my stomach is so itchy

I am 34 weeks and 5 days pregnant and my stomach started itching about a week ago towards the bottom, just a little bit. The last two days it has gotten awful, I try not to think about itso it will stop. The only thing that relieves it if i am taking a shower, rub some lotion on me, or put a cold compress on it. I just satrted getting a few stretch marks at the bottom of my stomach and that is where it itches, there are light ones, but it gets all red when i itch it...has anyone expereienced this"? is it normal? anything i can do to relieve it? thanks in advancee!

 

Yeah. I had it. I had PUPPPS :cry: . It started like what you're describing- a REALLY itchy tummy. Then it got really bad- it spread to my arms, and legs. It is somewhat common with multiples and boys. They think it has something to do with your liver, but is completely harmless (other than F-ING ANNOYING AS H*LL :angry: ) to the babies and you. That's the good news. The bad news is, if that's what it is, there is no 'cure' until about a week after delivery. That being said, I tried EVERYTHING :stir: and a combination of stuff helped:


THIS WEBSITE is the best out there to describe various treatments.

I tried:
Benadryl
Hydrocortizone
Aloe Vera
Oatmeal baths
Grandpa's Pine Tar Soap
Caladryl Lotion
Vick's
Every lotion in the house
Hot baths (The risks are for hot baths more than 10 minutes. I took about 4 a day for no more than 6 minutes each).
Swimming
Steroids
Slapping myself (yes, at times I'd rather feel pain than that awful itch. It would make people cringe to hear me do it- I didn't hold back! Disclaimer- I never slapped the belly. It was almost always my legs.)

What I found is that if I used anything for too long, it stopped working. So I took Benadryl at first, then eventually Chlor-something or other for a couple of days, then weaned down to 1x each day or every other... took 4 baths a day with Grandpa's Pine Tar soap (available at natural stores) which worked well. When I couldn't be in the tub or in a pool, Vick's slathered on me was really good. At one point I looked in the medicine cabinent and started slathering myself with anything available. Benadryl and Caladryl lotion worked ok for me, but many people find them to be helpful. If I left the house, it was with a HUGE baggie of itch stuff. I would blast the AC, too- I found really hot weather would make me itch. If I had to leave the house, I did it in the morning or late at night. I basically sat around in a bathtub for about 6 weeks.

I'm very sorry you have the itchiness & hope to God it isn't PUPPPS, but as I said, it's good that it doesn't affect the babies. If I hadn't had any relief from the aforementioned, I was prepared to try acupunture, but didn't want to pay for it & insurance didn't cover it. So- :bump: .

I'm itchy right now writing this post- ugh. I HATE PUPPPS! :shok:

 

Thank you, thank you, for taking time to respond to my post! I really hope this is not what I have but it sounds like it! I just took a shower and that helped a little bit! I am on bed rest as well for pre-e so thats all I can think about is my itchy belly so it makes it worse, i think if i was busy it would not be as bad! Hopefully it will not spread but it has alreadystarted to get bumps at the top of my belly and are itchy thre too! But its weird because a complete circle around my belly button is completely clear skin and does not itch. I will try some of the suggestions you made, excpet for slappping my self! (hehe, i chuckled when i read that part) but I know exactly what you mean! Itching is horrible and if I could itch it to make it go away I would, but I feel like it just makes it look worse so I try not to itch it! I will let you know if it gets better!! I REALLY hope that it does I cant handle thiss!! Thank you again!

 

I had a shortened cervix, so I wasn't on formal bedrest, but definitely modified. Plus, when you hit 'whale status' you can't really move, anyway. At the time, I took up baseball b/c it was on almost every day which was really comforting. May I suggest March Madness?

 

I'm almost exactly at the same point when you started itching (I'm 34 weeks) and I cannot stop itching the bottom of my belly either!!!! it's driving me nuts!!!! Lotion for me makes it worse, so I'll have to try the other remedies!

 

I am 32 weeks pregnant and was whining about stretch marks to a friend the other day since the only part of my body I like is my stomach so I am bit (yes selfishly) disappointed about the fact that I may never wear a bikini after these twins are born. My friend is also pregnant and had to go to her yearly dermatologist appointment so she asked her doctor if there was anything I could do for stretch marks (since she is so far lucky enough to avoid them) and he of course laughed at her and said "she's having twins, she probably going to get them". But he did say that the only thing he recommends is vasaline and not to try all the other creams on the market that say they will help. I cringed at the thought of smearing that slimy stuff all over my stomach but I got the cream version of it and love it. I also have a mild case of an itchy stomach and it also helps with that since it seems to last so long. I usually put it on at bedtime, that way I sleep through the slimy feeling Good luck and I hope this helps!!

 

well my doc said that it is def. puppps! AH it gets worse daily I can not stand it!!! I am so itchy and trying not to itch it so it does not get worse is soooooooo hard. I have tried benedryl and aloe so far, I am going to make my way down your list and see what works! If I could just find something that would stay on!When i intially rub something on it, it cools for a few but then everntually starts itching again! They NEED to find a cure for this stuff!!! But I am almost there so I am trying not to let it bother me too much!! Thanks for the tips

 

i hear some of you mentioning benadryl, but i'm not sure if you've tried benadryl pills or benadryl cream. benadryl cream did wonders for me, temporarily anyway! you should give that a try if you haven't.

 

Something else I found to work in a limited manner which you may have in the house: Banana peels. You rub them on (it is gross, but you'll be in the tub anyway, so who cares?). It didn't work very long for me- only about 10 minutes of relief.

I'm so sorry you have to deal with this- I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy.