When is swelling concerning?

[MomTimesThree]

I also find myself looking for the shoe to drop since that was/has been our normal. I remember when I was pregnant with my 2nd reading a sign as "Expecting a Crisis?" when really it said "Experiencing a Crisis?" Such a fine line!!

So thankful to hear that so far all is well! May it stay that way the remainder of your pregnancy!!

Lauren

[danielsmom]

Well, the swelling has been completely gone now for a few days, and my BP is lovely. So I guess I'm a normal pregnant woman who overdid it shopping. I knew better. I must have been on my feet for over 4 hours, and they were killing me when I got back in the car.

It's amazing... everything has been going really well, but when I saw the swelling I thought, this is it! I need to chill out.

Laughinggirl - thanks for the sweet words. I hope we're both huge and pregnant when it's hot and miserable!

[mom41]

Congratulations on progressing pregnancy. My swelling is not a "textbook" one. In my first pregnancy i had leg edema gradually increasing since week 25-27 never developed pre-e, my BP was higher but as far as it was documented never over over 140/90. After my subsequent pre-e twin pg loss i went to my original OB and reviewed my records. I was also checking at home and remember occasional reading up to 140/90. i delivered at 40 weeks and had more swelling after i delivered. With the twins i was working a lot, not paying attention to my symptoms much, but remember putting my feet up at night starting week 17 when 1 twin was few days behind on sono but it was not concerning. Swelling was not a major problem when i was diagnosed w pre-e and had to deliver within 24 hrs. at that point i had +2-3 protein, high BP but i had more swelling(legs only) after the delivery up to 4 months. At that point the urine was clear but i had to stay on BP meds. With this pregnancy I take it VERY easy, rest on my left side as much as I can, wear compressive stockings and I noticed mild leg and hands swelling on/off. I feel puffy all over, but mild swelling just comes and go. I freaked out when it happened at 20iesh week but it subsided within the same day. I have no protein in urine at dr office and when checking at home, but I think the swelling gets worse when my BP goes up .. My BP responds well to labetalol and so does seem the swelling.. go figure .. so in my case i"ll be concerned when my swelling is consistent coupled with =2-=3 protein in urine, confirmed by 24 hr collection.

[laughinggirl127]

I had a lot of swelling before I was diagnosed with pre e and noticed some the other day. I even bought ketone sticks from the pharmacy to check my urine at home. I don't think it is anything to be concerned about just yet but once a worrier I am sure that we all will be. I am so glad that this pregnancy has been much better than your last. I also wanted to say thanks for being so positive on the boards and giving such good support. I love to follow your post. I am due a month after you so hopefully we will both have long boring pregnancies.

[danielsmom]

Thank you! Reassurance is always good. My doctor acknowledged the pitting edema, and he echoed what you guys say about it not being serious unless it's in the face. My BP is back down today, so he said I probably made myself nervous last night worrying about the edema. I was actually kind of surprised that my weight hasn't changed in 3 weeks, so that's also kind of good as long as baby girl is growing.

The baby and the fluid are looking great! It's so strange - yet it is so nice - to go this far without a single thing come up that is worrysome... such a polar opposite of our last time around. They even sent me home with the glucose drink thingy so I can take it before my next appointment. We didn't even make it that far before!

[momof4as]

Alviarin is right, when swelling spreads to hands and face its reason for worry. My Dr says a wt gain of more than 3-5 lbs a week with swelling is concerning

Edema in pregnancy is normal especially after being so active...keep an eye on it, and watch those pressures =) but I'd probably let my dr know about it just to be safe.

[alviarin]

I know some swelling is normal in pregnancy, but I always thought swelling moving up into hands and/or face was of more concern.

You are supposed to mention pitting edema to your doc (where the indentation doesn't bounce back like normal), but it can occur in normal pregnancies too. Let us know what the they say today about the indentation/rise in BP.

[danielsmom]

I'm 26 weeks and everything has been perfect so far. I started getting sick at 25 weeks the last time. Last night while in the shower, I noticed a huge dent in my ankles (more in one than the other) from where my sock was. It was actually kind of hard to shave. This has never happened before. The socks aren't tight, just plain cotton athletic socks. It took over an hour for the dent to go away. I took my blood pressure and it was not high, but a little higher than usual at 115/80. It's usually 100/60. We went shopping the night before and I walked quite a bit, but yesterday I was pretty sedentary.

Is this kind of normal for any pregnancy? Am I just paranoid? To look at me, you wouldn't think I'm swelling... it's not bad, but its the change that concerns me with my ankles. I see the doctor today, but I just wondered if anyone else has experienced this for awhile without developing pre-e.