Rebecca

Where was I?  Oh yes.  My itchy feet.

Several weeks ago, my feet started to itch.  I didn’t really notice it much.  However, the itch got progressively worse to the point where I would have to kick off my shoes every few hours to give my feet a good scratching.

I had no idea what was causing this sudden itch.  I decided to turn to the trusty Internet.  I supposed I had athlete’s foot, but there was no rash on my foot at all.  After reading up on athlete’s foot and looking at pictures, I decided that couldn’t be the problem.

Then Dallas suggested I look up “itchy feet during pregnancy.”  Itchy feet during pregnancy?  Seriously?  Who’s ever heard of such a thing?  I know pregnancy can do weird things to your body, but a localized itch on my feet?  I was doubtful.

I dutifully Googled and before long, I found myself reading on www.itchymoms.com.  Turns out there is a condition in pregnancy that causes itching on your feet.  Have you ever heard of this?  It’s called Obstetric Cholestasis.  I read in disbelief about this condition.  Usually the only thing women notice is itching.  However, Obstetric Cholestasis “carries an increased risk of premature labor, fetal and maternal hemorrhaging, fetal distress, and most importantly, stillbirth.”

Holy moly.

I was sure I had this.  What other explanation was there?  From what I understand, pregnancy taxes a woman’s liver and causes it not to function as efficiently.  Consequently, bile acids can build up in her blood.  I think this is what causes itching.  The big problem with this is that the mother’s blood has too much bile acid in it which is then transferred to the baby.  The baby’s immature system cannot handle filtering out the bile acids and this causes fetal distress.

Yikes!

I went to the doctor for a checkup and told them about my itchy feet.  The doctor ordered a blood test to check my bile acid levels.

The results came back – NORMAL.

That was a relief, but my feet still itched!  I asked the doctor about that.  He responded that some women just get itchy during pregnancy as a result of hormones going crazy.

Remember this post? I guess my skin is just extra prone to itching.

The itch is so annoying.  When you’re pregnant, it’s understandable that you will wake up in the night because you’re uncomfortable.  It’s expected that you’ll wake up because you have to go to the bathroom.  It’s ridiculous to wake up because your feet itch, yet night after night, that’s the scenario.

I know, I know.  There are worse things I could be dealing with.  I could be barfing my guts out and have to be hooked to IVs around the clock.  I could be bed-ridden.  My baby could have something wrong with him.  I’m glad that none of these are the case.

But.

Feet that constantly itch?

It’s so irritating.

And, to make this situation worse, the itch is spreading.

Has anyone else out there had this happen to them?

I think I have mentioned that this pregnancy is different from my other two pregnancies.  One difference is the degree of tiredness I have felt.

When I was pregnant with Brooke and Caroline, I didn’t get it.  People would ask me if I was extra tired.  I didn’t know how to answer that.  Isn’t everyone pretty much always tired?  “Yeah, sure,” I’d tell people, “I’m tired.”

Now I know how to answer that.  NO.  I was NOT tired when I was pregnant with Brooke and Caroline.  This pregnancy has opened my eyes (eyes that wish so desperately to be closed) as to the extent of tiredness a person can feel.

There were days when I would lie on the couch wondering how I would ever be able to sit up again.  No amount of sleep would cure my fatigue.  It felt as though every single ounce of energy had been sucked out of my body (and subsequently placed into the bodies of my children).

I remember one day the top of my head itched.  I looked at my hand and didn’t know how I would find the energy to lift it three feet to scratch my head.

That’s the kind of tired I was dealing with.

The second trimester of pregnancy has softened that symptom.  As long as I go to bed at a pretty reasonable hour I’m okay the next day, but wo unto me if I don’t get enough sleep.

And the past few weeks I haven’t gotten enough sleep.

Stay tuned for the blog post all about why I now hate Benjamin Franklin.  I’d write it now…but I’m too tired.