KidsHappen Posted April 29, 2008 Share Posted April 29, 2008 My dd just got her 24 weeks lab results and she had elevated liver enzymes. She is going to the dr. tomorrow but we are of course worried tonight. Somebody reassure me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LizzyBee Posted April 29, 2008 Share Posted April 29, 2008 Do you know whether she's been diagnosed with HELLP syndrome? The EL in HELLP stands for elevated liver enzymes. I had HELLP with 2 of my pregnancies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jennifer in MI Posted April 29, 2008 Share Posted April 29, 2008 Yes. I did with my first. I had pre-eclampsia that turned into eclampsia. (Ds was born healthy and is now an 11 yo!) If they were really worried, they would've had her come in tonight. It's a good thing they caught it! Now they can deal with it and get her whatever help she may need. ((((hugs)))) Please keep us updated! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KidsHappen Posted April 29, 2008 Author Share Posted April 29, 2008 Do you know whether she's been diagnosed with HELLP syndrome? The EL in HELLP stands for elevated liver enzymes. I had HELLP with 2 of my pregnancies. At what point in your pregnancy were you diagnosed? Did you have to deliver early? Any complications? Did you have pain? Any other symptomss? She hasn't been diagnosed with anything. As far as I know all other tests are good. CBC is good, no protein in her urine, blood pressure is good. She does have pain in upper abdomen. They told her to go to L&D tonight but didn't insist when she said that she was going to just wait for her appt. tomorrow. Her blood test was a week ago and she hasn't had anymore symptoms or pain but now I am a little worried. :confused: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LizzyBee Posted April 30, 2008 Share Posted April 30, 2008 They told her to go to L&D tonight but didn't insist when she said that she was going to just wait for her appt. tomorrow. She should go. HELLP can become serious very quickly. I would be concerned about the abdominal pain; it can be caused by the liver swelling. Have you seen her today? If she is jaundiced at all or has swelling other than in her feet, please insist that she go get checked. I was diagnosed at 38 weeks both times and induced immediately. The babies were fine. But at 24 weeks, it's a different situation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hsmomsg Posted April 30, 2008 Share Posted April 30, 2008 I am surprised by the above posts. I had elevated liver enzymes while nursing my 3rd baby and my OBGYN said that was normal and would go back down several months after I stopped nursing. My 3rd child is now 8 years old and I have a 4th and no problems whatsoever. I am hoping with you that your daughter will recieve the same report that I did.:) Sincerely, Stephanie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pam "SFSOM" in TN Posted April 30, 2008 Share Posted April 30, 2008 I am surprised by the above posts. I had elevated liver enzymes while nursing my 3rd baby and my OBGYN said that was normal and would go back down several months after I stopped nursing. My 3rd child is now 8 years old and I have a 4th and no problems whatsoever. I am hoping with you that your daughter will recieve the same report that I did.:) Sincerely, Stephanie Were they elevated while you were pregnant? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HomeOnTheRanch Posted April 30, 2008 Share Posted April 30, 2008 I am surprised by the above posts. I had elevated liver enzymes while nursing my 3rd baby and my OBGYN said that was normal and would go back down several months after I stopped nursing. My 3rd child is now 8 years old and I have a 4th and no problems whatsoever. OK, makes sense, but I wish someone had told me that instead of making me go through a liver biopsy (ok, so they were yanking out my gall bladder so it wasn't a biggie to do the biopsy) and giving it to some pathologist who gave a CYA report making it impossible for me to get private health insurance. (How's that for a sentence!) My youngest was 6mo and still nursing when I was diagnosed with Hashimoto's and elevated liver enzymes. They did want to know if I could have been pregnant, because that would have been normal, but they never mentioned the nursing part. My levels did eventually return to normal and I was proclaimed perfectly healthy by a liver specialist, but I still can't get reasonable insurance due to the original path report ("We don't know what it is, maybe it is nothing, but we really can't tell"...but using a lot more words). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sara in AZ Posted April 30, 2008 Share Posted April 30, 2008 I experienced a condition in both of my previous pregnancies called obstetric cholestasis. Basically, the pregnancy hormones interact negatively with the liver creating a situation where the bile salt levels (is that an enzyme?) can become extremely elevated. This causes intense itching, usually in the extremities first and then spreads. Sometimes the itching doesn't show up right away or begins mildly and intensifies. If she is itching at all, and you think this might be a possibility check out the website http://www.itchymoms.com for reliable information. The condition is becoming more well known, but many, many doctors are not aware. I had to print reams of information to share with my midwife before she would take me seriously. Best of luck to your daughter! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KidsHappen Posted April 30, 2008 Author Share Posted April 30, 2008 I experienced a condition in both of my previous pregnancies called obstetric cholestasis. Basically, the pregnancy hormones interact negatively with the liver creating a situation where the bile salt levels (is that an enzyme?) can become extremely elevated. This causes intense itching, usually in the extremities first and then spreads. Sometimes the itching doesn't show up right away or begins mildly and intensifies. If she is itching at all, and you think this might be a possibility check out the website http://www.itchymoms.com for reliable information. The condition is becoming more well known, but many, many doctors are not aware. I had to print reams of information to share with my midwife before she would take me seriously. Best of luck to your daughter! Yes, as a matter of fact she does in her feet and hands. We didn't know it could be related. I am so glad that she has an appt. tomorrow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LizzyBee Posted April 30, 2008 Share Posted April 30, 2008 Please let us know how her appt goes. I hope it turns out to be nothing serious. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carol in Cal. Posted April 30, 2008 Share Posted April 30, 2008 This just happened to the daughter of a friend of mine. They did a C-section almost immediately--the baby was not due for another month or so, but they told her that if she continued with the pregnancy she was likely to develop circulation problems to her other organs that could last for life. So it was quite serious in her case. The baby is fine, and the doctors say that the liver enzymes are coming down. Maybe those were higher readings than yours. I had never heard of this before today. I will be praying for you. I hope that you get to the bottom of this quickly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quiver0f10 Posted April 30, 2008 Share Posted April 30, 2008 I experienced a condition in both of my previous pregnancies called obstetric cholestasis. Basically, the pregnancy hormones interact negatively with the liver creating a situation where the bile salt levels (is that an enzyme?) can become extremely elevated. This causes intense itching, usually in the extremities first and then spreads. Sometimes the itching doesn't show up right away or begins mildly and intensifies. If she is itching at all, and you think this might be a possibility check out the website www.itchymoms.com for reliable information. The condition is becoming more well known, but many, many doctors are not aware. I had to print reams of information to share with my midwife before she would take me seriously. Best of luck to your daughter! I just heard about this on another board I visit. I have had intense itching through all my preganncies and no one seemed concered, except me. Now I am wondering if it was something more serious, especially since I have developed gallstones too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KidsHappen Posted April 30, 2008 Author Share Posted April 30, 2008 She is going for a U/S of her gall bladder tomorrow and they will recheck her liver enzymes next Tuesday. The itching is periodic and the dr. said that she would be more concerned if her was constant. So we are less worried than we were. I will feel better when we have the results though. Thanks everyone for all info. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sara in AZ Posted April 30, 2008 Share Posted April 30, 2008 I hope the appointment went well and the doctor is attentive to her concerns. The hands and feet are exactly where the itching usually begins. Even if the doctor dismisses it as normal in pregnancy, I would encourage you to check out the website I mentioned, itchymoms.com. There should be a link there to a yahoogroup where there are lot of women discussing this particular condition. She could probably benefit from hearing what other women are going through and compare it to her own experience as she tries to figure this out. Not to scare you (because it is incredibly rare) but the condition is associated with an increased risk of stillbirth if not properly diagnosed and treated. So it's worth investigating if you think there's even the slimmest possibility this is what she has. Hang in there! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dirty ethel rackham Posted April 30, 2008 Share Posted April 30, 2008 Intense itching is not always a problem. However, in conjunction with eleveted liver enzymes, it could indicate a more serious problem. I think one itching problem that is not serious but a royal PITB is PUPP. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dirty ethel rackham Posted April 30, 2008 Share Posted April 30, 2008 Glad to hear that the situation is less alarming. She should watch her diet, making sure she is getting plenty of protein, calcium from food sources, leafy greens, etc. A good diet can support a healthy liver. Has she checked out the Brewer Diet for pregnancy? Will keep her in our prayers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KidsHappen Posted April 30, 2008 Author Share Posted April 30, 2008 Glad to hear that the situation is less alarming. She should watch her diet, making sure she is getting plenty of protein, calcium from food sources, leafy greens, etc. A good diet can support a healthy liver. Has she checked out the Brewer Diet for pregnancy? Will keep her in our prayers. No, I'll check it out. PUPP too, never heard of it. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dawn E Posted April 30, 2008 Share Posted April 30, 2008 I had elevated liver enzymes when pregnant with dd. I think that I was around 7 mos. The soles of my feet and the palms of my hands itched so badly it would wake me up in the night. I didn't think it was anything big, but did mention it to the doctor. He was concerned about cholestasis and sent me for blood tests. My liver enzymes were elevated and he sent me to see an internal medicine doctor who scheduled me for regular blood work. Within a few weeks, though, my enzyme count had stabilized. My OB said it could have simply been a virus that affected my liver temporarily in this way. Hopefully your daughter's case will be quickly resolved as well. Dawn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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