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I totally feel your pain! I first got PUPPS symptoms on Friday, the following Thursday I demanded to see my doctor and get some sort of treatment and that's when he said he'd induce me the next day (so one week since the rash had started). It turned out the hospital was too busy to admit me so I had to wait one extra day, and I thought I was gonna die! I was induced just over 39 weeks but I had already started to efface and when I went in for the gel I had dilated to 1 cm already.
Do not, under any circumstances, use the Aveeno oatmeal bath. A bunch of people told me to try it since it's usually soothing, but it was like pouring vinegar into all the open sores I had from scratching. I was screaming once I got out of the bath (it was fine in there, just afterwards was brutal). The only thing that helped was to soak tea towels in cold water and put those on my legs.
What helped me a bit with the itch was ice packs. Whenever I had a crazy itch that was making me nuts I'd put ice on the area and numb it. It would still be itchy, but since the area was numb from the cold I found it easier to deal with. That, and the buckthorn oil got me through.
During my labor I got the epidural because I thought that would take the itch away. It totally didn't, but it did make my skin numb so I couldn't feel myself scratching. I ended up scratching my skin raw and was bleeding but didn't know, so my scabs were horrible after delivery! My right leg is still a mess and I have a load of scars on there, I've actually been wearing long pants because I'm so self conscious about it. The good news is that the second I delivered her the itch started to go away. I delivered on Sunday morning, and by Wednesday the raised bumps on my legs were gone. I still have some discoloration on my thighs, but it's so slight I don't think you would be able to tell if it wasn't pointed out. What I have now is the worst case of eczema all over my body that I've had in years, but that's probably just because my skin is weird. 
What I did was not wear clothing when I was at home, but just wrapped myself in an old bedsheet. I made it tighter on my legs and loose on the top part of my body - I found that was the best thing to wear at home because I could control how much fabric was touching my skin. I also wore leggings, which helped with the rash on my legs. Try to shower with cooler water since that made the shower more bearable.
Honey, I am so sorry you're going through this. Just thinking about how uncomfortable I was makes me cringe, I so wish you didn't have to go through it too. The end is in sight though - I'm pretty sure I got PUPPS due to the hormonal changes I was going through since I was so close to delivery. So hopefully you getting PUPPS means that you're close to the end of your pregnancy too. Hang in there and pm me if you need to vent or need advice - I'll do my best to help you through this. I'm so sorry you've got this hideous rash!
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Loving Planning!
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For anyone else interested in PUPPP, here is a pretty interesting article about it (though it is from Wiki, so it's not necessarily 100% correct):
http://tinyurl.com/2b75js
One thing I found interesting was that it said one study on PUPPP showed that 70% of those who had it delivered boys. Obviously it's one study and it isn't necessarily indicative, but it's kind of an interesting piece of information.
Another (more reliable source) article: http://tinyurl.com/yqlxxs - this one also talks about some treatments which may help - or at least allow you to sleep.
From an otherwise really scientific paper comes this statement: "Investigators have identified fetal DNA in the skin of mothers with PUPPP, suggesting that chimerism might be relevant in the pathogenesis of this disorder" (chimerism = presence of non-self cells in the circulation).
When I was a kid, I had eczema on my arms pretty bad and my mom also had it when she was a kid. She always told me if I scratched in my sleep, she'd tie sticks to my arms so I couldn't bend them to scratch. Obviously you don't want to do that to yourself, but perhaps you could try wearing some mitts (not for warmth, like those manicure gloves) to at least make you less likely to harm yourself if you're scratching while you sleep.
Sorry I don't have any other advice - hope it gets better soon (& lo arrives soon & safe to ease your pain).
Good luck,
Melissa
Married my true love September 29, 2007
TTC Since Sept '08 (not expecting a bfp for awhile, due to health issues)
Making long URL's smaller daily: http://tinyurl.com
Disclaimer: I am not here looking for your approval, admiration or appreciation. I'm often considered abrasive, rude or inconsiderate. And I'm 100% ok with that. If you don't like me, feel free to ignore me. My life will go on.
"How to upload charts" instructions now in my profile under "Interests".
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Group: Forum Members
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i had horrible eczema growing up, so i'm not surprised i got a weird uncommon rash. strange skin things always happen to me! and yup, it's true that 70% of women with pupps have boys - not me though, i guess i'm really special!
my doctor told me the cause, he said it's bile salts rising to the surface of my skin because my liver was too taxed to filter it properly. how disgusting, right? and unfortunately benadrl did nothing for the itch for me, they even put it in my uv when i was in labour and it didn't do anything. try cool showers and baths and use ice packs to numb your skin. if you're at home, go naked since clothes (for me) irritated the itch.
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| Thanks for the advice and the information Chantel and Melissa. I always had excema growing up as well!! I haven't had it much during this pregnancy, maybe there is a relation to women with skin problems and this annoying rash. I spent yesterday at home in a bra and a very loose skirt, I totally agree that clothing makes it worse. I took 3 cool baths and kept applying the cortisone cream after I'd scratch an area raw... MAN it burns after you scratch it. Yesterday was bearable, but last night was horrible, I had such a bad sleep cause i'd always wake myself up scratching it... This is hell, and I think I might just demand to be induced if things don't start naturally soon. My due date is in 2 days so I really hope this is my week. I talked to DH's aunt who is a head l&d nurse so she see's this a lot. She told me the exact same thing as you did about the bile salts rising to the surface and the only cure is delivery...sigh. DH and I have been trying a lot of online labour inducers, but nothing seems to be kick starting labour. I don't want to try the castor oil, but talk to me Wednesday and I might have changed my mind... This kid is comfortable and doesn't have plans of moving out Send me labour vibes please!!! Thanks for the sympathy
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Group: Forum Members
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google accupressure. i did the accupressure technique on my hand and i believe it helped my cervix to soften. since my cervix was starting to soften they let me be induced, if it hadn't then they wouldn't have induced me. you're so close to your due date that they should just induce you and get this over with.
when i was in labour the nurse showed other nurses my rash since they hadn't seen it much.
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Sending tons of speedy & itch-free labour vibes your way!
Hurry baby, hurry!!!
(The whole bile salts thing sounds totally disgusting, btw)
As per previous poster's idea about acupressure, here you go:
http://acupuncture.rhizome.net.nz/acupressure/induce.aspx
It certainly can't hurt to try (pardon the irony)...
Good luck & hurry up baby!
Melissa
Married my true love September 29, 2007
TTC Since Sept '08 (not expecting a bfp for awhile, due to health issues)
Making long URL's smaller daily: http://tinyurl.com
Disclaimer: I am not here looking for your approval, admiration or appreciation. I'm often considered abrasive, rude or inconsiderate. And I'm 100% ok with that. If you don't like me, feel free to ignore me. My life will go on.
"How to upload charts" instructions now in my profile under "Interests".
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Thanks you two for the link, labour vibes and sympathy. The puppps are now pretty much on my whole body except my face, neck, hands and breasts (thank god). The worst place is my swollen feet and ankles. The legs in general are just a scabby mess right now My poor DH has been great. I've been trying the accupressure points for a few days now and I hope it is making some progress... (I'm very sorry but this part is way TMI...) I might be losing my mucous plug little by little. It is not blood tinged, but it is something I've been noticing in the toilet (and on the toilet paper) after I pee. Not after every pee, but about 6 hours apart each time, so maybe that means my cervix is starting to dilate. I would love to speed up this process and am considering the castor oil tonight I was so sure last night there was progress being made. i was having tons of cramping and feeli | | | |