Total Pageviews

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

I have pupps...

I have pupps.... and no, this is not what I am calling my sweet little boys now! :) Pupps is a severe pregnancy related skin rash. We originally thought that I must have had an allergic reaction to the Rhogam shot I had to get Friday... but sadly that is not the case.

I called my doctor Sunday night to inform her of a rash that started on my hands and feet and was quickly spreading to my arms and legs. She told me to take benadryl for a couple nights and see if the rash and itching got better or worse (she wasn't initially too alarmed because I felt great still and the boys were still moving like crazy). Fast forward to today and I could barely handle it because I was itching extremely bad. The rash was getting worse and continuing to spread FAST. They got me in today and as soon as my doctor looked at me she said.. "Oh honey, you have pupps!" (may I note she had a very sympathetic look on her face.) I'm thinking, "Pupps... what kind of name is that?!" Turns out it is an acronym for pruritic urticarial papules and plaques of pregnancy... yeah! :) My first thought was, "Ok, so what are they gonna give me to get rid of it?"... she proceeded to tell me "More than likely it is here to stay until you have the boys... it will actually probably just get worse as the pregnancy progresses." The top three risk factors of getting it are first time pregnancies, pregnancies with males, and multiple pregnancies....... (ding,ding) winner, winner chicken dinner!!! I just happen to have all three of those going for me! Haha!

I first noticed what looked like raised bumps on the stretch marks on my lower belly about a week or so ago. I figured maybe it was just really bad stretch marks and was pretty discouraged by it! They almost looked like welps! I then began to notice little red, itchy bumps on my hands and feet. From there it just spread like wildfire! My doctor told me that is exactly how it manifests itself! She gave me a steroid cream (she wants me to use it sparingly) and Vistaril (basically a very strong Benadryl). Tonight is my first time using them so I really hope they help me get some much needed sleep! I have not slept more than I few hours the past few nights due to the constant itching. Regular Benadryl didn't seem to do a thing to relieve it!

Good news is that it isn't harmful to me or the boys AND I am in the last part of my pregnancy! I'm so glad that this didn't come any sooner! My doctor also noted that if I was going to get a pregnancy rash, this would be the one she would want me to get. This is because although it is extremely uncomfortable.... that is all there is to it! No harm at all!! It really is stinky... but you won't hear me complaining about it! I always said if I got the opportunity to be pregnant I wouldn't complain...  and I believe I have stuck to my word. When you know there's a good possibility you could never be pregnant and are then blessed with (two) miracles.... you tend to look at the bright side! :) I am so thankful to be able to carry my babies and for such a smooth pregnancy so far! If this is the worst so far then I can still be thankful! Don't get me wrong, this is the most uncomfortable, itchy, burning thing I have ever experienced but I still consider myself a very blessed girl!

Things that seem to help so far are: oatmeal baths, Grandpa's pine tar soap (I saw a ton of reviews about it concerning pupps), and not getting too hot or stuffy. I will probably be living in sports bras and shorts until the boys get here. Having clothes rubbing on my skin just makes me itch that much more! I have also read to drink a lot of V8 juice so I'm trying that too (man that stuff is gross!!) I will try to post some pics of the rash. Hopefully in my sisters wedding this Saturday I won't look like a huge, red balloon going down the aisle but there are no guarantees! haha! :)



5 comments:

  1. Hey Monica!

    OHHHHHHHHH NOOOOOOOOOO!! I am so sorry to hear that you are experiencing the PUPPS. Maria had the oh so lovely PUPPS in her last two weeks of pregnancy. She remembers how awful it truly was. She said it waa like poision ivy but only 100 times more intense. In fact she slept very little in those last two weeks of pregnancy.

    I can recall how awful it was for her and it was hard to watch because I couldn't really do anything for her. It was way worse for her at night time because there is something to do with your cortizol levels at night that get elevated and make the PUPPS go crazy. I suggest sleeping any chance you can get!! I will let you know that as soon as Alayna was born, she had immediate relief from the PUPPS. They started to go away the next day and the itch was gone.

    We have read though that if you plan to breast feed the PUPPS can still last for weeks after the boys will be born. But eveyone is different.

    I read that your OB ( I am assuming) prescribed you a topical steroid. When Maria experienced the PUPPS her OB basically told her good luck take benadryl etc and gave her no solution. But Maria then called the dermatologist she sees to see if there was anything she could do or take for the PUPPS....

    Maria told me that she wished she called the dermatologist when it first started because you can take medicine for it and it is safe for pregnancy. The dermatologist perscribed an oral steroid called Prednisone. Maria said this was the only thing that got her through the last 3 days of pregnancy since she didn't get in till the last 3 days. Like I said she wished she got into her office a lot earlier bc this steroid will help stop the PUPPS from spreading and reduce the itch.

    In fact, the itching was reduced a lot and she could actually sleep. Trust me I witnessed how miserable this was firsthand and I suggest contacting a dermatologist and ask about the prednisone. Plus you have weeks till the twins will be here!! Early April correct?

    If you want to be able to wear clothes and sleep a few hours at night I suggest calling a dermatologist.

    Good luck with all this PUPP stuff. I can only imagine how awful it is. Take care Monica!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I have pupps too! And I've had it since about 10 weeks. I'm at 22 weeks now and it's all over my back, my arms, and my stomach. My dermatologist finally took a shave biopsy out of my arm this past tuesday and confirmed that it was pupps. They were treating me for eczema and everything I put on my skin just burned and took nothing away.
    I read about the V8 and the pine tar so I am picking all of that up tonight. Thanks for the tips!! :-)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Kaytee,
    I am so sorry you have had pupps so early in your pregnancy!! It definitely is no fun!! Has your doctor given you anything to help with it? I was put on a steroid cream that didn't seem to do all that much. She wanted me to use it sparingly anyway so the boys wouldn't absorb steroids. They also gave me Vistaril to help me sleep at night but until it started clearing up some I was only getting a couple hours of interrupted sleep every night. I would just literally itch all night long! We have found it flairs up at night time.

    I do believe it has gotten so much better because of the food choices I am making. I drink V8 at least 3 times a day. I get the Vfusion (strawberry banana and tropical orange). They are 100% juice and taste so much better to me than the regular V8. Plus it has a full serving of fruit and vegetables which can only be good for our growing babies! :) My brother is in Medical school and said that it can have a lot to do with your liver (I also read that online). I started looking into the vitamins that help clean out your liver and the foods that are high in them. Vitamins A, E, K, and C are some that kept coming up. I have found the V8 is really high in some of these. Other things I am snacking on are mini carrots, almonds, whole wheat toast, leafy greens (salads-not iceberg lettuce, and orange juice. I can tell my pupps seems worse if I am eating a lot of processed, saturated fat, salty foods. They say these things can overload your liver with toxins that are hard to get rid of.

    I can't tell if the Grandpa's Pine Tar Soap has helped or if it's mostly what I am eating? I am definitely still using it though so it can't hurt to try right?

    Prayer has been huge! I know several other people who have told me they are praying for me as well.I believe that God has given me relief and has touched my body! I pray that you find relief and that maybe some of this advice helps you out!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Update! V8 pretty much cured my pupps!!! Please, if you are suffering with pupps and find this article, give v8 a try. I drank the Strawberry Banana 100% v8 juice three times a day and it virtually disappeared!! If I didn't drink it it would start to come back. Also, I will note that the day I delivered my twins the pupps went away immediately and it never came back. V8 is the cure for pupps rash

    ReplyDelete
  5. The puppp cleanse works. It will save your life. www.pupppcleanse.com

    ReplyDelete