Hi everyone, I am new to this forum, my aim is to raise awareness of HELLP syndrome, a rare pregnancy complication that can be fatal unless treated in time, it is a variant of preeclampsia. I experienced this recently and had to give birth at 16 weeks to our baby girl.....
H- haemolysis (the break down of red blood cells)
EL- elevated liver enzymes
LP- low platelet count
It is a combined liver and blood clotting disorder and the only way to treat the condition and save your life is to deliver the baby.....
At 15 weeks pregnant I started with a pain in my lower chest just below my ribcage that felt like indesgeation and heartburn and was uncomfortable to eat at times. I ‘got on with it’ as I thought it was just pregnancy, although it kept me up all night in pain, I’d had a migrane too a few days before and was moaning to my husband that the 2nd trimester was proving to be far worse yet everyone had told me it gets better in the 2nd. After days of feeling unwell I went to A&E as the out of hours doctor suggested . They told me I had a urine infection. I spent the next 4 days still in pain and feeling unwell. By the friday I had blood pressure that was through the roof and protein in my urine. I was referred to hopsital where the next day I was diagnoised with hellp syndrome and told that to save my life I had to give birth to our baby at 16 weeks, in the way an expectant mother would full term. I had no choice, I would have died otherwise. Since the worst experience of my life I have done much research and found there is hardly any info on HELLP syndome and would like so much to raise as much awarenss as possible. I was lucky they caught it in time. The hospital where we live say they’ve never known it to happen this early. It usually happend in the third trimester and NHS direct say it doesn’t and cannot happen until at least 20 weeks. I am currently in the process of writing to the cheif executive to have this changed and hopefully get more info available which will make pregnant women more aware of the symptoms that could potentially save their life!
My life was saved but it took a while to come to the conclusion it was HELLP due to the fact that it ‘never hapens this early’ well it can and it did!
The symptoms to look for are-
HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE AND PROTEIN IN THE URINE
PAIN LIKE INDEGESTION OR HEARTBURN IN THE LOWER CHEST UNDER THE RIB CAGE
UPPER BACK PAIN BETWEEN THE SHOULDERS
HEADACHES AND VISION DISTURBANCES
NAUSEA OR VOMITTING THAT CONTINUNES TO WORSEN
FLUID RETENTION- AND EXCESS WEIGHT GAIN
GENERALLY NOT FEELING QUITE RIGHT.....GET IT CHECKED OUT!
Please seek medical advice straight away, don’t ignore it, HELLP syndorme CAN BE FATEL IF NOT TREATED!
Please support me and Join my facebook page- hellpsyndromeangels
