HELLP Syndrome

mizzmeg

I was wondering if any ladies on here have had this. I know something is wrong but doctors wont listen to me and I feel like I am going crazy. I was wondering what your symptoms were and if you, too, tried to tell your OB something was wrong. I don't want to be the crazy pregnant lady who used Dr. Google.

TIA! 

JoJoGee

I had HELLP Syndrome.  I had pain right below my rib cage, but instead of the pain being in my right uppder quadrant, it felt like a band around my entire upper belly.  I had infrequently high blood pressure (e.g. it was high at one doctors appointment but low at the next).  I also had infrequent protein in my urine.  My doctors did not think anything was wrong because my blood pressure was infrequent.  But, when I had such terrible pains that I started throwing up, they sent me to Triage.  I was admitted to the PICU and the next day my doctors diagnosed me with HELLP Syndrome.

If you are really concerned you have HELLP, but your doctors don't seemed concerned you should have a long conversation with them.  Point out the reasons why you are concerned and try to understand why they are not concerned.  Just be mindful of your body and if you start to feel bad or as if something is not right then make sure to go to the hospital and advocate for yourself and your baby.

JoJoGee

I also want to add that your doctor may not be thinking about HELLP Syndrome because it is very rare to get HELLP Syndrome, let alone get it in the second trimester.  I got HELLP in the second trimester and my doctors told me that they see a case like mine maybe once every 3 years or so (go me!).  Most women don't develop HELLP until they are well into their 3rd timester.

tierelieber

I had it too. The pain was incredible. I don't think you have it because if you did, you wouldn't be sitting on your computer googling. You would be throwing up from the pain. You will know if you have it, trust me. I hope that you can find out what is wrong soon!

inlovewithMike

If I were you, I would go to the hospital or call your doctor again and tell him you want to be checked. I also had Preeclampsia/HELLP syndrome twice. It came on quickly and the doctors had to deliver my son right away. Not to scare you...but please get checked.

luckycooky

I had this but I did not have the extreme pain that caused me to throw up.  I actually was online thinking it was heartburn.  It was not until I went in to the ER that HELLP was brought up.  I was 32 weeks though.  I would say get checked out until you feel comfortable with the diagnosis.

LALASEPT05

I developed hellp at 36w1d. That is the day they delivered the babies. I had always had low blood pressure and no protein in urine. I went in one day and had high bp and just for kicks they did blood work. I really wasn't feeling too bad. I did not have a headache or the other things people have - that said they caught it really early. I had a lot of pain in my neck and shoulders and upper back. I was nauseous and had loose bm and overall just felt crappy.

mizzmeg

Thank you all! I know something is off. I haven't felt normal over the last few weeks, and lately its just completely worse. I passed out from all the pain on Tuesday but haven't thrown up, just really nauseas all day long! The OB gave me tylenol 3 (w/ codeine) for the pain and sent me home. I just wish someone would listen to me! 

musubigirl

I had HELLP Syndrome.  I had a general feeling of being unwell and something just didn't feel right.  I had pain right at the top of my abdomen in the middle of my ribcage.  I couldn't sleep which was unusual for me and just felt uncomfortable.  I felt that way on Thursday night and Friday morning had an already scheduled non stress test.  I described how I felt and the lady thought I was just having early contractions.  My blood pressure was fine and I wasn't spilling protein.  Friday night I still didn't feel well.  Finally on Saturday night I went to L& D and told them I just didn't feel well.  The admitting lady said you're going to have to tell me more than that.  I described my symptoms and thank goodness they did bloodwork.  They delivered me about a couple of hours later after getting back my blood work.  It would have been sooner but they had to wait for platelets to from the blood bank.

 Go with your gut if something doesn't feel right.  

jjilly7

i had HELLP. I thought it was my ulcer, then turned to sharp pains in the shoulder. Hurt so bad i couldn't stand up, Wasn't diagnosed w/ HELLP until i was transported from the ER by my house to the hospital 40 min away that i was going to deliver at (moved the month this occurred). Drs at first hospital thought gallbladder, didn't have NICU if something went wrong removing it, so at the 2nd hospital it was determined it was HELLP. Had LO at 30 weeks. I didn't have symptoms prior to that night.

ruthiewith

I had severe early onset pre-eclampsia with DS1 and just gave birth to DS2 at 29 weeks 5 days three weeks ago after being diagnosed with HELLP Syndrome.  They diagnosed me with mild pre-eclampsia on a Friday and I gave birth to DS2 on Wednesday morning after getting steroids, being placed on mag, and my platelets tanking.  I had severe pain right below my ribcage and a horrible sharp pain in my right shoulder that I thought was a pinched nerve.  I also threw up violently.  I thought it was severe constipation because I hadn't gone to the bathroom in 4 days.  My blood pressure was high (although better on bedrest) and I had lots of protein in my urine.  It turns out the steroids were masking the more severe symptoms.  It's very serious so definitely get yourself checked out ASAP.  Good luck. 

TheGoose34

I had severe Pre-E and severe HELLP.  I had a relatively uneventful pregnancy and then I hit 29 weeks.  I had this awful pain in my upper abdomen (sternum area) that I thought was just really bad heartburn and it got so bad I couldn't even sit still.  I had just had a prenatal checkup on Thursday and this was Saturday night.  I took some maalox and it seemed to go away.  The pain came back Sunday evening but with a vengence.  I had also started to notice my fingers were swollen, but not excessively.  My doc told me to go to L&D triage for a pain cocktail.  When we got there my pressure was through the roof, my platelets were falling and my urine was packed with protein.

My doc was totally baffled because my pain wasn't on the right side, I had JUST had a check-up that turned up fine and I was just barely into my third trimester.

If you have any incling that it could be HELLP, get a second opinion or keep pushing you doc for blood work.  It can come fast or slow, but if your doc isn't on top of it it can get worse then it would otherwise be.

Stina4242

tierelieber:

I had it too. The pain was incredible. I don't think you have it because if you did, you wouldn't be sitting on your computer googling. You would be throwing up from the pain. You will know if you have it, trust me. I hope that you can find out what is wrong soon!

 

I didn't have any symptoms.  I was quite surprised that after my water broke my labs showed I was had severe pre-e and Hellp.... had to deliver ASAP.  Everyone is different

wendymichelle77

I had a pretty rough pregnancy right from the get go so I think my doctor just automatically assumed that I was a complainer.  At 26 weeks I had to do a 24 hour urine collection to check for pre-e.  It came back within normal limits but it gave him a baseline to go from.  I just generally felt sick and tired the whole pregnancy.

At about 32 weeks I started just randomly puking for no reason.  It got to the point where we had to carry a bucket in the car with us for me to yuck in.  I went to all my appts. and my urine was fine, blood work was fine.  I had my 36 week check-up (at 35 weeks 4 days) and I told my doctor that I just really was not feeling well.  About 4 days before my appt. my hands, feet, and ankles started swelling profusely.  I didn't have sharp abdominal pains on the right side but rather a sense of tightness and pain all over my abdomen.  I was taking phenergan and Zofran and still puking.  My urine did show protien at this appt. and I had to do another 24 hour urine collection.  My blood pressure was also sky high.  I almost passed out in the lab while waiting to get my pee jugs and they kept me at the office and monitored my bp for an hour until it went down.  On Tuesday I did the collection and took it back Wednsday morning.  While I was there I asked for my bp to be checked again and again it was really high.  My nurse took me back to see my doctor and he ordered more blood work and said, "at the worst you've got 3 weeks left (I was set for a c-section on 3/3) but I doubt you'll make it that long."

That night around 5pm I started feeling HORRIBLE.  I called my husband at work and he didn't want to come home early because he only had like 2 hours left.  I told him he could either come home or I was calling an ambulance.  In the meantime, I called the OB on call and didn't even tell her all my symptoms and just stopped me and told me to get to L&D triage asap.  I asked her what the chances were of havign the baby that night and she said since I wasn't full term there was like no chance it would happen.  I still packed a bag though.  We got to L&D and the triage nurses were really freaked out because I couldn't walk from the wheelchair to the bed without getting so out of breath I almost passed out.  I gave a urine sample and could barely get any out.  The doctor came to see me and was pretty snippy with me.  I was sobbing at this point telling her I knew something was wrong and to please help me.  She made a really nasty reply then went off and started typing on a computer.  I just laid there in the bed crying for the next hour.

About 11:30pm my husband and gone downstairs to get a snack and drink and all of a sudden the doctor comes literally running into my room.  She sort of dropped her head and said, "I don't guess I need to tell you this..........but you are EXTREMELY sick."  I looked at her and said, "really?"  Then she said I had severe pre-e and HELLP syndrome and it was affecting my liver and kidneys and we were having a baby that night.  My head was literally spinning and I told her I needed to call my husband to get back there before we did anything.  He got back to the room and almost passed out from the anxiety of it all.  Everything happened so ungodly fast that neither of us really had time to panic.  I went in the OR at 12:05am, I had a spinal once I got in there, and the baby was born at 12:24am (they waited until after midnight so I was technically 36 weeks when he was born).  We didn't have time for any family or anything to get there.

I knew for several weeks that something was not right with me but unfortunately it took about 3 weeks for everything to come together and show up on the tests.  If you really think you have HELLP keep on your doctor.  I had to do a mag drip for 24 hours after the delivery to prevent seizures and lower my bp.  After all of this was said and done they started worrying that I had a blood clot or pregnancy induced heart failure.  I had to go through all kinds of tests and stay an extra day in the hospital.  Other than my son spending 2 hours in the NICU for a little chirp he had in his breathing he was perfectly fine.  We're coming up on 3 weeks now and are both doing well.  But I tell you what.......after what I went through I will probably never have another baby.