Cholestasis anyone?

Re: Cholestasis anyone?

• eav2c member

  June 2013

  Make sure you get the bile acid test. Chances are, your ob is very unfamiliar with icp and therefore will not properly test. An LFT is not sufficient. You may need several weeks of blood testing to show elevation. Anything over 11 is ICP. My ICP numbers went from 12 to 24 to 86 in three weeks. Anything over 40 being very severe. If you're on Facebook look up the ICP moms / itchy moms Facebook group. You'll find hundreds of active icp moms who can better help you through the process. GL!

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• oprastr member

  June 2013

  Cholestasis Mommy here!  Where are you itchy and when are you itchy?  Usually moms with cholestasis itch on their feet and hands during the night.  My best suggestion for itching relief is a cold soak.  I had a bucket that I filled with ice and water for my feet and hands.  Eventually, I was itchy everywhere and then a cool shower or swim in a lake felt great.  

  DEMAND a bile acid test.  PP is right, a lot of OB's aren't very familiar with the disease.  

   If you are diagnosed with it, most likely you are looking at induction at 37 weeks and monitoring every other day.  I had an NST and ultrasound every week.  

  I had the most positive experience possible with cholestasis.  VERY competent doctors, including a high risk OB I saw.  My induction was insanely smooth (I didn't even end up needing pitocin) and I gave birth to a beautiful and healthy baby girl.

  Questions to ask:

  1. Suggestions for meds that can help control the itching (I was allowed to take zrytec and benadryl, alternating them every two hours at night-sometimes it helped sometimes it didn't).  As I got closer to my induction date I also was given steroids in dose pack form.  They helped.

  2. What meds will they use to help the bile acid move over the placenta better (most commonly Ursidol is prescribed)

  3.  Do you know the sex of the baby?  If it's a boy ask about the possible use of steroids to help his lung maturity since he would be three weeks early.  If it's a girl this is less of a concern.

  Hang in there!  Feel free to come back with more questions of PM me anytime! 

  

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• oprastr member

  June 2013

  Oh!  I see from your ticker that you're 38 weeks?  You may not have time for a bile acid test.  It always took me about a week to get those results back.  If you and your doc think it's cholestasis I would just ask for induction NOW.  Risk of stillbirth gets very high after 37 weeks. 

  

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• stacy&seth member

  June 2013

  Well, I saw these after my appt, but thankfully when i said itching my OB was on it.  She is doing three kinds of blood work and at the moment I can't remember what they are.  And I go back on Friday for an NST and biophysical ultrasound.  Baby was very active and things were good with him today. So I guess we wait til then.  My blood pressure was a bit wonky and I had trace amounts of protein in my urine so it seems at the last stretch of this pregnancy I'm falling apart.

  
  

  Thanks both of you for your responses.  While I didn't see them until after my appt it makes me feel a bit better to know my dr is taking me seriously and running the necessary tests.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  

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