I've had an internal battle about this post for several weeks now - a battle of whether the post should exist. I've concluded it is too
bizarre of a story to not share it. Sorry Matt, here it goes!
A few days following Mason's arrival my stomach was itchy. Nice way to start a story, right? This is just the tip of the iceberg. This is going to be a long post - you guys know me, I can't leave out details! Continue reading if you want to - this is good catharsis for me :)
I should stop and insert a warning -
this story involves x-file type medical stuff - I dont think it is gross, but maybe someone would (it involves a rash... but not because I'm a dirty kid). Read at your own risk.
So, back to the itch. I was busy, I ignored it. I mean, my body had been through some trauma, I expected some weird things that would be unexplained. The next week came and the itch increased. May I also note that I wasn't inspecting my post-pregnancy body at this point - who would be? I continued to try to ignore it and chaulk it up to my skin trying to readjust to life. The third week came and the itching became unbearable. When I did glance at my lower abdomen, it was flame red... from the scratching, naturally? Still busy, I tried to ignore it - it'd go away, right? Week 4, with the itch keeping me up at night and after googling "postpartum itchy rash on lower abdomen", I decided it was high time I go to the doc and get something for the madness. I got the first available appointment (which happened to be with the PA) and took my hives to the doctor (ah yes, they were large red welts on my lower abdomen by this time). She looked at it, figured out I had ruled out lotions, detergents, belt buckles, etc. and sent me away with a round of steroids and some creme. "I don't know what it is, but it should be gone within a few days. I'll give you 10 pills just in case - but go ahead and chuck the rest once the hives disappear." I took all 10 pills over the next week and a half and the result? IT SPREAD! Suddenly I was itching on my legs, arms, and back too! I don't mean just itchy, I mean this is the worst imaginable itch. Chicken pox times a billion. Keeping me up at night in between feedings itchy. Intolerable.
As I've mentioned before, I am a Google maniac. Google has saved me numerous times and it didn't fail me this time either. After one or two searches I found my diagnosis! A pregnancy rash called
PUPPP: Pruritic Urticarial Papules and Plaques of Pregnancy. Sounds disgusting, right?
Be warned: when you google it, the worst possible pictures appear. I promise I don't look entirely like a burn victim. In fact, to the average onlooker, you can't even tell anything is wrong with me. This rash stays under wraps :) Needless to say, on Black Friday I ran to Good Earth and bought all natural remedies that other women had had success with - Dandelion Root, Nettles Tea, and Grandpa's Pine Tar Soap (which smells AMAZING, btw. Roll yourself in road resurfacing tar and you've got the fragrance). On Monday morning I called my doctor's office and told them I needed to see my doc that day, I told them I was a mess - but still in good spirits. Getting grumpy about it wouldn't fix it, so why waste the energy there!
My doctor confirmed it was PUPPP (I was SO relieved when she knew what PUPPP was) and was surprised when I told her it only spread while on the steroids. She gave me a MUCH higher dosage (x 4) of the same med and told me most postpartum cases resolve by 6 weeks at the latest. I took the meds over the next two weeks and the hives left my stomach but nothing seemed to change elsewhere- in fact, when the meds ended, my legs flared up! So, here I am, 7 weeks post partum and still battling this bizarre reaction. I went to the dermatologist today and he was completely fascinated by my case - I actually wasn't even seeing him for the PUPPP, it just happened to come up and that is all we ended up talking about. He was shocked that the rounds of prednisone (the steroid) hadn't made it go away and he oozed sympathy at me. When I told him how much prednisone I had been on he gawked and said, "Oh my goodness, I couldn't imagine what you might have looked like if you hadn't had the pills. Maybe one huge welt!" He also implied he knew that a year from now I'd probably be ready to have another baby and that he would call me crazy and try to remind me what I had experienced. "I don't know how women do it. You're tough", he said as he shook his head and wished me luck enduring the rest of this monstrosity. The conclusion of our chat was that I just have to wait it out. :( He told me to go roll in the snow if it gets bad (cold helps) and to scratch it and show it to people if I need sympathy (it turns flame red and looks
really terrible when scratched).
So, here are the bizarre facts: PUPPP only occurs 0.4-1% of all pregnancies. It happens most often in first time pregnancies. Of those who get it, 70% have male babies. Some biopsies of the hives have revealed male DNA in them. *cue the spooky music* Most women get it during the pregnancy and it resolves by itself shortly after birth -- then there are a few lucky ones, like myself ,who get it postpartum. I apparently am even luckier because my case is lasting much longer than the average. Good news: having it once doesn't give you any higher chance to have it with subsequent pregnancies. Although it has been quite the experience, it hasn't caused me to ward off having additional children. :) I will just be happy when my body is back! Yes, I know your body will 'never be the same' after having a baby, but trust me, at this point, a body without the insane itch is a body I'll cherish!
Be grateful for what you've got.
Dad & Mason's favorite activity....
