General Anesthesia

[amallison]

I had HELLP syndrome over a year ago, and I'm just now starting to feel "normal". My question is about general anesthesia for delivery. My doctor decided to deliver me this way. Was anybody else delivered under general? I can't remember very much of my experience, which is probably a good thing, but am curious as to what others know about the reasoning behind this decision.

[tree]

Many women with HELLP deliver under general anesthesia. They will generally not give you an epidural if your platelets are too low or dropping too fast because of the bleeding risk. I had an epidural, but my platelets were still above 50K when I delivered. I don't know what the cutoff is for an epidural.
It look me a year to feel normal too. I am glad you are finally getting there. It is long road.

[Mari2012]

Yes, I developed HELLP at 28.5 and had a C-section under general anesthesia for exactly the reason Teresa mentioned. My platlets dropped too low for an epidural, so I had to get a blood transfusion, wait for the platlets to go up, and then surgery.