left my head, it was blood test every hour and blood pressure taken and reflexs checked with a knock on the knee with a tiny hammer, i came right still on blood meds for a good month after and they moved me around the hospital, my son how ever needed to be on cpap for a good 5 weeks and then on low flow oxygen for about the next 5 he had a hole in the heart from being so prem but that was closed for meds. he stayed in nnu for 10 weeks and 3days it was the longest time of my life but hes now just about 5 months and is giggling and smile like he should be for his corrected age, and no signs of anything wrong bar a small thinkning on the base of his right lung. and me i came off the meds with in a week and have been ok since just still finding it hard how doctors still dont even know why ppl get eclampisa or pre eclampsia and cant tell you much about what happen to you.

Missy - posted on 07/15/2009

I just wanted to say your extremely lucky to have had your Dad around to rush you to the hospital. My mother had full blown eclampsia with me, and it was never diagnosed until to late. She had mulitple seizures and strokes leaving her on complete lifesupport during my c/s.... kiss your kids, you are truly blessed :)

Angelica - posted on 07/14/2009

I had a headach for 3 days and I remember it was in my neck area. I was student teaching at the time and I thought it was just stress. I went for my check up and my blood pressure was very high and I had protein in my urine. The nurse said the they were going to admit me to the hospital from my doctors office that day. I went in with cramping and high blood pressure and vomited once. I was given magnesium for my preeclampsia and given steroid shots on my hips for my babies lung development. I had my first son at 30 weeks and he weighted 2 lbs 10 oz and breathed on his own but was very tiny. I remember to this day his cry sound like a "Squeak." He was in the NICU for 5 weeks and I pumped breast milk and he drank my mild through a tube at first them from my breast . He finally came home at 5 lbs. I was so scared to take him out cause of all the tubes and machines that monitored him. He did fine at home. He would not sleep at all for a long period of time. I did not have preeclampsia with my second son who was full term and weighed 7 lbs. 12 oz. Thank God. Take care.

Melissa - posted on 06/18/2009

I have two girls. I had Eclampsia during both pregnancies. My first daughter who is 9 now was born at 30 wks and 1 dayI. She weighed 2 lbs and 9 ounces and stayed in the hospital for 9wks. She came home 2 days before my actual due date.

I was in the hospital for 2 wks before I had Katelyn (my first). While I was in the hospital I woke up at 4 am with a severe headache and lower back pain. The nurse came and took my bp and it was 189 over 119. 5 minutes later the dr came in and said someone is having a birthday. Those 9 wks were full of good days and bad days. We would have one bad day and it would set us back 2 days. Then came the wonderful day that we brought her home with a heart monitor.

Our second daughter, who is 2 I was put on bed rest for 2 months and only had her 3wks early and she only had to stay in the hospital for 10 days.

Going through tough times like those make you a stronger person. I am sure there alot more of us with similar stories!!

Cherae - posted on 06/18/2009

I developed preeclampsia over the course of 3 days. I went to see my OB at 30 weeks and some days (it was a Monday) and found out I had gained 9 pounds since the last visit 4 weeks prior. I knew something wasn't right, but my hubby tried to tell me it was all in my head (by the time I was 20 weeks I had only gained 6 pounds). My feet were starting to swell and my blood pressure was starting to creep up. My doc talked about putting me on bedrest and probably having to take the baby by 32 weeks. She went ahead and gave me Celestone shots (steroids to improve baby's lung function) and told me to check my blood pressure two days a week and gave me parameters in which to call her. She was going to do everything to help me stay at work and go full term. Things were OK until Wednesday afternoon when I started to have a very full feeling in my abdomen, and my feet were so swollen they were tight and uncomfortable when I walked. I went home that afternoon and stayed off my feet on the couch. When I got up on Thursday to get ready for work, my feet were no longer swollen, but my abdomen was very swollen. I ended up going to see my OB and my pressure was 149/98 and I felt OK. An ultrasound was done, I was admitted for observation to my hospital's Labor and Delivery and place don the monitors. My blood pressure came down well, but my lab work was not quite right, and HELLP syndrome was starting. I ended up that night having an emergency C-section. Only then my doc told me my BP was 181 when she had checked it herself. I had no symptoms at all. I spent nearly 24 hours in Labor and Delivery on the Mag drip after the section. And it took about 2 months or so for my blood pressure to come down. It was staying high when I was in the hospital despite being on blood pressure med.

My baby was born at 30 weeks and 6 days gestation, weighing 3# 5oz and 16 inches long. She had little to no issues in the hospital and only had oxygen off and on the first day or so. She did have jaundice and was under the bili light off and on. She's now 4 months and a week or so and weighs nearly 11 pounds. She's a little bit smaller than most her age, but not by much. My OB being on top of everything is the reason I didn't go into full eclampsia and the reason my baby and I are OK today.

Shawn - posted on 06/17/2009

As bad as my situation was it doesn't seem any where as bad as yours. I found out at 30 weeks that my daughter was suffering from a conditon called IUGR, inter uterine growth restriction. In other words she had stopped growing. Everything had been fine with my pregnancy up until then. I was seeing a high risk specialist and my regular OBGYN. I luckily had been given 2 shots to help my daughters lungs knowing that I was probably going to deliver early. I went to the doctor on a Friday afternoon for a regular dr. visit and everything was "normal". I left the dr. office and drove 5 minutes to the hospital for a scheduled visit to monitor the baby. By the time I got to the hospital my blood pressure had started to rise, enough that they immediately put me on bed rest until I delivered. All was fine that night, I even sent my husband to work - he works nights. When I woke the next morning it was raining and I had a really bad headache. I just thought it was the weather as I am a bad sinus sufferer. I called the OB floor and they told me to come up and get monitored just incase something else had transpired. My blood pressure was 215/145. I was in an ambulance with in 20 minutes heading to a level 5 trauma center with a NICU. I was at 33 weeks at this point with an already small baby. Luckily my local hospital had started me on the meds for the high blood pressure so that helped me alot. I never did have a seizure, thank the lord! I spent 5 days in dark room in complete isolation. I was only alowed to have 1 visitor - either my husband or my parents - at a time and only for 15 minutes every hour. Once the meds they gave me to thin my cervix started working I was only in labor for 13 hours. I was fortunate that the meds helped enough that they wanted to avoid a c-section, plus they were trying to keep me pregnant for as long as possible to help my daughter. She was born on Christmas Day weighing only 2 pounds 13 ounces and 15 inches long. She was absolutely perfect. She was only in the NICU for 15 days during which she had to learn to eat and keep her own body temperature. I was very fortunate. While we have some lasting issued, she is currently 7 and entering 2nd grade, they are things that might have happened even if she had been full term. I also have a 3 year old son, but I didn't have near the extreme problems I did with my daughter. He was born 3 weeks early, also because of pre-eclampsia, and weighed 6 pounds 11 ounces and was 21.5 inches long.

Sarah - posted on 06/17/2009

I never had any warning signs at all. My whole pregnancy was 100% normal, and one day things dramatically changed. I have an early interventionist for my son, they have been involved since he was 6 months old. (Now 4) They are wonderful people to get connected with. Justin never showed any real signs of delay (development wise) until he was 2 and wasn't talking. He is now starting school and they have arranged to put him in a junior kindergarten class with an educational assistant to help him out. He is showing a few signs of ADHD but he's only four and I don't believe it is fair to put that diagnosis on him at this age. He just needs help focusing and transitioning from one activity to the next.

Dani - posted on 06/17/2009

i have a question: how do you all have early intervention involved...do they contact you, does you ped doc refer you....sophie is only 4 months, she never had health concerns or physical complications will she still have EI due to being a premie????

Dani - posted on 06/17/2009

hi Sarah...it must be something about Mondays...i had a similar experience as you did. i had the terrible migraine, blurry vision, "upset" stomach, etc. i was in between appointsment with one coming up the week, so i kepy saying "oh ill ask about it at my next appointment". fortunatley my hisband home was sick (and he NEVER EVER calls off). we are both very lucky that we had someone home with us. Anyhow my husband found me seizing on our bedroom floor. the docs believe i have seizing all throughout the night. i ended up having another seizure in the ER, in which the rushed me over to the women and babies hospital. i have no memory of this at all. not the seizures, delivery, the first 3-4 days in the ICU. i too spent 7 days in ICU. did you have HELLP??? my body started to shut down. apparently how my family describes it, it was the scariest thing to watch, i almost died and yet a baby was born which is such a joyous occasion. how is your son doing? i love htis site because i felt so alone while visitng the NICU, i wish i would have had this support in Feb!!!!

Sarah - posted on 06/11/2009

Justin is doing great now, he is 4, starting school in September--JK!! he plays soccer, and is also starting hockey! He is around 42 inches tall and weighs 35lbs (still skinny but he is just like his dad LOL) He has been in P/T and O/T since he was 6 months, also involved with speech and language development as well as a "resource consultant" and she goes to visit him at daycare and looks at his needs every month and helps him to develop better skills when it comes to printing, cutting, copying etc. The only thing he has a problem with now is his little lungs, they aren't very strong still so when he gets sick it is a challenge for him.

Catriona - posted on 06/11/2009

hi, i had full blown eclampsia thou was already in hospital being treated so wasn't as bad as you! you poor thing, that must have been very scary. I was 34 weeks gone, so my baby boy only had to stay in nic - u for 3 dys, and i was only in icu for 12 hours.... how are you and your little one now?

Trisha - posted on 06/10/2009

hi girls,
gosh your stories are also scary and dramatic it makes mine seem "almost normal!"
i was 33 weeks pregnant and stilll working. i left work in the afternoon to go to my normal ob appointment after having my diabetes checked she did my blood pressure - 210/150 - needless to say she was not thrilled so i was off to hospital (after much protesting and slamming of doors - yes i was feeling fine and there was nothing wrong with me and the doctor was a crazy woman!)
mum came to drive me to the hospital as i was not allowed to drive and i still thought i was ok and didnt want to stress hubby. made it to hospital to find my blood pressure was 290/180 - panic stations! lots and lots and lots of drugs - at this point i was still oblivious to the drama and was more pissed about not going to work the next day!
after a sleepless night of trying to get me stable and having wonderful 1 on 1 care from a team of nurses things started to improve and they were all thrilled. i was given a scan everyday to check the baby and she was ok but not growing very well.
on day 3 of 1 to 1 care i was allowed to go to a ward and was given a roommate which was very exciting.
one my second day in my new room i expressed concern about not being able to feel baby moving and the nurse told me it was sleeping due to all my medication after about an hour i asked to see a doctor and luckily my obstetrician was on call - she scanned me for 40 minutes and decided something was wrong with my baby so had an emergency c section. molly was born 6 1/2 weeks early weighing just under 5 lbs. she was very sluggish and had probllems breathing for the first week of her life.
i am eternally grateful for my obstrician listening to me and beleiveing that something was wrong.
moo is now doing welll- she is almost 9 months old. she is stilll small for her age and has continued to have breathing problems - she frequently stops breathing and we are now experts at cpr! doctors think she will out grow this as her nervous system develops. we also continue to have tummy problems due to having an obstruction soon after birth.
seemed dramatic at the time but compared to you ladies.........

Susan - posted on 06/10/2009

I have a similar story, although I did not have a seizure. My son, Ben, who is now 6, was born at 26 weeks. He spent 3 months in the hospital, 6 weeks on the vent, and has pretty serious developmental delays. It was my first pregnancy so I didn't really know what to expect. At about 20 weeks, I just didn't feel well and random things started going wrong. I had headaches, dramatic swelling in my feet all the way up to my thighs, severe epi-gastric pain, etc. When I finally convince my crap OB that was something was wrong with me, it was too late. I was at work and saw flashes of light and visual disturbances. My doctor told me to come in to be checked. Once she got around to me (45 minutes later), they discovered that my BP was 180/120, I had +4 protein, and my internal organs were in bad shape. They immediately gave me a bolus of magnesium sulfate which seemed to calm things down a bit. However, I was not able to even make it more that 36 hours when they were forced to deliver my son via c-section. He was 1lb 12 oz. After delivery, I had some serious complications. I stopped breathing and had to have a nasal trumpet inserted to keep my airway open. My blood pressure took two weeks to normalize....so I ended up staying in the hospital for those two weeks. It was really a harrowing experience that I wouldn't wish on anyone. My son didn't have any brain bleeds or cerebral palsy, however, he is developmentally delayed. His speech is probably that of a 3 year old at this point. We just try to be patient, continue his therapies and work to help him be the best he can be. I have no idea what the future holds.....

Susan

Stacey - posted on 06/10/2009

My first child Emma was born at 28 weeks also. She weighed 2lbs 2oz and was 13 inches long. She came home 48 days later at 3lbs 14oz with a heart monitor. I went to the doctor for my 28 week check up. I started to spill protein in urine and my bp was up to 188 over 100 and within 36 hours my kidneys shut down and my liver almost shut down. They gave me meds to stop me from having seizures. They delivered her c-section. It was a long hard road. She is 9 now and you would never know she was a preemie unless I told you. We have been very fortunate. My second daughter Sophia was born at 39 weeks scheduled c-section 8lbs 12 oz. I now have the dubious distinction of giving birth to the smallest and largest baby in our extended family.

Sarah - posted on 06/09/2009

Wow.. How early was your little one? That must've been scary!

Renee - posted on 06/08/2009

i am so sry you went thru this...i had pre-e. it came on fast like yours. i am prone to seizures, so i was put on IV's and BP meds asap.