I am 33 weeks preggo and suffering from EXTREME itching from PUPPS all on my arms, belly, and legs. I have taken my nurse's advice and am putting Caladryl on myself, along with using Aveeno oatmeal soap and lotion, taking cool showers, and Benadryl at night, but I still can't sleep because I'm constantly scratching! I know I only have 7 more weeks, but any info to make these weeks less itchy is appreciated.
D.:
try some calendula....
P., RLC, IBCLC
Pres. Lactation Support Group, Inc
www.lactationsupportgroup.com
I tried all of that too and NONE of it worked. The only thing that brought me some relief was a steroid pill that my obgyn prescribed. She told me that they would not have a negative effect on the baby. She was born just fine. I swear that stuff worked within a couple of days. It didn't get rid of the rash completely, but it certainly cut the itchiness down to something bearable. I feel your pain. Get those pills!
Oh D.- I'm sooooo sorry! I had this with my last pregnancy- and it was at 22 weeks- HORRID!!! I am actually prego now and so far nothing- thanks GOD! I am 24 weeks and hoping to NEVER go thru it again!
OK- so advice i have read your 4 responses so far- and they are right- none of the named things worked- i was in tears of itching and scratching- put frozen vegie bags on my legs(it was at it's worst on the back of my legs) i tried calamine, benedryl- both gel/cream/oral, i went to a dermatoligist and they prescribed topical steroids- one strong- one a little weaker- it did NOTHING to help. It was SOOOO bad that my OBGYN prescribed oral Steroids- adn it went away- i was very scared to take them- but it was totally safe and it actually went away! I wish i tried that first but that was the most extreme so of course it was last resort. All the docs i talked to said that PUPPS goes away AFTER the baby is born- however mine only lasted about 2-3 weeks in the mid of my pregnancy. I wish you luck- but my advice is that if you aren't sleeping like i wasn't and if you are as miserable as i was- PLEASE go beyond over the counter- not sleeping is not good for you or the baby- and this rash is so bad you can get very depressed and frustrated which is also not healthy. Have you been to a doctor? Or are you just trying to do over the counter remedies- they don't work- so my situation was to suffer or to keep going to the doc. I probably had like 5 prescriptions of topical before the oral- which was the only thing that worked and gave me permenent relief.... good luck. hope this helps.
D.
I know this is not going to make you feel better, but I had the exact same thing with my first pregnancy. It was TERRIBLE!! I feel for you. Unfortunately I never found anything that helped. It was the worst...My doc said that it was likely to happen again with another pregnancy, but thankfully it didn't. (thank god!) I tried all the creams and bath stuff, but no help. I ended up sleeping with a back scratcher next to me in bed.
I hope you do find something...good luck!
I can sympathize with you! I had Pupps from week 25 till I delivered at 38. It was also summer!! The only thing I really found that worked for a while was the spray benedryl. The coolness and the spritzing seemed to clam the itched and left it feeling "coated". Hang in there! Soon your wild ride will be over :)
D.,
I dont want to alarm you but did your ob-gyn take a blood test on you to rule out any other causes of your itching? During my last pregnancy I was also diagnosed with Pupps. My itching started out right on the onsight of my third trimester. I was misdiagnosed by my doctor. I actually had a condition called Obstectric Cholestasis. You should probably ask your physicican to take a simple blood test to check your liver function panel. In this condition, your liver enzymes will be elevated. When they tested me my liver enzymes where within normal range the first time. As some weeks of pure misery passed I had the office take another liver function test and this test showed that I had very high liver enzymes. The condition that I had is not very common supposedly, esp. in the United states. I believe it may be more common then thought. I felt that the doctor was very quick to call it pupps. Do you have an actual rash or is the itching coming from within? I did not actually have a rash, just terribly itchy skin. From all of the scratching that I did I actually created wounds on my skin. I would scratch and scratch until I bled. It was horrible. There was no over the counter meds or creams that can help this. I am not trying to scare you but make sure Pupps is what you actually have. Please feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns.
D.
I had the same thing and never found anything that made the itch go away, for me the creams seem to make it worse. I usually kepts a wet cold wash rag or towel next to me to put over the area that was itching just to keep me from digging in. Of course it didn't help as much as I wish it would but it had its moments.
I wish I had more to info that would help you.
You poor, poor, thing. During 4 difficult pregnancies, pupps was definitely the worst. My ob assured me that any OTC is ok to try and I spent 100 bucks at Walgreens once, trying anything. I did have some success with Gold Bond cream and strapping ice packs to my arms.
Congratulations on starting your family...you will be amazed at what you are capable of handling as a mother... starting with pupps!
Hi, D. --
First off, I am SO sorry to hear you're suffering with PUPPS. It was seriously the WORST thing I've ever experienced in my entire life, including giving birth! I'm not an over-dramatic person, and I describe PUPPS as being *horrible* to go through.
That said, the only thing that made the rash go away was Claritin. As a last resort, my OB prescribed it, and if it didn't work, we were going to induce!
The Claritin takes a few days to start working, so in the meantime, the only cream that helped me was Sarna. I also used ACE blue ice packs continuously, and took 2-4 showers a day. The Sarna's in a white bottle with blue writing, and we found it at Walgreens. I tried Benedryl cream, Cortaid Spray, calamine lotion, aloe gel, Cortaid cream, and nothing else worked!
I know it's tough, but remember that it'll be over soon. I felt like I was going CRAZY from the itching and pain, but I now have a beautiful daughter.
Good luck!
K.
PS... This website: http://www.tcinternet.net/users/kritzerburke/naomi/PUPPP.htm was helpful just to see that others had it, too. I remember feeling so alone and in pain.
