Headaches first.. and for how long? plus visual stuff ?

[melissaa]

Seems like the headaches are usually my first symptom of pre-e (or they have been with the past two pregnacies), then bp, then protein. I have had headaches for the past 2 weeks bad and bp's are creeping up. Did this happen for anyone else? How long did your headaches last before the other symptoms arose?
I had my growth scan today and baby looked perfect in the 56th percentile! They said my bp in the office was 120/70 but I had the horrible headache towards the middle-end of the visit and still have it. I cant shake it and its AWFUL! I told the dr that the fioricet didnt touch it and she said that the next step would be to send me to neuro but that they probably couldnt offer me anything (I know they cant b/c they sent me there with DS right as my BP's started creeping up). She didnt seem concerned at all by the shoulder blade pain that comes and goes and just told me to continue to watch my bp's and she'll see me in 2 wks. The headache I have leaves me feeling very weird behind my eyes, im constantly feeling spaced out and my eyes seem to be off focus (like, my vision is different in both eyes or im only wearing one contact) a lot mostly in my right eye. The feel kind of swollen too.

[marilyn621]

That is exactly how my head feels and the vision thing is spot on. I've had the headache for what gels like a month now. With my first I had it for about two weeks and it was the only warning sign I had before everything went bad. I didn't have high BP or protein until I went into l&d and it was in the 200s and I was nephrotic.

[mychaelelaine]

It's so weird that I stumbled on this thread! I've wondered how everyone progressed with pe and or hellp. I had both. I don't remember any visual disturbances last year when I lost my daughter. I felt like I had the flu, vomitted, had a headache, and edema. The first symptom though was elevated bp. This time, the first sign was elevating bp, then protein in my urine. Now I have the headache that won't go away and as the op said, feels like a contact came out.

[alviarin]

Melissa, just wondering how you are feeling & if head pain was any better?

[melissaa]

Unfortunately the headache is still there.. visual blurriness comes and goes. My bp is decent though (127/87 yesterday) and Im keeping a close eye on it. I also got some protein dip sticks (which im not entirely sure work for me since I was dipping a negative when I had a 500 24 hr with DS) but they at least help ease my mind a bit. My hands are swelling some but nothing terrible. Its getting hard to breathe but im sure thats just typical pregnancy related. I m still hvaing shoulder pain off and on and heartburn (right under my breastbone) comes and goes a lot the past few days. Its just so hard not to over analyze and be nervous about every little symptom. I find that its on my mind at least 85% of the day and with my history, Im just waiting on the ball to drop. Luckily with my other two it seemed somewhat slow moving.. but I know it can be fast too, so its still scary.
Thanks for checking in on me

[alviarin]

Does your doc know about your change in symptoms? Ie feeling short of breath plus swelling moving into hands? If not I'd call & update them. And maybe mention you still have a bad headache that fiorcet didn't touch. They might want you to come in sooner than your next scheduled appointment to get checked out.

Shortness of breath always worries me, though it can be normal for some as baby gets bigger. Feeling weak & short of breath was my main pre-e symptom w/ my son. Even w/ a negative urine dip and slightly high BP. Less than 24 hours later I was in the hospital w/ severe preeclampsia. I was retaining a lot of fluid, and shortness of breathe was worse when laying down.

Please keep us posted as you are able.

[melissaa]

I did mention the fact that the fioricet didnt touch the headaches and they said they could send me to neuro but that neuro probably couldnt do much for me.. they did this with the headaches with my son as well and I did go, and they couldnt do anything then, so I declined going this time. The headaches are exactly the same as they were with him. When I lay down at night, the pressure of the pillow hurts. It hurts behind my eyes often too and it seems to bother me more when im sitting than when im actually up moving around. They dont seem concerned about much of anything b/c my bp isnt that high.. they just keep telling me to keep an eye on my bp and if I have URQ pain under my rib, to come in.

It worries me b/c I never had what classified as "high" bp with my daughter, so the practice I was at with her never did a 24 hr urine on me. She ended up being in severe distress at 35 weeks and had to be delivered with 4th percentile IUGR and I was told after I demanded care, and after her delivery (they actually broke her leg getting her out so fast), that she would have been stillborn within a week or two. They are giving me growth scans this pregnancy but only every 4 weeks (28 weeks, 32 weeks and 36). I dont have a clue what actually caused her IUGR. I did have a horrible persistent cough with chest pressure and tachycardia (which has stayed with me.. I had a cardiac ablation in december that didnt work) but my pressures only got as high as 130/80 a few times and I actually lost 7 lbs the last week I was pregnant.

[melissaa]

My bp right now is 116/67. Its so all over the place. I dont understand where the headache/blurriness is coming from, why my BP's are so weird, or why I had 185 protein in the 24 hour almost 2 weeks ago. :/ Very frustrating.

[alviarin]

I replied to you in another thread, but I did want to add that a neuro consult couldn't hurt and might help.

We had another poster this year that reported being dx'd with status migranous, and a course of IV meds prescribed by a neurologist broke her migraine.