Sorry for this stressful news! The swelling is the first symptom that I noticed in myself. It got so bad that at times I thought my legs were going to just rip apart because the skin was being pulled so tightly from the swelling. I noticed the swelling from the tops of my feet (& the bottoms) all the way up to my thighs at about 31 weeks…I think. It was painful to walk & nothing I did would help the swelling to go down.
Before I noticed that it was “probably mild pre-e”, the typical swelling of the ankles would happen and I would drink water, put my feet up while laying down for a few hours and voila! things went back to normal. But once the swelling was so horrible that my knees couldn’t even bend to take a step up the stairs… nothing helped to bring the swelling down. Bedrest, frozen compresses, lemon water, watermelon, elevated legs, etc. NOTHING helped. It was extremely painful. I have stretch marks on the tops of my feet because the swelling was just THAT bad.
I knew what was happening, so I told my OB/ high risk team. My urine showed mild traces of protein. They said they would keep monitoring me. My BP was still perfect at 110/70 most days.
One day around 33 weeks, I was showering and I saw the flashing spots in front of my eyes.I was standing to wash my hair and had been standing for quite some time, so I knew it wasn’t a head rush that made the flashing come. It lasted for about a full minute and looked like twinkling stars, hundreds of twinkling stars, in front of me. I told my high risk team this symptom. They said they would keep monitoring me. My BP was still perfect.
Another symptom is drinking excessive amounts of fluids, but not going to the bathroom much. This is the symptom that actually causes pre-e in the first place. Not going pee means all of the toxins from that waste don’t leave the body. Then the toxins get built up inside your “water retention” legs and it makes your own body toxic. Pre-e is another title for TOXIMIA. It is very deadly to both you and your baby.
The final symptom that I experienced was a migraine at 36 weeks. It lasted for 7 hours. I’d had migraines before, so I tried to let this one go, but adding up all of the other symptoms I had been experiencing for weeks, I just KNEW it was pre-eclempsia. We were admitted, confirmed it was Pre-e by blood tests. My perfect blood pressure? Gone. I was suddenly getting readings like 188/100, 196/90, 212/110. It happened in ONE night. I was borderline… and then I was full blown.
They induced me. I managed to get through 21 hours of labor before the emergency c section which was needed for other reasons (my daughter didnt have a soft spot on her skull, so she couldnt make it down the birth canal.) The Pre-e symptoms lasted for nearly a week postpartum. It was normal for me to have a BP reading of 146/90 as my body was adjusting back down to normal. My baby was jaundiced. Half of the babies born are jaundiced, but mine was partially because I had pre-e.
The happy ending is… you aren’t experiencing these other symptoms. But, keep you eyes open. Be aware of your body. Pre-e happens and it happens FAST. It gives you little warnings. If you ignore the warnings, it’s fatal. You only need to make it another 3 weeks before the risk to your baby is seriously dimished if you needed to induce. There are very few risks to baby if they’re born after 32 weeks, the hospital staff kept reminding me.
You’re doing a good job. Try not to worry too much. Pre-e happens to non-diabetics too and there’s nothing we can do to prevent it from happening.