Bilirubin in urine

[hoffman80]

I am a survivor of pre-e 3x. My pre-e seemed to get worse with each pregnancy. My last required me to be transported to **** via ambulance. It has bothered me ever since because my dr. seemed to not really care or be concerned about my condition. I delivered at 34 weeks and the baby suffered weight loss in utero. She was born 3# 12 oz. She is since small for her age and experiences a few developmental delays and other small medical problems. She has decreased hearing and other ear problems. One thing has bothered me immensely and I have never gotten any direct answers and wondered if someone here might have some answers.
During my pregnancy, I was put on bedrest about 24 weeks. Modified bedrest and strict bedrest at 30 weeks. I had 3+ protein at 28 weeks and ketones in my urine. At 32 weeks I was told (rather nanchalantly) that I had bilirubins in my urine. My 24 hour urine catch produced less than 2 cups of urine. I was told not to be concerned and to be on as much bedrest as being a stay at home mom to a 10 month old would allow. At 34 weeks I went into the hospital with severe headaches and blackouts. My BP was 190/120. I was not producing urine. After 3 IV bags I could only urinate less than a tablespoon. I could not bend my fingers. In the morning I was transferred to **** where they broke my water at 7:30pm. I received an epidural and less than a half hour later my bp was 40/20 and I had blacked out. My husband was in the room and said they brought in the crash cart and had to give me epinephrine 3x. I almost died from the epidural. On the ambulance ride up there I asked the nurse what it meant to have bilirubins in my urine. She seemed rather shocked and said that I was really sick. My question is this...how sick is really sick? I have researched a little online (not alot out there) and am under the impression my kidneys were not functioning and that my liver perhaps was beginning to do the same. Is this correct?
I switched from that dr. because when I finally got my daughter transferred back to my home hospital for growth at 1 week, he looked at me and said "I was just waiting for something bad like that to happen to you." I don't feel I received the best medical care I should have and It has bothered me ever since.
I have been told that I need to speak to a lawyer, but am not sure if there was anything done wrong or if I am just over reacting. Any thoughts?

[julie f]

Crystal,

Hi and welcome to you. My goodness, I am sorry for the time that you had with your last pregnancy.

We can't provide any legal advice here as far as whether or not you should contact a lawyer, but I can tell you what I would do if in your situation. I would order all of my medical records - from the doctor's office and both hospitals - and I would find a high-risk OB to go through them with me, if anything, it will help you to understand just exactly what happened. My husband and I actually went over our records with three different perinatologists to fully understand our experience with preeclampsia. I would guess that they would be the ones qualified to let you know whether there were any legal options available to you.

Again, I am so sorry for your experience. The women here are wonderful, full of support. Please don't hesitate to let us know how we can be of help.

[hoffman80]

Thank you for your response. My big concern is if I can ever even consider having another child. Nobody seems to give me the same answer. ONe will say it will be fine. Another says I would need close monitoring. Yet another says no way no how I would most likely die. So confusing.

[julie f]

Crystal,

After our first son died, we too were so scared that we'd be told never to try again. Like your experience, we were also told a whole range of things - from using a surrogate to no worries, it just wouldn't happen again... That was why we ended up meeting with several different perinatologists, we wanted to find the one that had a plan we were most comfortable with.

One thing I forgot to ask in my last post, have you been tested for underlying disorders that can incease one's risk of developing preeclampsia (blood clotting, autoimmune, etc.)?

[hoffman80]

No I haven't...Like I said my dr tended to blow things off alot. The only thing I got tested for was after my 2nd pregnancy I had a colposcopy due to severly abnormal pap. He never even did any blood work on me during the worst times of the pregnancy. In fact once I went into the hospital because I felt so awful at the end, they couldn't even find record of my 24 hour urine catch. I had to tell them I had it done. What was weird was that I switched doctors to go to him while I was pregnant with my first daughter 12 years ago because he seemed so pro-active about everything telling me that the next pregnancy I should be on meds for the blood pressure. I never did get put on any of those. Ever since my last pregnancy I just don't feel right. But I know that they say there aren't lasting effects from pre-e, but I just feel off, ya know? Like I have this constantly recurring pain under my ribs on both sides. And my lower back on the sides often times feels like there are paring knives shoved in them. I mean, how many times can a persons body recover from their kidneys shutting down? I had that happen 4 times...all 3 pregnancies and once when I had a serious infection from surgery and was becoming septic.

[julie f]

Crystal,

If in your shoes I would be going to see a perinagtologist ASAP! There are several underlying disorders that can increase your risk from preeclampsia. Given that you've had preeclampsia in all of your pregnancies, I think it's reasonable to assume that there may be something going on... Often times, if issues are found, they can be successfully managed during future pregnancies. Here is a link to a list of tests that many of our members have had done after an experience with preeclampsia: http://www.preeclampsia.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3513&SearchTerms=mthfr There is no universal standard to date though, so you may find your doctor may vary a little on what tests are ordered.. In any case, whether you decide to become pregnant again or not, it's important to know if you have any of these issues.

Hang in there and keep us posted!

[hoffman80]

I will do that as soon as my insurance kicks in at new job. Thank you so much for responding.