After what seemed like an eternity of weeks January 25 came rolling around. This was the day of my 39 week appointment. There had been no change in ANYTHING the week before so I was hoping and praying that I would have dilated or SOMETHING. So we go into the doctor's office and the doctor checks my cervix, I was maybe 1/2 a cm dilated. Hannah had yet to drop completely and so basically I was in it for another 2 weeks. I had noticed a small spot pop up on my belly right below my belly button that itched like a bug bite, I asked the doctor about it and she said that she thought it was just my stomach stretching some more (great!). At this point I had endured people asking me if I was going to make it until my due date for the last month! Of course I did, and it looked like I was going to pass it as well!
So pregnant I stayed for the next week and a half.... But what happened during that week and a half was something I never thought I would ever have to go through.
Tuesday came and went but one thing I noticed was the itching on my belly seemed to worsen in just one day! I didn't worry about it until Wednesday and my belly was pretty big at that point so I couldn't see underneath it where all the itching was happening (no I didn't even think about a darn mirror..). I continued to scratch/rub it but it wouldn't cease. I got to my parents house that evening and had my sister take a look at it, the look on her face was pretty much unexplainable. I told her to take a picture of it, all she had was her phone and I said that would do. She takes this picture and shows me, my mouth dropped to the floor when I saw. What had started out as two little dots (felt like bug bites) turned into lines of them all down the underside of my belly!
I panicked we then used the handy tool "Google" and looked up pregnancy related rash. The first thing that popped up was something called PUPPP's rash. We checked out the images and we thought that some of them looked like what I had, but some looked much, much worse. It was hard to tell but I was freaking. We did further research and found out that it generally starts below the belly button, most women who have it carry boys, and it can start as early as 23/24 weeks, and it is pretty uncommon. Well, I fell into one category, the one where it started below my belly button. So I called the doctor on Thursday and told her I was itching too badly and I wanted her to take a look to make sure nothing was wrong.
We went to the doctor first thing Friday morning, let me add first, I was definitely ready to Hannah to be here but I am not one of those women who see the doctor for every little thing hoping I can be induced. So with that being said we went in and she listened to the fetal heartbeat, checked my cervix (I was 1 cm dilated!!) (Not major when you have to make it all the way to 10), and then checked out the rash. She never confirmed our thoughts but she said that it wasn't too bad and to take benadryl to help with the itching.... Needless to say, that really wasn't good enough but I said okay and we walked out right back out of there. I immediately got benadryl and started taking what I could of it. I figured Id wait to see if it kicked in. In the meantime they were calling for snow that weekend, and we at the time did not have a 4x4 car so we stayed the weekend with my parents. What could have been more fun than to lay around watching movies all day eating soup and staying warm. But no, my body obviously had other plans for me, in the sense that Friday night I got absolutely no sleep because I was miserable I got up I know at least 3 or 4 different times to take a scalding shower and take more benadryl, and Saturday I noticed that this so called rash started working its way down my thighs.
We got the snow on Saturday and I believe we got about 4 to 6 inches, it was beautiful but I could honestly care less, by Saturday night I was worse than miserable. I again got up about 4 or 5 times and took a scalding hot shower just to relieve the itching. I refused to take anymore benadryl because it did not even touch the itching. Sunday was here and by that afternoon the rash had moved down my legs, in between my toes and up under my arm pits. The nightmare was so awful I couldn't stand the itching I was crying because nothing was working, I walked outside, bare feet, no jacket stepped right into the snow and sank to my knees, stuck my hands as deep as they would go and stayed there until my fingers and toes were numb, I then began putting the snow on my neck and arms because 5 minutes without the itching was like heaven, I didn't care if I was freezing. I walked back inside and was itch-free until I started warming up and then it was like it was a 1000x worse than before. Needless to say I didn't get any sleep that night either, that makes 3 nights with minimal to no sleep. I was exhausted and completely done with being pregnant.
I called my doctor first thing Monday morning (it was 8 o'clock on the dot) and told them they had to see me that I would be there in 20 or less minutes. I walked in knowing I look just "peachy" and saw my doctor. She began looking at my legs, arms feet, stomach, etc. And again check all the normal stuff. S-T-I-L-L NO C-H-A-N-G-E.... I cried when she told me that it could be another week, but she did want me to see a doctor for disease specialist (OMG) What is this lady not telling me??? So we go straight over to see that doctor, he checked me out and had this puzzled look on his face... I asked what was it? He then tells me with some frustration in his voice that he just didn't understand why my doctor would send me here because eh doesn't specialize in this sort of thing, that I needed to see a dermatologist. I was so angry and beyond mad that I called my mom and told her the entire story in between sobs. She was infuriated as well, we were getting NO answers and they weren't really doing anything to help me out, not even one suggestion!!!
She called the dermatologist that her parents go to and I had an appointment that day like in 20 minutes and evidently that doesn't happen very often with dermatologist (like usually its a week or so wait) but thankfully they saw me. She examined me and tells me that she feels strongly that it looks like..... PUPPP's rash!!! I was thrilled that she at least gave me some insight here! I asked her what I could do and she said pretty much as plainly as you can get "Have the baby", she says that the itching stops almost instantly once the baby is born. She tells us that she has never seen a case so severe. She then gives me the best news all day.... That she would speak with my doctor and highly recommend that I be induced TOMORROW!!! I immediately started crying because I was so glad that I wouldn't have to endure this much longer. She told me to go buy Noxzema face creme, the menthol in it would really reduce the itching, plus she gave me some samples to use of a different kind of menthol creme to use as well. On top of all that she gave me a steroid shot which would help with the itching.
PUPPP is this Pruritic Papules and Plaques of Pregnancy I would rather not put pictures of myself on here but here are a few of what it looks like (mine were not this red and dark but they were more of a hot pink or light red)
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| Not me, but mine looked sort of like this (it looks like stretch marks but heals and you cant even tell) |
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| This is not me and I had it more severly (ALL OVER) |
I loaded up on the biggest bottle of Noxzema I could find and began to rub, rub, rub it ALL over me I smelled like a bottle of Vick's vapor rub but I loved it! I then had to go see my OB doctor. I was basically done talking to her but once she realized the severity she became a bit nicer and more patient with me. She proceeds to tell me she sent me to the disease specialist to rule out Measles! She says she had never seen anything like what I had. I wanted to respond in a not so nice way "WELL YOU COULD HAVE TOLD ME!!!" But I was over it and glad to have some sort of relief even if it was temporary. Then she gives me the second best news of that day.... I was to be at the hospital at 9 am to be admitted and then induced by 12!!! YESSSSSS! I was thrilled to death to hear this news. Again I didn't sleep, of course it was more my nerves tonight than the itching (bc I had relief).
Tuesday morning came around and we loaded up (me, Kyle and Lydia) and headed to Gaston Memorial.... See my next blog for Birth Story Part 2!!!!
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