Wednesday, June 17, 2009

How Do You Know You Have HELLP Syndrome?

HELLP Syndrome

The symptoms include fatigue, general malaise, pain in the upper right part of the abdomen, nausea, vomiting, headache, blurry vision, and water retention accompanied by excessive weight gain. Some women also have convulsions. Because most of these symptoms are common in a normal pregnancy or mimic other ailments like the flu, HELLP syndrome is difficult to diagnose. Report any seizures, abdominal pain, or flu-like symptoms to your doctor right away.

If your doctor suspects the syndrome, she will order a complete blood count to look for signs of hemolytic anemia and a platelet count. She will also order liver function tests that detect specific enzymes which signal liver damage, and she may order blood-clotting studies.

A number of other diseases that involve blood vessel and clotting abnormalities can be confused with HELLP. These include: systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE); acute fatty liver of pregnancy (AFL); thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP); and other collagen vascular diseases.

HELLP Syndrome

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