Time to TTC

[blythe]

Laura, kbielec just had her baby at 26 weeks http://www.preeclampsia.org/forum/viewt ... 17&t=45122
She had a rough time but her baby is in the NICU now.

Catherine (search her posts) had a very severe experience with HELLP in her second pregnancy and had a perfectly healthy pregnancy with her third. We've also had many other moms come back to have healthy pregnancies after severe disease and losses. We've had women with repeat losses, too, so there are no guarantees, but in general if the disease does hit again in subsequent pregnancies it happens later and less severe.

I think our Experts quoted a 5% HELLP recurrence rate (although a higher PE recurrence rate), possibly because they will be watching you more closely and can catch early lab abnormalities and signs and symptoms before you progress from PE to HELLP.

I hope that helps a little!

[angieb]

I'm curious, did you decide to TTC? I had HELLP with a liver rupture in 2008 and had PE after the delivery of my son in 2011. No more kids for us now, but hoping for some great outcomes for others!

She's currently pregnant.

[laura681]

I'm curious, did you decide to TTC? I had HELLP with a liver rupture in 2008 and had PE after the delivery of my son in 2011. No more kids for us now, but hoping for some great outcomes for others!

[jules2]

Yes, I understand. I know my case was "severe" in every respect, my PE specialist rated it was "10/10" on the severity scale (what ever that really means). It is not reassuring to be told that. I have to tell myself that this time everyone would be more prepared... and I've probably already seen the worst that PE can do to me. It is so hard though.

[tree]

quote:Originally posted by kbielec

Well - there's been a turn of events...wanted to share - think this will be the end of the road for our TTC dreams...
My doctor wrote to me in an email :
I did have the chance to review your records. I was quite impressed by how bad your liver tests were and compromised your renal (kidney) function was-pretty much one of the worst HELLP syndromes I have seen short of a true liver rupture. We get a baseline set of labs including 24 hour urine analysis to make sure there is no long-lasting damage. I hope to hear from you as soon as possible.

This is a lot to digest, and it is frightening. You certainly deserve the time to process it. You already knew that you were really sick, but has to be hard to have "the worst" confirmed by a high-risk doctor who has seen some BAD cases. That said, I agree with the previous posters that you could wait until you get your new lab results to make any decisions. Your risk depends more on your health now, your recovery, and management of underlying conditions than it does on what happened in the past. It seems wise to emotionally prepare for some bad test results but not to plan on them. It isn't a done deal yet.
If it helps, I met a HELLP survivor a few months ago who had been incredibly sick. She and her son survived after a long NICU/ICU stay, and she introduced me to her 12 week old daughter. She was able to stay pregnant six weeks longer (34 weeks) and "only" got pre-E with her daughter. It was a good outcome for her, and it was a heck of a lot easier than her first pregnancy/birth. It doesn't happen for everyone, but it does happen for some people.

[kbielec]

I will wait and see what the labs say - but, I am "scared" by the comment that it was one of the worst cases my Doctor ever saw...I certainly feel lucky to be here today after the 5 day stay in the ICU and just am unsure if I can put myself and family at risk again. A lot to think about.

[jules2]

I'm so sorry to hear this, but I would wait to get those labs done before you make any final decisions. x

[l412angel]

Oh im sorry I see it was 2008. Any any rate I would check into any damage that was done. When did you have your last tests done and which tests have you had done?

[l412angel]

Dont give up hope! Do your 24 hour urine and go from there!! When did you deliver?

[kbielec]

Well - there's been a turn of events...wanted to share - think this will be the end of the road for our TTC dreams...
My doctor wrote to me in an email :
I did have the chance to review your records. I was quite impressed by how bad your liver tests were and compromised your renal (kidney) function was-pretty much one of the worst HELLP syndromes I have seen short of a true liver rupture. We get a baseline set of labs including 24 hour urine analysis to make sure there is no long-lasting damage. I hope to hear from you as soon as possible.