27 weeks with number 3 *Headaches*!

[froggie81]

Hey everyone,

This is baby number 3 for us. I had my daughter in 2008 and was induced 4 weeks early due to severe pre eclampsia. I have normally low blood pressure and they never checked my urine there after feeling off for a couple weeks one day I just couldn't take it anymore and went to L&D. There they checked my urine and even though my BP wasn't super bad 120-125/850-85ish I had severe spillage in protein on the dipstick one 24 hour urine later at the hospital and I was induced immediately. They ended up checking it after 12 hours because my BP started to climb higher and I already had more than 5 grams in it.

My second pregnancy I was fine my whole pregnancy and then just at the very end I started spilling a little protein in my urine and my BP started to go up slightly so I was induced at 40 weeks with him.

Onto this pregnancy I am currently 27 weeks pregnant with baby number 3 and so far my pregnancy has been pretty great. I am on day 3 of a severe headache that wont go away with tylenol. The headache is worse when I am standing up or walking but still there when I sit down. Oddly I actually have a 24 hour urine to do just to get a baseline reading so incase anything goes haywire they know where my numbers started at that I need to take in on friday (meaning tomorrow I'll be collecting everything). I checked my blood pressure and I can't remember the numbers but it looked fine (it was under 120/80.) Should I still be concerened seeing I can't shake this headache? Can pre-e really start this early? For those who have had it this early what was your treatment to get you to bake the baby longer if possible? What about in cases where there is proteina but blood pressure is stable? I have 2 other kids at home complete bedrest is impossible. I just don't know what to think. I am really starting to feel "off" almost like I'm coming down with something but it never hits fully or goes away fully. Any help/advice would be greatly appriciated.

Thanks!

[Raposa]

Preeclampsia can start any time after 20 weeks, so unfortunately you're already in the "possible" zone.

Some of the ladies get blood pressure spikes when they stand up that go away when sitting or lying down. I would definitely call the doc after 3 days of headache that won't die.

[MomTimesThree]

Pre-e can certainly start this early. Given your history I would for sure give your doctor a call and let them know about your headache, especially since it won't go away with Tylenol. My doctor for sure would have wanted to know if I was having a headache like that. Could be nothing, or like you said, maybe getting sick, but better a doctor to decide that then you or us.

[gratiana]

I'll second (fourth? fifth?) the advice on this. Without trying to imply that you're in the same boat and totally freak you out, I got severe PE and HELLP at 24 weeks after a totally uneventful early pregnancy the first time around. Once they'd noted my high BP and protein spillage and diagnosed me with mild PE, the only thing that signaled the shift from mild PE to severe-PE-with-Stage-IV-HELLP (i.e., BAD, must deliver NOW, in less than a week from initial diagnosis), was a nasty headache that wouldn't go away and just kept getting worse.

With luck, you've just got a nasty headache. But let your doctor make that call—better safe than sorry.