This ITCH!

So, I was going along, living life and keeping busy when all of a sudden I started to get very very itchy.

It started on the friday night just after we hit the 12wk mark. Just a bit of itching on my legs. I thought maybe I'd been bitten by some bugs or something. I went to bed that night and tried to get some sleep, but it soon became apparent that the itching was getting worse... and spreading to the rest of my body. While it looked a lot like hundred of tiny red bug bites, the fact that they were on my thighs, in my hair, along my hair line, on my palms, my butt, my elbows and my chest seemed to suggest something else.

I was showering at 1am on the Saturday morning to try and get some relief. First thing as the sun came up, I was getting ready to head into the saturday morning walk-in GP clinic. The dr was just as confused as I was - and I got the whole 'have you eaten/touched/done anything different' - but I hadn't. I don't have any known alergies and I've never had any eczema... this was just totally new for me.

The dr checked baby's heart beat on the doppler - and found it (which I thought was pretty good considering we're not at the 14wk mark yet), then explained that the normal medications for this kind of thing were not proven safe in pregnancy. So he gave me a steriod shot instead.

And I went home. Still itching.

That night was just as bad, only this time I was woken by a very painful ache in my arm. I was a little surprised by this latest symptom - but dismissed it. Sunday morning my hands were so swollen and sore I had to remove my rings. I had big red blotchy marks on my palms that looked a lot like bruising. We drove to the chemist and I bought some QV lotion and bio oil to see if I could soothe my skin (the QV worked a treat and I've nearly gotten through 1.5L in the last few days!).

Sunday night was even worse. This time both of my arms were aching like I've never experienced. I couldn't sleep despite being so tired. But the benefit to not being able to use my arms overnight did mean that I couldn't scratch, so when I woke up I didn't have any of the rash. It only came back after I started itching my skin again.

A few days on, and another GP visit and blood test later, I'm still no further informed on what this weird rash/itch is. The parents of bub and I have been doing a lot of google research, and it looks like it could be PUPPS, an extremely itchy pregnancy rash that normally develops in the third trimester (and doesn't go away until delivery). Or it could be something a little more sinister - which is what we're testing for with the bloodwork.

I did get to the bottom of my bruised looking hands and aching arms though - it was from all the itching! I got my hubby to massage my arms last night before bed to try and relieve the ache - and it worked a treat. Along with trying my utmost NOT to scratch - so as to give my hands and arm muscles a bit of a break - I now no longer have the big patches of red on my palms. The all-over body itch is still there all day and all night, but I've found if I keep my hands busy, my body smeared in QV lotion and my brain focused on something else I can reduce the amount of itching I do.

I have another GP appointment tomorrow afternoon, and I'm kind of hoping for some answers. But at the same time, no answer probably means the diagnosis of PUPPS is most likely. Which is the better outcome for baby as it's completely harmless for him!

So we wait :) And try not to scratch!