Heather,
I could care less about your spelling! lol [:D] I did not have preeclampsia (well, I might have had a mild case,post partum but my diagnosis was not changed), what I had is called pregnancy induced hypertension (PIH). Basically, I had the high blood pressure and swelling but nothing more than trace ammounts of protein in my urine. The blood pressure did cause something called oligohydramniosis which is to say that my amniotic fluid level was very low (meaning the level of nutrients getting to the baby was being affected) and had it not bettered by the strict bedrest, I would have delivered my daughter very early. There are multiple varieties of PE related pregnancy problems. All are scary.

This section of the forums "ask the experienced" is for those of us who have personally been affected by PE. "Ask the experts" is where you can ask questions of doctors specializing in this area. You can get there by clicking on the "All forums" link (at the top of this page) then when your new page opens, scrolling down to the link labeled "ask the experts." Getting responses may take a while in that forum because these doctors donate their time and are, understandably, quite busy. Also, it is suggested that you read through other questions or do a "search" to see if your specific question has been answered before.

In regards to finding good doctors, here is a website with names and addresses of doctors that specialize in hypertension in pregnancy:
http://www.nasshp.org/address.htm

It is very important that you feel comfortable with your doctor if you should go through another pregnancy and I would recommend that if your pregnancy is being treated by an OB that they atleast consult with a Maternal Fetal Specialist (or Perinatologist). I'm sure if you need further help finding a specialist near you, someone here will be able to help.

Feel free to ask any more questions you may have! That is how I've learned what I know.

Catherine (22)
DH Britton (27)
Emma Margaret (03/02/03) 37 weeks from PIH & oligo

Heather,

Welcome to the site, you will find a lot of information and tons of support here. I found the Foundation a couple weeks after I lost my son, he was born at 26 weeks because of preeclampsia, and it has literally saved my sanity and helped me cope with the most horrible thing that has ever happened to me. It is amazing how women you have never met can help you pick up the pieces of your life and find a way to move on. Just reading the posts and stories makes me feel so much more at peace knowing that I am not alone and, that there do end up being many happy endings - even though the road is a difficult one.

I am sorry about your continuing pain, I hope you're able to get in to the doctor soon.

Julie
Zachary James, 7/22/03-7/27/03, born at 26 weeks due to severe pe

thanks for the reply... is there any docters that come on this site... i don't know much about the preeclampsia foundation. I just came across it a few hours ago. I don't even know much about preeclampsia... did you have it with your pregnancy? or someone close to you? the docters in my area really are not that good. even my regular docter is prety bad. After having my son I have still been feeling sick(not the preclamsia) but like I have stumach ulcers or somthing so i have been on pain medication until i can see some type of gastroenterologest and even my regular docter thinks i am to young to have ulcers and i had to tell her to send me to this type of docter not her tell me... If you ever need a docter never come to Northern Va these docters are just headachs, it is vary hard to find the good ones hear.
So what do you think of this site? are the people pretty nice? Excuss my spelling i am not that good of a speller.
thanks agian,
heather

Heather,

*not a doctor*
As far as recurrance goes, I have read anywhere from a 20-60% chance depending on severity, underlying causes and other factors. Here is an "ask the experts" link to this topic:
http://www.preeclampsia.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=331

About prevention...since there is no known cause, as of yet, the best thing you can do is to be as healthy as you can be and watch closely for symptoms in your next pg (if you should have one). I beleive there is a section about this under "about preeclampsia" on the main pages. There is also some testing you can have to check for an underlying cause of preeclampsia...things such as autoimmune diseases and clotting disorders that would make you much more suseptible yet also more treatable, it seems.

There is nothing that you really need to look for in your baby, that I am aware of.

Congratulations on the birth of your little one and WELCOME!


Catherine (22)
DH Britton (27)
Emma Margaret (03/02/03) 37 weeks from PIH & oligo

I just had my 1st child 3 months ago and it was the worst pregnancy ever. I kept telling my doctor something was wrong due to my feet, legs, hands and face where swollen. My back and hips hurt all the time. I could not get any sleep sense laying down at night was so painful and the light kept me awake during the day. I kept seeing little flying lights that almost looked like flyer flies and kept putting on massive weight. At the beginning of pregnancy I weighed about 215 pounds and the day before I delivered I weighed a little over 280. Now I am down to 222 pounds, so I can tell that a lot of it was water weight. I looked so bad. My doctor jumped on me and told me I was just eating too much when I felt like I was starving all the time even though I did eat, ( [:p] some junk food, but what pregnant woman does not eat donuts and cookies?). My blood test came back okay and my urine just had a trace of protein. My blood pressure was fine, most of the time except sometimes it would be high but then the nurse would just take it again and say it was because I moved and now it is back to normale.. it seemed odd to me... why I had a lot of the symptoms of preeclampsia and yet the doctor did not diagnose it at the time... yet when I gave birth she diagnosed it in documentation but did not tell me. I just found out today... 3 months latter due to some file mix up at the hospital that also ran a clinic that I went to at the beginning of my pregnancy that because of loosing my file and me getting upset over it I switched to a privet doctor that had privileges at that same hospital. So to make this long and painful story short they finally found the record they lost. I had complained to them the other day and signed a release of info to myself to be sent to my home and just got it to review and then I found that she had diagnosed me with Preeclampsia on the day that I had delivered my son.

I thought this was a bit toooo late considering it is a life threatening disease for both mother and child but I cant do much about it now... but if anyone reads this... make sure you push your doctor to keep a close eye on you if you just have the smallest feeling that something is not right with your body... you are the best judge and know your body better then anyone else and you are the only one that baby has to depend on.

but to my question... if anyone can answer it and is qualified... because I got preeclamsia with my first pregnancy will this happen for sure with my second or what can I do to try to prevent it? Is there any thing that can be wrong with my son now that I had it... he seems fine and happy but is there anything I should look for in the future?
Thanks,
Heather