I agree about constantly switching gears. That does wear on you. I really hope it stays boring and just mildly frustrating. All you can do is listen to your body.

Thanks! I think it is just difficult to switch gears, is all. I thought everything was fine, and then it wasn't and now it is again? Gettin' whiplash, lol. Here's to a boring 4 (hopefully 5) weeks!

It is always good not to have PE, but I can understand your frustration and lack of relief. It is tough to wait this out. I imagine that it is more difficult when they tell you that your BP may be high and that they don't know what is going on. At least they are monitoring your labs.
I hope you feel a little better over the weekend. Keep us posted. We will keep our fingers crossed for a boring couple of weeks for you.

Thanks, tree, ladies.

I just got back from my OB's office and he basically told me the same thing, that even if my protein keeps going up, absent any indication that it's caused by the pregnancy, they'll just let me go. *shrug* My BP was initially a little high when I came in (nurse didn't say), the dr. re-did it himself when he came in and it was 120ish/80, so no big deal there, either. Drew some more blood, of course, to check again on kidney and liver issues, so we'll see, but otherwise, looks like I don't have pre-e...just some other "headscratcher" issue, as he called it. So looks like baby girl will be able to stay put for the duration (YAY!) and apparently, the high protein isn't anything to worry about. They have all told me to keep adding protein in my diet, so I guess it's *really* not a problem. I don't know why I don't feel relieved by this news, rather upset actually, but eh -- pregnant lady hormones, right? :)

Thank you all again for your help and information. I really appreciate it!

Check out Caryn's post (maybe 3rd one down) in this thread for some more information on proteinuria. Hers was REALLY high, and even that wasn't a delivery indicator until other things cropped up.

http://www.preeclampsia.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=45227

Here is a link to the summary of HYPITAT study:
http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(09)60736-4/abstract

It is probably helpful for your OB and peri to know that you had a baseline 24 hour collection done outside of pregnancy, and that it was normal. They might not have that result at their fingertips, but they can probably get it quickly if they decide that they need it. Some women do spill protein outside of pregnancy. In that case, spilling large amounts of protein may be less concerning.

I agree with you about writing EVERYTHING down. You have a lot more experience with pregnancy than I do, but I was so unbelievably stupid and forgetful towards that end that I would forget to mention all kinds of things when I saw the doctor. I could have taken much better care of us if I could have accurately reported my symptoms. I would be up all night in pain and completely forget about it the next morning. The itching is unusual, and can sometimes be related to liver issues, and I would report that. Itching is pretty unusual with HELLP, but I think we have had posters report it before. The only thing that is universally true about PE and HELLP symptoms is that they are usually weird and different in all of us.

You are in a pretty good place if you have to deliver soon. I agree that not delivering last week was great! My 35 weeker was fine, but life would have been easier without the little NICU adventure. It seems that all you can do is continue to report your symptoms to your doctors and hope for the best. You sound like you have a good attitude about taking the whole thing day by day. Many of us struggle with that, but it is all you can do. Feeling ok is probably a good sign. Many of us felt incredibly bad when we got sick enough to deliver, but there are a few posters who report feeling pretty much fine despite being really sick. I hope you can hang in there for a while longer. Congrats on the six hours of sleep and the nap. That sounds wonderful right now!

Thanks for the links, Teresa! A link to the study would be greatly appreciated, too, so thank you for offering. :)

I think one time I did have a baseline 24 hour -- I was sick with some kind of gastro thing last year. Everything came back pretty well normal -- gastro diagnosed it as a spastic colon. *shrug* It cleared up with probiotics and time, probably triggered by an earlier illness, they say. But no trace proteins, liver enzyme issues or kidney funkiness then, AFAIK. My blood pressure got quite high, but at the time, I was in so much pain that they thought it was gall bladder attacks, so my elevated BP then was a pretty understandable reaction to the pain.

I haven't spoken to either of my doc's about a plan going forward. To be honest, I was just so relieved I wasn't going to have to deliver last week that I just accepted it as it was. While I don't [i]feel[/i] really terrible aside from the fatigue (I actually slept six whole hours straight last night, woo hoo! and just woke up from an hour nap), I know I do *look* pretty terrible. Brown circles under the eyes and such and I can't really exert myself without getting some pretty intense BH contractions, pain/pressure. But if I lie down, drink more water, etc., it usually subsides. The only thing that I can't quite pinpoint and I realize now I haven't mentioned to either doc is the fact that I'm very itchy, mostly on my wrists, tops of my feet and my belly. From what I understand, it's worrisome if it's itchy on the bottoms of your feet and palms, but I don't itch there. I plan to mention it tomorrow (must remember to write it down, lol). I will ask them about what the plan is if things remain largely the same, rather than getting worse or better. Since I feel mostly okay, and baby is doing good, and I'm not in the hospital and not on any restrictions, I guess I just haven't thought about the idea that I may actually be sick and not just pregnant. Which sounds stupid, but it's true, ha.

I did do some reading somewhere that a high protein diet can be harmful if you have some kind of kidney disease, and that did initially concern me, but since doc hasn't mentioned anything further about my kidneys and instructed me to continue eating the protein, I assumed that it was to ensure that I'm replacing enough of what I'm spilling to try to control any growth restriction the baby might suffer as a result. I will ask him about that when I see him next Tuesday. I think I may be just taking too much at face value, here, because they're not telling me what I don't want to hear -- that I have to deliver now, you know? Thanks again!

Hi, welcome to the forum.
It sounds like your OB and peri are watching you really closely. That is about all they can do when you are sick, but not quite sick enough or far enough along to deliver. You are consistently spilling a lot of protein. Have you ever done a 24 hour outside of pregnancy to get a baseline? Sometimes it helps the doctors to know if you spill protein outside of pregnancy. The third post in this link describes the different diagnostic thresholds for protein levels. Yours are really high, but not yet severe.
http://www.preeclampsia.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1716

Many of us have labile or transient symptoms for a while. I also had horrible swelling that came and went. Many women have blood pressure that varies throughout the day/week/month before it stays high. The watching and waiting has to be stressful, but at least you know that they are really looking out for you. PE and HELLP can move really quickly (hours for some of us), so they have to monitor you frequently. I hope you are one of the lucky women who just have to watch and wait without getting sicker. PE can move slowly in some women.

Two other things came to mind after I read your post. The first is that there is unfortunately nothing we can do to slow, stop, or reverse preeclampsia other than delivery. That fact completely stinks. This disease stinks. You mentioned that you are on a high protein diet. The PE foundation experts agree that there is no benefit to following a high protein diet, and that it may actually do some harm. There is some information here on that:
http://www.preeclampsia.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3919

The second thing is that recent scientific studies had changed how many doctors think about inducing women with mild or stable PE. Have your doctors discussed what would cause them to deliver you? They would probably deliver you immediately if your BPs or liver/kidney function gets worse, but what will they do if things stay stable? The recent HYPITAT study demonstrated that women and babies have the best outcomes when delivered at 37 weeks if there are any hypertensive issues. There is a bit of information on that study and the changing guidelines in the US that have resulted from the study here. I will try to find the link to the actual study if you would like that as well.
http://www.preeclampsia.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=44954
It might be worth discussing with your doctors so that you don't have any surprises if they recommend delivering the baby before you go into labor. It might also be good to make sure they are aware of that study if you are concerned about them delaying delivery.

I hope you and baby continue to hang in there for a while! Sorry for the long post...

Hi, Leslie, and thanks!

They are having me in weekly and doing ultrasounds at each one of those visits. Checking fluid levels and blood flow, etc., and so far all seems well on that front. :) And it probably got buried in my monster initial post (sorry about that!) but my swelling has gone down significantly...my feet almost look normal and my hands do, too. No facial swelling at all *crosses fingers*. So it's really just the high protein that seems worrisome at this point, so I understand why they've not admitted me. I don't think there's really anything for them to manage at the moment. Just time to watch and wait, I guess, and with two appointments per week, they seem to be taking it pretty seriously. I don't have to do a 24 hour catch this week, but I will next, unless something changes.

Thank you all so much for sharing your experiences with me. I really, really appreciate it!

With a 24 hour protein that high... I would worry. I'm not sure of the check list for diagnosing pre-e but with your kidneys spilling THAT much protein, that means they are stressed and your kidneys could begin to fail (in my not-doctor opinion). Even though your BP isn't high (that's great). The swelling is something to be concerned with. I would definitely want to be hospitalized and have them keep a close eye on things, as well as baby- they need to be doing BPPs to make sure baby is doing ok. I wouldn't want to walk around with protein that high... things can go bad SO fast. My 24 hour was 1900 and I had pitting edema (as well as high BP but I am chronic hypertensive so they diagnosed me based on the protein). So, I was hospitalized and delivered DD 6 days later. Good luck!