400+ Protein in urine nothing else

[dagowe]

Hey Everyone,

I am a first time dad with a wife with strange symptons. My WIfe is 34weeks & 6 days. She was a very high protein count in her urine of 499. She does not have any other symptons(ie. vision probs,High BP, or swollen). She has never had high BP or kidney problems before. The doctors told her she needs to she a specialist. has anyone ever heard of this? Or seen these symptoms.

Concerned Father

[akemt]

Duane, I responded in the "ask the experienced" forum, but wanted to welcome you here as well. Hopefully Gordon, our "Dads" moderator will be along to give you advice and support specific to that of being the man in residence shortly. When is your wife's specialist appointment? Is she seeing a MFM specialist/perinatologist (high-risk pregnancy specialist) or a nephrologist (kidney specialist)?

Best wishes,

[anathor21]

Well, don't know as I can really give you a lot of good info - the protein level, even absent other symptoms is concerning of course. What is her BP running? and how is that compared to her non-pregnant BP (if you know..)?

The protein in urine isn't really a true problem in itself I've been told. However it is an indicator that something isn't right and it seems they don't yet know what that "something" is (the great unknown the thing we fear the most eh?).

So, don't panic :) easier said than done of course. I would suggest that you bring up watching development/growh of your baby (i.e. ask about ultrasound growth checks). Best to get a good baseline here before there are real problems (likely you did one somwhere around 20 weeks I assume... don't know if that is the protocol everywhere though.)

Best of luck and I sincerely hope that this just turns out to be a bump in the road - I'd take the advice and see a MFM specialist - it may help to put some fears out of the way.

[eddie_k]

CF,

My wife had severe PE/HELLP with her first pregnancy at 29 weeks. Her sypmtoms were very atypical. So the fact that your doctor suggested see a spsecialist is a good thing. Seeing a specialist is something that we are doing with our second pregnancy and they know what to look for. Educate yourself on PE and ask all the questions you might have. It will help you to know what else to look for. Like Anathor21 said, ask about growth measurements, kidney and liver blood work, BP as relative to non-pregnancy, vision issues, swelling, etc. Just educate yourself and see a doctor that is versed in these issues and it iwll help to calm the storm. We will keep you in our prayers and please if you have any questions, feel free to ask.

[gordon k]

Concerned Father,

First off, the official disclaimer...I am not a doctor and don't play one on the forum. My comments are limited to personal experience and information obtained from my wife's medical care. I know from experience that you can't help but worry when you're wife is pregnant, but I'm glad that you're being vigilant and looking out for her.

It's my understanding that not all symptoms will manifest themselves during pregnancy and your current physician's desire to refer you to a specialist is prudent. You may want to refer to the signs and symptoms page http://www.preeclampsia.org/symptoms.asp for a fairly comprehensive list of things to watch out for.

The high protein count is definitely a cause for concern, but not panic. Finding a specialist that can explain exactly what is going on and how they are going to manage the pregnancy is very important. In my wife's case, we were referred to a top-notch perinatologist who gave us peace of mind by explaining everything from what's going on with her and the twins, to how her meds worked, to what to look out for, and by just being there to answer each and every question to our satisfaction. Good luck in finding the specialist who will give you and your wife peace of mind and answers, and please check back in with a status update.

Gordon

P.S. I don't know if your wife's doctor referred her specifically to a maternal-fetal specialist, but you can find specialists on http://www.smfm.org

[lucy]

Concerned Father, I just wanted to add my welcome.

[eddie_k]

CF,

Hoping eveything is going well. You are in our thoughts and prayers. LEt us know if you have nay questions.

Eddie

[dagowe]

Thanks you guys for all the weel wish and good advise. I am truly blessed that I was able to find this site. It has definatly help in my time of need. Well I know it has been a while since the last post. Here's the Update, Last Friday we say the Specialist. He did all the needed and was surprised I know as much as I did about PreE. After All the Tests were done he concluded that its was Brick Layers Syndrome. He told us that this Syndrome was found 5 years ago and it was more common in men who lift heavy items and put pressure on there spine leaning back. This strain would also put stress on there kidneys.

[kdreher]

I too wanted to welcome you and your wife. While it is not an alarming time, it is one to be on your toes and get all the information you can so all is well. I also get the comments from my OB and specialist as to how informed I am, I am their "ideal" patient they say. Was your wife lifting heavy things??? I had never heard of this before.

[lorelei]

Wow, interesting..Never heard of this before either. Hope that your wife will improve.