Protein in Urine, BP Normal?

UnicornsPlease · February 2017

Just finished up my weekly appointment and got thrown for a bit of a loop. They found +3 protein in my urine today (has never happened before), but BP is totally normal. I always run 120-something over about 80, which is exactly what we saw today. Doc didn't seem super concerned, but he did ask me to do a 24-hour urine collection (super fun) and come back for some bloodwork on Friday. I'm trying to stay chill, but of course the pre-e thing makes me nervous. Good news is I'm 37 weeks on Friday, so whatever happens, my squish should be full term.

Anyone have something similar happen to them? Did you end up developing pre-e, or was it just a weird fluke?

kjd291 · February 2017

I had a small amount too when I was last tested around 37wks, but the midwives weren't concerned at all (and haven't had me tested since) because it was a small enough amount it's clearly not the level of a sick person/person with failing kidneys.
Id guess your OB is just being overly cautious and you have no reason to worry!

RunBooRun · February 2017

Make sure you're eating enough protein. Believe it or not, protein in urine can be caused by not getting enough daily. I know that I found legit studies before, but I'm too lazy to find them right now. Here's a copy/paste from a quick google search.

"One of the first symptoms of preeclampsia is excess protein in the urine. This may lead many women to think that they must be getting too much protein in their diet and that may be causing the problem. But this is untrue. It actually means they are not getting enough protein in their diet. If a pregnant woman is not getting enough protein in her diet, the body will start to break down it’s own tissues to try to nourish the baby with enough protein. It is crucial that pregnant women get at least 80 to 100 grams of protein in their diet each day. If your body does not get that, it will start breaking down the proteins from your tissue and that is excreted in the urine. The bottom line is, eat more protein if you are pregnant so you do not put yourself at risk for preeclampsia."

ETA: I'm not saying that you shouldn't take it seriously, PreE is serious. Unfortunately protein in urine can have multiple causes and you want to try to rule out the easy to manage causes (like not enough protein in your diet) so you don't get misdiagnosed.

jenny0228 · February 2017

@UnicornsPlease same thing with me. I just picked up the 24 hour kit (it's ...not what I expected). I have never had a high BP reading, my BP is actually more on the low side but they picked up on slightly elevated protein so now I have to do the test, mostly just to rule it out.

Good luck with your 24 hr test, this should be..... fun..(heavy sarcasm)

wintersong · February 2017

jenny0228 said:

@UnicornsPlease same thing with me. I just picked up the 24 hour kit (it's ...not what I expected). I have never had a high BP reading, my BP is actually more on the low side but they picked up on slightly elevated protein so now I have to do the test, mostly just to rule it out.

Good luck with your 24 hr test, this should be..... fun..(heavy sarcasm)

What, you don't get a kick out of storing a giant jug of pee in your fridge? (Or in my case, two, since I definitely hydrate well.)

kjd291 · February 2017

longliveregina said:

jenny0228 said:

@UnicornsPlease same thing with me. I just picked up the 24 hour kit (it's ...not what I expected). I have never had a high BP reading, my BP is actually more on the low side but they picked up on slightly elevated protein so now I have to do the test, mostly just to rule it out.

Good luck with your 24 hr test, this should be..... fun..(heavy sarcasm)

What, you don't get a kick out of storing a giant jug of pee in your fridge? (Or in my case, two, since I definitely hydrate well.)

Hah. I learned that lesson the hard way! Always ask for TWO containers!

UnicornsPlease · February 2017

kjd291 said:

longliveregina said:

jenny0228 said:

@UnicornsPlease same thing with me. I just picked up the 24 hour kit (it's ...not what I expected). I have never had a high BP reading, my BP is actually more on the low side but they picked up on slightly elevated protein so now I have to do the test, mostly just to rule it out.

Good luck with your 24 hr test, this should be..... fun..(heavy sarcasm)

What, you don't get a kick out of storing a giant jug of pee in your fridge? (Or in my case, two, since I definitely hydrate well.)

Hah. I learned that lesson the hard way! Always ask for TWO containers!

Ha--you know, I wondered whether the one container would be enough. I guess I'll find out tomorrow...

On the upside, this gave me an excuse not to go into work tomorrow. Sure as hell wasn't carrying my hazmat pee-jug to and from the office bathroom.

jenny0228 · February 2017

Oh yes. Definitely not going to work tomorrow with that thing. I feel like one won't be enough too--- we shall see.

wintersong · February 2017

Dude, I seriously full 1 and a third, easy. But I was really trying to drink a gallon of fluid a day because I was also still nursing my toddler.

ShannonJ96 · February 2017

My urine protein levels are twice the normally acceptable ammount, but my blood pressure is perfect. My doctor's explanation is that your kidneys have a lot more blood to filter when you're pregnant, so sometimes you wind up with some extra protein in your urine.

My blood pressure is being watched closely, and I was told to make sure to drink tons of water.

As much as I miss living in the south, I do have to say that it was nice to be able to use my garage as a fridge for the pee jug instead of the fridge in the kitchen. Far less disgusting.

Goodmorning12 · February 2017

Have you been eating enough?

Also, bloodwork done to check liver & kidneys?

wintersong · February 2017

Also are you hydrating enough?

UnicornsPlease · February 2017

Welp, looks like the BP is creeping :-/

I went in today to drop off my jug-o-pee, and they checked my BP and took some blood. I usually run about 124/80, but was 136/88 today. Hoping it's just nerves, but I was sent home with orders to rest, test my BP every day, and call the office if it hits 140/90. Hoping to ride this out at least one more week and get the little guy to 38 weeks.

For the record, I filled the jug to the BRIM. How did it go for you, @jenny0228?

jenny0228 · February 2017

Oh wow, @UnicornsPlease fingers crossed you can make it another week! I dropped my jug off at the lab, no one tested my BP but they did call the OB office and they didn't want to do blood. Now I'm wondering if I should check my BP?

I filled the thing to the top and had to discard part of my last collection - they didn't seem concerned about it though, thankfully. One day is all I can take of that process. Good thing DH was away for the night with my jug o' pee in the fridge.

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