Pregnant after IF
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No ultrasound for 20 days...
It feels like an eternity! I can feel them moving, but I can't tell for sure if I'm feeling 2 babies moving.
I'm just used to seeing them kind of often, and it makes me antsy going so long between ultrasounds.
November 9th can't come soon enough...
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Re: No ultrasound for 20 days...
I went from week 19 (level II with my MFM) to week 25 (regular growth scan with my OBs office with no ultrasounds! It was crazy! By far the longest I have ever had to go!
I was thrilled to be having an uncomplicated twin pregnancy...but I wanted to see my babies!
Now, of course - with GD and being on steroids for PUPPS, I never leave the hospital. So I am kind wishing for more of a happy medium haha.
Oh no!
I was really hoping this "1st pregnancy only" crap was true about PUPPS. Did you have it with #1? Ahhhhhh!!! Are the steroids helping? They at least brought my hives down to welts and made them significantly less itchy.
I think IF has really changed my expectations about medical care. I'm used to have my IVF nurse's e-mail to get answers to all my questions! Now it's taking me forever to even get an appointment about my thyroid being wacky.
I just don't trust that everything's going fine since my body hasn't done that in so long
I used to have this accompanied with some scary PUPPS pictures in my nest bio, if it helps. I've heard good things about Dandelion Root Extract too. So sorry about the PUPPS. I had a boy last time and am having 2 this time so am freaked about getting it again. It was AWFUL!:
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If you look anything like this in your 3rd trimester, you may have PUPPS and you have my deepest sympathy. I feel your pain. I was crawling out of my skin with the itch, to the point where I went from wanting an all natural water birth to agreeing to let them induce me at 37w5d. I just couldn't stand the itching any more! Just so I don't freak you out completely, you should know that I had the worst case of PUPPS anybody in the hospital had ever seen. They kept coming in during my failed induction to look at my rash because they hadn't seen anything like it. They also hadn't seen one that stuck around so long. May you be more lucky than me!
Delivery is the biggest help! It's great to look forward to. It didn't go completely away, but definitely got better.
Here's a list of things that helped and what didn't do much. I'm sure this varies by person.
The rainer soapworks stuff was pretty good, but it started to irritate my skin. It helped for a couple of showers, feels good, but dries your skin a LOT (which you might have figured out is a double edged sword. Helps the rash, can make the itch worse.) The soap felt great in the shower. It MAY have stopped working for me because I had an allergic reaction to it, so it's worth a shot. It arrived in about 2-3 days (I would have done overnight if I could do it over again because I was looking forward to it.) https://www.rainiersoapworks.com/puppp_relief.htm
Keeping your skin super cool is the best, I found. Don't sit or sleep in the same position for long. Take cool baths (you can't take too many) and can't put too much cold water on your feet, including soaking.
Prednisone helped the look of the rash a LOT and dropped the itch down to about 50% of itchy. The oral steroids have been the only thing to get it under control. It hasn't really stopped the itch, though, just lessened the intensity from maybe 100 to 60. It's made it look almost 100% better, though I do seem to be starting some second phase of flare up. I don't leave the house much because clothes are unbearable. I lay on a sheet on the couch naked with ice packs for flare ups.
Good luck. 4 days after delivery (still in the NICU
and not many showers later, my itch is still there but maybe
20%. Can't let my skin get too soft or moist, but it's getting there. I'm still
on a taper from the prednisone, though. (Update: had to up the dose of
prednisone and start the taper again.I was just out of my mind and could not
STAND itching anymore, or I might have had more tolerance for it.)
Before delivery, I took Aveeno baths about every 3 hours around the clock. They're usually pretty cold to do the most good, though sometimes (like 3am), I cheat and start warm and let it get cold. After the bath, I put pink Calamine on the really itchy flared spots. Once they get under control and you don't have welts or anything, I use the clear Caladryl so it doesn't get overly dry. While the secret to controlling the itch is to dry out the rash, if your skin gets TOO dry, that seems to make it itch. Lotion is not the cure, though. That will make it itch more. If the dry gets really out of control I add a tiny splash of olive oil to my bath maybe once every other day. (The next bath will have to come earlier because of that.) A friend recently suggested Epsom salt baths, and I'm going to try that tomorrow.
In addition to the steroids, I also take 2 Ambien at night to help sleep. It helps, but I'm still up every 3 hours for the bath. The problem is any time your skin gets hot at all, like when you're laying on it, it goes crazy itchy. I sleep with ice packs on my feet, which also helps. All of these drugs I take after having taken about 2 Tylenol my whole PG. They say it won't affect the baby. Ambien is class B and the steroids are class C (so to use when benefits out weigh risks, as in this case.)
Early on I got some good itch relief from aloe vera gel with solarcaine (you know with the lidocaine for sunburns?) It would numb the whole area for a while. Same with any cream/gel that has camphor and menthol in it. Unfortunately, I think they all irritated the rash, so while it helped some in the short run, it made it worse in the long run. Worth a shot. I have overly sensitive skin to begin with, so my reactions to these kinds of things might be unusual.
The good news is it's supposed to go away with delivery. (They tried--and failed-- to induce me for it last week at 37w2d so now I'm waiting to progress a little on my own and either tough it out or try induction again. It's also rare that it happens w/second pregnancies.
I think itching is the worst form of torture. I would tell anybody anything if they could make the itching stop. Let me know if you find anything that works or if you have questions about other things that work. I've tried almost everything. Oh, the steroid cream did nothing for me and it was super expensive.
UPDATE: at 3.5 months post-partum I am finally off the steroids and rash free. It flared one last time after my last taper, but I was so sick of the steroids by then that I could deal with it. It was mild anyway. After that final flare, it went away on its own. The itching was bad enough that it makes me seriously wonder if I can deal another pregnancy because there is a remote chance that it could happen again.
I hate long stretches between appointments!
Hope Nov. 9th is here before you know it
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