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Sunday, February 1, 2009

Update, 33 weeks and Obstetric Cholestasis


So this past week has been an adventure for us. I haven't been feeling all together since last week (lots of bowel issues), the day of hunger did not turn out well and my appetite has been hit or miss ever since. Dairy is definitely off limits now! I am making a run to the natural food store today to get some alternative milk and cheese, because my life without these all together is just too hard!

Tuesday night I woke up in the middle of the night with intense itching all over my body, but no rash. I called in the morning and they assured me it can happen and was normal and to take some Benedril. It seemed to get better as the day went on, but on Thursday morning it was pretty intense again, so I took some Benedril with dire consequenses...I totally forgot it makes you drowsy! I was so tired I could not keep my eyes open! I really felt drunk, it was awful and I really should have called someone for help! Luckily Truitt went down for an early nap and when we woke up I felt much better.

That afternoon (Thursday still) the clinic called me to check in, again confirming that all was normal, and to only take the Benedril at night (a friendly reminder of this BEFOREHAND would have been nice!) So after dinner on Thursday, the itching was pretty intense again, so I thought "if this is so common there has got to be other itchy moms out there!" I was on the search for blogs or websites for itchy moms! Well, what I found was there are not alot of itchy moms out there late in pregnancy that do not have a rash. I did find these websites for Obstretric Cholestasis, interestingly most based from the UK:

  • The Obstetric Cholestasis Support Website: http://www.ocsupport.org.uk/
  • Baby Centre UK: http://www.babycentre.co.uk/pregnancy/complications/obstetriccholestasis/
  • Itchy Moms: http://www.itchymoms.com/
  • Pregnancy Info.net: http://www.pregnancy-info.net/obstetric_cholestasis.html
After reading all this info. I was very alarmed. I have a lot of these symptoms. I realized that I had actually been itching for the past two weeks, it had just been isolated to my hands and feet and I wrote it off as puffy, stretching, dry, winter skin. I had actually itched my foot until it bled two weeks ago, which freaked me out, so then I made a conscious effort not to scratch so much, but like I said it didn't seem like that big of a deal. But when combining this with all the other problems too, it just seemed too much at once. I knew that something could be wrong and that I needed to see my midwife right away! I could barely sleep Thursday night from worry (and itching!).

Friday morning I called and got an appointment for that afternoon. As soon as my midwife saw me she knew exactly why I was there and what I wanted, without me even having to say! I am wondering if the nurses didn't completely fill her in that I had been calling everyday, or if she knew I must have researched this on my own and would know what I would want done. From now on I know to just ask for her or just get an appointment, well actually from here on out I am suppose to call the birthing center with any major problems or concerns after hours or just go in!

So they ran the tests. The first liver function test came back slightly elevated, I guess this is common in pregnancy, but this test is not the major indicator of a problem. The bile test won't be back until Wednesday, but we are pretty sure there is a problem. Even if the test comes back negative, as long as the itching persists I will have to keep testing and keep checking in on this issue. Then that evening they had me go in to the birthing center for a non-stress test and to get a base line of activity for the baby. Everything came out great. So we are glad the baby doesn't seem to be affected at this point. The nurses there were very nice, and gave us a tour afterward and made sure we knew to call or come in if we have any concerns. She also confirmed my suspicion that this all over itching is not common, and something to definitely be keeping a careful eye on. I am so glad that I stuck to my guns this week and listened to my body!

I will be sure to post more as we know more! Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers as we get through these last few weeks of pregnancy!

4 comments:

Lynn said...

Oh, how scary! Glad everything is ok, for now, except the itching! Many prayers are headed your way!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Mendes Family said...

Swiss, Kareena sent this to me and asked me to forward it on to you...she had trouble leaving a message on your blog! Enjoy!

Dominique,
That is very scary, I hope all your tests come back okay. In the mean time there are lots of alternatives to cows milk. We drink the soymilk from Costco, but there is also multigrain milk (yummy), oatmilk, rice milk and almond milk. If you are trying to avoid dairy all together, carefully read the lables on the soy cheese, most of them contain a milk protein, look for vegan. There is also soy yogurt, soy sour cream (yummy) and soy cream cheese, and of course soy ice cream. Lots of alternatives, I usually by mine at Fred Meyers, some Safeways sell it too. Good luck, I have had to live with a life threatening dairy allergy since I was a baby. Email me if you want to kmarie1077@aol.com.

Kareena

Dominique Bjorlin said...

Hi Kareena,

Thank you for your kind and helpful words! The no dairy predicament is made all the worse by my slight allergy to soy as well! Bloated, sore abdomen city! At our little local health market I was able to find coconut milk yogurt (quite yummy!), almond cheese in two flavors, and all kinds of different nut milks. I choose hemp seed milk to get some extra Omegas, and hazelnut milk because I love hazelnuts! I have been quite pleased so far with the taste of everything...which is good because these products do come at a premium price! I have had almond milk and rice milk in the past and disliked how watery they seemed, but it's been a while so I may have to try them again, they were much better priced. I was even able to make a really good white sauce from the plain hemp seed milk, the hubby didn't even notice a difference! I am hoping to get to a New Seasons or Trader Joe's in the next week or so to see what they have to offer.

Any good websites or cook books you like for dairy free cooking?

Unknown said...

Thanks so much for linking up at the Friday Baby Shower Alice xxx