Severe Itching

MissusG · Jun 27, 2011 4:11AM

Hello Ladies,

Since the wee hours of Sunday morning, I have been incredibly itchy all over my body, but with emphasis on my legs and ankles. I've scratched my skin into a terrible mess with it.

If I can take my mind off it, I don't scratch as intensely, just when I get the occasional big itch, but through the night last night was really bad. I put baby lotion on, but it only made the scratching messier.

Now, having looked through my pregnancy books, I'm now paranoid about this cholestasis liver thing. Does anyone have any experience with this ailment? I hope I'm barking up the wrong tree by even mentioning it.

I'll be seeing MW on Wednesday for my glucose tolerance test, so if I'm still itchy, I'll be talking to her then, but hopefully someone can ease my mind before then...

piggypops · Apr 18, 2011 4:34PM

my friend has severe itching which turned out to be related to her baby and the testotserone i think its called pupps? this unfortunatley didnt go until the baby came

it defo worth getting checked out to make sure its not liver related, they would do some bloods to check this

hope all is ok x

mrsgood07 · Apr 20, 2011 9:17AM

hey MissusG I had this 2 weeks ago really bad am still bad but not as bad. i went to my gp and they did liver function and bile acid tests it came back negative but I scratch so bad that my legs bleed. I've now worke out that it is worse if I have been stood up all day and my legs swell a bit at night or if I get warm legs they itch. My legs were in an awful mess

thankfully the scabs are going now and i've been really good not to itch. Definitely worth a mention it's only a blood test let us know how you get on x

KazzieM · Apr 20, 2011 9:27AM

Hi, I have really bad itching too and now have what looks like friction burn on my back where I can't stop scratching. Try using cocoa butter or E45 cream instead of baby lotion as its not as oily and soaks into skin better. It can be any number of reasons from skin stretching to pupps to liver/kidney infections. Pupps will usually give you a nice red rash appearance not to be mistaken with stretch marks and is to do with testosterone level increases most commonly associated with carrying little boys. If in doubt talk to midwife who will prob take blood sample to test for infections, better safe than sorry.

mummy2agorgeousboy · Apr 20, 2011 6:01PM

hey GC from DIA but im the same but mines my boobs, my bump and arms seen mw today shes not worried says it could be due to skin stretching if you have a tight bump its worse...worth a mention though but in the meantime she told me to avoid any moisturisor with fragrance have one for sensitive skin and rub it in when you get out of bath and are still a bit damp so it can absorb better. Dont use any perfumed products in the bath etc either could be diferent as ur further along but if any of that helps in the next few days worth it lol x

MissusG · Apr 21, 2011 5:42AM

Thanks for your replies ladies.

So my MW was great yesterday and has sent off some blood to check out the bile acid level. She also reassured me that itching could still be caused by hormones without having anything wrong with the liver - in which case it's just a case of trying to relieve the itching with calomine lotion or something. That's really reassuring as the thought of having a condition leading to an early IOL was quite worrying.

I'm not itching quite as much during the day now - just at night. On Monday night there was a period of about ten minutes where I literally had no will to take my hands away from my feet to stop scratching, the itchiness was so bad!

I'll update again when I get the blood results back, but I'm less worried about it showing up any liver condition now

MissusG · May 2, 2011 2:04PM

Hi Sherbetfizz!!

You're so close to your due date - it's scary!! I'll pop over to DIM and send you a message.

Update on my itching!

Blood test came back normal, so no liver problems thankfully.

My sever itching has also thankfully passed and now I just feel a bit more itchy than normal, which I suppose I could put down to any number of factors from heat to hormones. But I'm not itching to bleeding point anymore

xx

Teapot · May 3, 2011 6:25AM

Glad your blood test came back normal and the itching has subsided. I had an itchy tummy and back in the first trimester which drove me nutty but luckily nothing since ... hope it stays away

x

samanthafinneran · Jun 23, 2011 7:23AM

its PUPPP or PEP

google it and theres loads of info:

one in 200 pregnant ladies get PUPPP (or PEP)

It could mean a big baby

it could mean baby is born with lots of hair

there is no cure but it causes no harm to mother or baby.

its just REALLY annoying and might drive you insane...

some women suffer form it so bad that they opt to be induced into labour at 37 weeks!

Cause unknown, possibly to do with skin stretching, or an allergic reaction to some of the baby's cells getting into the mothers bloodstream or something like that...

"In the majority of cases, PUPPP resolves spontaneously within a week of delivery. However, a few women continue to experience symptoms long into the postpartum period."

"Some investigators suggest that the rapid abdominal wall distension damages connective tissue and causes an inflammatory response. One study has shown that male fetal DNA can be found in skin biopsies of the rash. Since 70% of women with PUPPP give birth to boys, a new hypothesis is that male fetal DNA acts as a skin irritant."

lube yourself up lots with moisturiser, e45 or in worse cases steroid cream or take steroids orally.

i literally feel like i want to peel my skin off with a cheese grater...

scratching it feels so good but it makes me come up in even more hives.

if putting cream on doesnt help, a cool/warm shower helps A LOT and my doc gave me e45 bath oil that you can also use as shower oil instead of soap.

if youre seriously suffering, the doc will give you steroids or steroid cream. but taking steroids might mean your milk takes longer to come in? i dont know how true this is as im on a steroid hayfever nasal spray and ive been lactating since before 30 weeks.

it started on my cleavage then spread to my bump, thighs, knees, bum, rest of legs, backs of arms and armpits and now its spread to my chest and neck, ears and a tiny bit on my face. i feel so sorry for anyone else who has this as its hell... but only a few weeks left.

Willpower will prevail!

Sam

ZLS23 · Jun 23, 2011 8:53AM

Hi, glad your results came back ok.

I too have had some itching, wouldn't say severe tho.

Its been my feet, tummy, back, under my arms and groin a little....

I found rubbing in some cream generally eases it.

Zxx

ZLS23 · Jun 26, 2011 8:35AM

Hi - well I obviously spoke too soon when I did the above reply. This weekend I have been incredibly itchy, especially hands and feet! Feet big time, have nearly made them bleed. And its sooooo itchy between by fingers too. Hardly got any sleep last night so decided to ring the antenatal dept and they called me in this morning, we were down there at 9am.

Hooked me up to a montor to check on bubba, as hadn't felt as much movement either, all ok on that sore. BP ok, had bloods taken, just got to await results, which should be later on today. Just hoping all ok.

There always seems to be something. No sooner does one symptom disappear, then something else starts!!

Still got this carpel tunnel syndrome too - which is a complete nightmare!

Come on Mini Z - hurry up!!

Zxx

ZLS23 · Jun 27, 2011 4:11AM

Luckily my bloods came back fine - so that's a relief!! Zxx

Severe Itching

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