HELLP Syndrome

This was something I had never heard of before so I thought I would share my experience with others to make them aware of just how serious it is and how quickly things can go down hill.

On Friday 27/Saturday 28 I started experiencing pains in my chest and under my right ribs over night. After being up and moving about for just over an hour the pains had gone so I put them down to being bubs laying in the wrong position and putting pressure in the area (I had recently been for a scan where it did show bubs laying high). The pain came and went over the next couple of days but still I didn't think much of it. I also found on a couple of the mornings I needed to vomit and also thought this was just a type of morning sickness coming back. With the increase in the temperature on Monday I got some swelling in my feet which didn't go down, but is a common side effect of pregnancy anyway. On Wednesday 1 February, I headed off to work as usual. The pains came and went through the day and I did notice as the day went on my legs had swelled a little so spent the afternoon with them up resting on a chair. Luckily I had a midwives appointment at 4.30 so headed off to that and as I was driving I felt shattered (lack of sleep) and not entirely myself (I just kind of felt a little out of it). At the appointment it was discovered my blood pressure was up and there was protein in my urine. I was sent up to the hospital to be monitored and blood tests were taken. Bubs was fine in there but the monitor did show I was having some contractions - none of which I could feel. While at the hospital the vomitting started. I don't remember everything from the rest of the night but do know that the swelling kept on coming up (in my face and my stomach). The blood tests came back and they were not looking good. My liver was shutting down and my platelet count was dropping. I am not sure how many times after this the blood tests were repeated but things continued to go down hill. All of a sudden I was being rushed to theatre for a C-section. My only option was for a general as there was too much chance of me bleeding. My little boy was born at 10.35pm at 36 weeks. He was taken off to the Neo Natal unit while I was transfered to ICU for the night. I was on limited fluid and Magnesium Sulphate which was to stop me from having any seizures. It was 13 hours before I was able to meet my little boy for the first time and I was hooked up to all the drips etc until Friday morning. I found out later that I had severe PET and had also develop HELLP syndrome. Everything had been very touch and go. I am quite glad that I don't remember all of that time and now I feel like normal again although I have to take blood pressure medication because I have high blood pressure as a result of it all.

I am so glad I had my midwife appointment on that afternoon because otherwise I would have just gone home and continued on as normal and there is a high possibility that by the time we realised something was wrong it would have been too late. To me most of what I had been experiencing seemed like normal things in pregnancy. All I can say to others after this journey is if you start to feel unwell and just can't quite put your finger on it, get someone to check you out!

Sorry for the novel but hopefully my story will be able to help someone else out.

HELLP syndrome is one of the worst things out. I've seen the worst case scenario and I'm so glad that you are well.

Scary stuff eh? I had the same thing too - developed severe PET and on the verge of HELLP when I ended up having my girl at 31 weeks. I also had the pain under the ribs, got so bad I was doubled over at work in pain when someone decided to walk me across the road to my Drs and I was sent to hospital straight from there. Funny thing is the day before that, I just felt rubbish and tired, not my normal self but couldn't quite explain it so just went home from work early to rest. Looking back though I did have niggling pains under my ribs in the days before but like you just throught it was bub's feet in my ribs or something like that. Plus I figured also the swelling was just a normal part of the pregnancy as well.

Same deal with the blood tests and urine tests, and BP was through the roof! I'd started going into labour naturally a week after I was admitted to hospital when that night I had the horrible headache and nausea and was vommitting next morning with a swollen face that looked like I'd been beaten! So off to delivery room and was induced by breaking waters. The magnesium sulphate was great and as soon as it was administered the headache went away and I got a little spaced out!

She was delivered later that day at 31w 4d weighing a tiny 1.35kg (or just under 3lbs). When the placenta came out it was shockingly small. I spent another week in hospital and she spent 4 weeks in NICU before she could come home. It took another 3 weeks or so before my BP came down enough to not be concerning.

It was definitely lucky for you that you had your MW appointment that day and like you say sometimes these symptoms can just be passed off as normal annoying pregnancy symptoms and you wouldn't know. If in doubt, go get checked out!

Thank you for sharing that Oscarboo, how scary that all must have been! I think its natural for women to explain away symptoms as we don't want to bother anyone (also just being PG can be so darn uncomforable), but thats definately something I will be keeping a closer eye on now.

Ohhhh my poor due date buddy! That would have been so traumatic. So pleased that you and bub came out of it all OK in the end! I've had some high BP for the last 10 weeks so am being monitored closely at the moment. I live in fear of HELLP though, as a student midwife I did see some really horrific cases which were very touch and go.

Big hugs!!