HELLP with no prior symptoms

[KellyBadman]

I was diagnosed with HELLP at the time of my induction at 40 weeks, 4 days. I had a fairly easy pregnancy, never any blood pressure issues, no protein in urine, no swelling, nothing. I had not made progress with my delivery so we decided to go in for an induction. I had some discomfort and had trouble sleeping so after the procedure I took an ambien to help me sleep until the next morning. My nurse woke me up around midnight saying my blood work came back with my platelet levels below 75,000 and elevated liver enzymes. We had to go in for an emergency c section and luckily I had a healthy baby girl and recovered with no major complications after delivery. The entire experience was rather terrifying with what could have happened. Does anyone else have a similar experience with HELLP and no symptoms whatsoever? I am wondering how closely others have been monitored with subsequent pregnancies as this whole experience has made me fearful of having another child someday.

[blythe]

I'm glad you found us but sorry you had to! HELLP does move fast and can have very little warning, but your case sounds particularly hit-and-run!

If I'm remember right, just off the top of my head, Anna - aajatwins - had eclampsia with very little warning during delivery, and Catherine went from "fine" at her noon appointment to "full organ failure" at about 2am that night. Both had healthy subsequent pregnancies. I'll see if I can remember anyone else with such sudden onset!

I do know our experts are generally encouraging about subsequent pregnancies, especially when you got sick at term. Have you had an MFM consult to see their thoughts for your specific case in another pregnancy?

Please keep asking questions! How old is your baby now?

[yellowroseo]

I had very little warning with my hellp syndrome. The only thing I had was swelling which they believed to be "normal" When my face got swollen at 36 weeks I went in to triage just to get checked out and they were about to send me home(no protein in my urine, BP stable) when my blood work came back low platelets and elevated liver enzymes. I had my son that night via emergency C. Section. I too am afraid to have another child. I am reaching the end of my 5 year plan(mirena IUD) so we have to make a decision soon. Some days I really want to and other days it seems like a bad idea. My son will be 5 in November and thankfully is healthy. It just scares me to take the risk of potentially leaving him without a mother.

[blythe]

If it helps, I like this response from one of our experts -
http://www.preeclampsia.org/forum/viewt ... 13#p240113
"In general, I counsel women that I can protect them from the risk of dying - at the expense of delivering a preterm baby. This reassurance is dependent on a care system that is aggressive with medical management of hypertension. "

And an extensive discussion of maternal issues from a few years ago - long, but a lot of good posts
http://www.preeclampsia.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=21361

[lkw787]

I had no symptoms at all. My case of HELLP hit violently with no warning.

My husband says that he noticed that my ankles and feet looked a little more swollen than usual but other than that, there were no indications that anything was amiss until the night I developed an excruciating headache and began vomiting violently.

I had been in to see my OB a few days before and she noticed nothing unusual. My bp and my urine checked out o.k.

Good luck to you!

Sincerely,

Lisa

[tritons05]

I had a very healthy pregnancy and had no idea what could be happening when I started feeling nauseous and having headaches at 38 weeks. I thought that I was just getting ready for delivery and was a little under the weather. I went in at 39 weeks and 2 days for a pre-op appointment as I was set to have a c-section (my baby was breech) and my blood pressure was elevated (140-150s over 90s) but there was no protein in my urine. They had me stay in the hospital all day to complete my work-up (non-stress test, talking with anesthesiologist, blood work) before deciding to order more labs just to be safe before sending me home. Within an hour I was in the OR as I had both elevated liver enzymes and low platelets. Thank goodness I had a preplanned c-section otherwise who knows what may have happened. I feel so lucky they found it in time as it does seem the disease progresses quickly! Since I had no signs of pre-eclampsia I was not looking out for HELLP syndrome (even though I am a nurse and know all about it). I think that awareness is key and I am so glad that the nurses and doctors in the hospital had the good sense to just check to make sure I was ok. My little boy came out healthy (although much smaller that previous scans had suggested) and I had an extended hospital stay for fluctuating liver enzymes but it all ended out ok in the end!

[tree]

Hi Tritons05, Welcome to the forum! I am glad to hear that you and baby are ok now.

[KellyBadman]

Thank you everyone for your responses and sharing your stories. My daughter is now 6 months old and doing great! My doctor seems optimistic regarding the possibility of future pregnancies, he didn't go into detail just more close monitoring. Right now I am still fearful of that possibility and am enjoying my time with my little girl. Wishing lots of luck and prayers to those of you with HELLP.