Protein in Urine but Excellent Blood Pressure

Hi Ladies,

I'm now 29 weeks along and my doctor was concerned about my giant swollen feet! So...she had me do a 24-hour urine (oh what fun!) and the results came back on Friday that there was some protein in my urine. EVERY time I have gotten my BP checked it has been completely normal (typically 110/70 or so). I bought an at home BP kit and have gotten similar results both Friday and today. I have a doctor's appt coming up on Friday and my hope is all is well.

My major question is-have any of you ever experienced protein in your urine without it being pre-eclampsia? If so, what else could it be? What can I do?

I'm doing my best to stay calm and assume that nothing is wrong, but of course it is a challenge!

Thanks!
Andrea

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Kathy on August 27, 2011 at 7:59pm

Hi Andrea. Congrats on your pregnancy!The same thing happend to me.I got really swollen hands and feet at 28-29 weeks.I had maybe 2 or 3 "borderline" 140/80 blood pressures here and there but my pressures stayed normal 90% of the time.I took the 24 hour pee test and had high levels of protien.Turns out it was mild pre-eclampsia.I was surprised because even after being put on hospital bedrest my blood pressures stayed normal. My doc said that all you need is two borderline or higher blood pressures 6hours apart and protien in the urine to have the pre eclampsia diagnosis.That's because its sooo unpredictable.I had mild pre eclampsia for 3 weeks. Normal blood pressures and blood work.Then all of a sudden in one day my pressures sky rocketed, blood platelets dropped and my liver was swollen.I had an emergency csection @ 33 weeks. Its serious business so I'm glad your doctor is monitoring you closely. Try not to freak out though because it adds more stress.The good news is that you haven't had any high or borderline pressures.Stay positive and good luck!

Permalink Reply by Andrea G on August 28, 2011 at 5:26pm

Thanks for your response Kathy! My plan is to stay as positive as possible and see what my doctor says on Friday.

Permalink Reply by Kristin on August 28, 2011 at 5:12pm

Hi Andrea!

I don't know the answer to your question, but hope that your blood pressures continue to stay good!

Are you on bed rest now?

Permalink Reply by Andrea G on August 28, 2011 at 5:24pm

Nope! I'm home...working crazy 11.5-12 hour days at my school. We will see what my doctor says on Friday...things might need to change!

Permalink Reply by Kristin on August 28, 2011 at 5:49pm

You are amazing!! Keep us posted on how you are doing... I'll be thinking about you!

Permalink Reply by Andrea G on August 29, 2011 at 4:07am

Thank you so much Kristin! Will do!

Hope you are enjoying your time at home with your little one....can't wait until I get to meet mine :)

Permalink Reply by Kristin on August 29, 2011 at 5:06am

We are enjoying our time :-) He just started his "social smiling" a couple weeks ago. So playtime is so much more fun!!

The last weeks went by quickly for me! I wish the same for you!!

Permalink Reply by Kristin on September 1, 2011 at 2:37pm

I am thinking about you today! Hope that the doctor was able to shed some light on the situation.

Permalink Reply by Andrea G on September 3, 2011 at 2:33am

Went to the doctor yesterday morning....luckily all is well! BP is still completely fine and baby is growing as he should be. He's about 3lbs 10oz in the 65%tile for growth-so I am a happy lady! Thanks Kristin!

Permalink Reply by Kristin on September 3, 2011 at 4:36am

Great news!!! Hope that you and he continue to do so well!

Permalink Reply by Marps on September 3, 2011 at 5:45am

Sorry for this stressful news! The swelling is the first symptom that I noticed in myself. It got so bad that at times I thought my legs were going to just rip apart because the skin was being pulled so tightly from the swelling. I noticed the swelling from the tops of my feet (& the bottoms) all the way up to my thighs at about 31 weeks...I think. It was painful to walk & nothing I did would help the swelling to go down.

Before I noticed that it was "probably mild pre-e", the typical swelling of the ankles would happen and I would drink water, put my feet up while laying down for a few hours and voila! things went back to normal. But once the swelling was so horrible that my knees couldn't even bend to take a step up the stairs... nothing helped to bring the swelling down. Bedrest, frozen compresses, lemon water, watermelon, elevated legs, etc. NOTHING helped. It was extremely painful. I have stretch marks on the tops of my feet because the swelling was just THAT bad.

I knew what was happening, so I told my OB/ high risk team. My urine showed mild traces of protein. They said they would keep monitoring me. My BP was still perfect at 110/70 most days.

One day around 33 weeks, I was showering and I saw the flashing spots in front of my eyes.I was standing to wash my hair and had been standing for quite some time, so I knew it wasn't a head rush that made the flashing come. It lasted for about a full minute and looked like twinkling stars, hundreds of twinkling stars, in front of me. I told my high risk team this symptom. They said they would keep monitoring me. My BP was still perfect.

Another symptom is drinking excessive amounts of fluids, but not going to the bathroom much. This is the symptom that actually causes pre-e in the first place. Not going pee means all of the toxins from that waste don't leave the body. Then the toxins get built up inside your "water retention" legs and it makes your own body toxic. Pre-e is another title for TOXIMIA. It is very deadly to both you and your baby.

The final symptom that I experienced was a migraine at 36 weeks. It lasted for 7 hours. I'd had migraines before, so I tried to let this one go, but adding up all of the other symptoms I had been experiencing for weeks, I just KNEW it was pre-eclempsia. We were admitted, confirmed it was Pre-e by blood tests. My perfect blood pressure? Gone. I was suddenly getting readings like 188/100, 196/90, 212/110. It happened in ONE night. I was borderline... and then I was full blown.

They induced me. I managed to get through 21 hours of labor before the emergency c section which was needed for other reasons (my daughter didnt have a soft spot on her skull, so she couldnt make it down the birth canal.) The Pre-e symptoms lasted for nearly a week postpartum. It was normal for me to have a BP reading of 146/90 as my body was adjusting back down to normal. My baby was jaundiced. Half of the babies born are jaundiced, but mine was partially because I had pre-e.

The happy ending is... you aren't experiencing these other symptoms. But, keep you eyes open. Be aware of your body. Pre-e happens and it happens FAST. It gives you little warnings. If you ignore the warnings, it's fatal. You only need to make it another 3 weeks before the risk to your baby is seriously dimished if you needed to induce. There are very few risks to baby if they're born after 32 weeks, the hospital staff kept reminding me.

You're doing a good job. Try not to worry too much. Pre-e happens to non-diabetics too and there's nothing we can do to prevent it from happening.

Permalink Reply by Andrea G on September 4, 2011 at 4:40am

Thank you so much for sharing your story with me. I read it to my husband last night so we would both be on the look out for other symptoms. I appreciate your candidness and will keep checking my BP daily!