Pregnant with my 6th and PUPPPs AGAIN!

Hi everyone!

Yep, you read that right. I’m 16 weeks along with my 6th baby. 🤰🏼 And my PUPPPs rash started at 13 weeks on my back. I’ve got a game plan this time, though! 

I will plan to share the journey with you as I go along. After I discuss a few things with my midwives tomorrow, I’ll fill you in on the plan! 

There is hope with this condition, and PUPPPs babies are so worth it!

Much love, 

PUPPPs Mom

PUPPPs...For the 5th time!

Well, here I am again, I'm sorry to say. I have PUPPPs again. I made it to 29 weeks this time! I was hopeful that this might be my first pregnancy without PUPPPs! But sadly, I'm 33 weeks now, and I've just reached the keeps-me-up-for-hours-at-night, scratch-til-I-bleed, red-itchy-patches-everywhere, I-might-go-crazy Stage. You know that stage? I'm sure you do. I'm sorry you do. 

For all of you wondering if my oil blend is helping this time (See here for my Cooling Relief Oil Recipe), sadly not enough. As before, it does bring temporary relief. But the rash just keeps getting worse and worse, spreading more each day. 

I'm strongly considering trying topical steroids again this time. You do what you gotta do to stay sane.

There is a strong aspect of the mental game this time. I know what's ahead. I know how much time I have left. It's simply depressing. 

The nights are the worst. Hours and hours awake, scratching with my trusty hairbrush (this fella here), trying not to wake people with the noise and the crying. I know I could bring my cooler of ice packs to bed again, but that is depressing too. To get to that point. After functioning so well last time!

I know you come to this blog looking for answers and hope. So I'm sorry for this little venting session. When I get over the grief and accept that I need to deal with this, I will let you all know what relief I find this time around. 

In the meantime, you once again have my fresh sympathy. Fresh and acute. I say this as I discover a new patch in my HAIR. Sigh. 

Signing off for now.

PUPPPs Mom

7 weeks Postpartum

I think we are finally in the clear! The last visible remnant of rash is gone! I have a mild itch every now and then, but it's more like winter dry skin itch. NOTHING like a PUPPPs itch. I am thankful to be on the other side of my 4th bout with PUPPPs!

But I have on my mind that there of thousands of you out there still in the throws of the worst of it! 

I'm so sorry! I feel your pain! If you haven't already, please check out my posts titled "treatments I've tried" and "Essential Oil Blend: Amazing Relief" for my most helpful itch relief tips! You can find those links on the far right of the blog, under Popular posts. 

(7 week old PUPPPs Baby #4!)

Wishing you all an itch-free Christmas!

~ PUPPPsMom

Thanksgiving

To all my itchy friends, I hope you are finding ways to be thankful this year! 

I am dealing with a new nasty postpartum PUPPPs rash, but I am thankful...

... For a baby to hold that keeps my hands too full to scratch. 

... For essential oils that consistently heal the flare ups. 

... For a husband that serves me while I adjust to being a mom of 4. 

Look at that face! It's pretty hard to think of anything else when this girl wants to visit. 

On the home stretch...

Hello, fellow itchy people! 

I know my last post was about how everything was working well. It mostly still is. But something must have shifted hormonally, because one of my pesky patches of rash has flared up again in the last two weeks. It is SO itchy. 

I do wonder if it has so do with the fact that my 1 year old lost my bottle of essential oils for about 3 days. (I found it under her crib, between some toys!) Right after that stretch of having no oils for maintenance, the rash came back! That does seem like quite a coincidence, no?

Anyway, I'm enduring, because my due date is only 12 days away! We're almost there! Pretty soon, I will have a precious newborn in my arms and plenty of distraction from the itch. What a welcome event! 

I'm thinking about all you ladies out there on your own home stretches! Hang in there!

**Fall in my neck of the woods.**

Something Must Be Working

The blog has been quiet lately, hasn't it?

Well, it's because my rash is pretty much under control! It's hard for me to believe! I guess on my 4th pregnancy with this crazy condition, I've finally tweaked my routine to something that helps!

Here's a Link to my current treatment routine, in case you'd like to give it a try. I'm pretty sure my essential oil blend is the key to all, so here's a link to that Recipe. It's worth a try people!

I've got 4 and a half weeks left in this pregnancy, and then probably 2 more months of dealing with the rash. But the end is in sight! I sure hope all that I've learned helps some of you out there!

PUPPPs & Depression

I've been reading quite a few posts lately on one of the Facebook support groups by mommas expressing that are at the end of their coping abilities. A few have mentioned considering terminating their pregnancies. It makes my heart hurt to read these comments. Partially, I remember feeling awful about my pregnancies when my itch was at it's worst. I remember feeling so sad that I wasn't HAPPY to be pregnant. It didn't seem right to me. But on the other hand, I've made it to the other side 3 times now, so I wanted to encourage some of you that are in that dark place right now.

First, I want you to know that what you are feeling is very real and shouldn't be minimized by anyone. People who haven't experienced the life-altering extreme itch of a PUPPPs rash that doesn't seem to have any hope of going away don't understand the mental place it brings you. You can't imagine facing another day, another sleepless night, with this itch!

But let me tell you about the first time I was alone in a room with my first born daughter.

The day before, I spent 18 hours of absolute agony bringing her into the world. Yes, PUPPPs is horrible. But I did not itch in labor. I hurt. I wasn't prepared for the natural birth I wanted, so when the reality of labor pain hit me, it hit me hard. (Side note: it's worth preparing all you can ahead of time to deal with labor! The Bradley Method is my favorite so far. My second birth was incredible in contrast to my first! It can be different!) I writhed in pain with contractions and then vomited in between them, presumably due to my high anxiety and adrenaline levels. There was no rest, no break, until the hard work was done. But then, she was here, and the joy and RELIEF was like nothing I'd ever felt. I'd done the HARDEST thing of my life so far and received the most amazing, beautiful reward!

We spent the next 24 hours marveling over her every detail. When it was time to go home from the hospital, my husband went down to bring the car around, and I was alone with my daughter for the first time. The situation struck me hard. I began to cry. I was alone with this little girl, a helpless tiny person, and she needed me desperately. I suddenly felt I knew the love of a mother. It took me being alone with her, with no nurses or husband to share the burden, to realize she was mine. She slept so peacefully in my arms, unaware of the dangerous world she had just joined.

And as I thought about that dangerous world, I suddenly had a feeling I had never felt before. It was fierce.

I would DIE for this person if need be.

I would trade my life for this child.

It was fierce! It was the fierce, intense love of a mother!

I could not have known the intensity of this love prior to this moment. If someone would have told me before birth, I would not have understood. In the darkness of my PUPPPs, I could have been in danger of missing it!

Ladies, I know you're suffering! But take heart! There is something SO precious on the other side of this! Your child needs you! You will know it when you hold them, but until then, press on!

Find one more remedy to try. Go ahead and order that one more crazy product to try. Make one more appointment with your doctor...or a different doctor! Or a dermatologist! Take one more icy, cold bath. Take a trip to the store to stock up on some luxurious ice packs and comfort food. (Or send someone to the store if putting on clothes sounds horrible.)

(My 3 little PUPPPs babies.)

Do what you need to do to get through, because there is a precious, tiny person inside, unaware of the dangerous world they are about to enter, that needs YOU! You are his or her only protection in this world. You CAN get through. You WILL get through, and you will get to hold that person and be so thankful you made it. Keep going, Momma. Keep going.

(PS. As always, I'd love more information about PUPPPs, so please feel free to answer my polls on the right side of the page. If you are using the mobile version, scroll to the bottom, click on "view web version" and you'll be able to see the polls. Thanks! ~PUPPPs Mom)

The Delay & My Current Treatment Routine

I'm sorry for the delay in the Seven Star Needle test! I've had the wonderful problem of not having a good enough patch of rash to try it on! I anticipate my rash flaring up again in a week or so if it sticks to it's previous pattern. I will be testing it as soon as that happens!

In the mean time, I'm so pleased that my current rash routine is helping! I will soon need to write baby #4's story and tell you all about it! In case you can't wait (and I know what it is to be in a desperate place!!), here is a quick list that I'll elaborate on later.

• Dandelion root capsules: 800 mg 1-2x/day (Oregon's Wild Harvest brand)
• Daily probiotics (Biokult brand)
• Daily superfood supplement (Dr. Schulze brand)
• Magnesium supplement (Professional Formulas Note: I haven't ordered from this website. I buy from a relative, so I am not endorsing this seller. I just wanted you to have a link where you could read more about it.)
• Liquid chlorophyll supplement (Nature's Sunshine brand)
• Topical essential oil treatment that I came up with recently.

The probiotics, superfood, magnesium, and liquid chlorophyll are not specifically for PUPPPs. Those are just my normal vitamin routine, but you never know what is helping! 

The dandelion root capsules and the essential oils are the only things I'm doing specifically for PUPPPs, and they really seem to be helping!

A more detailed post is in the works. :) 

You know you have PUPPPs when...

It's mosquito season where I live. Pesky buggers.

BUT, you know you have PUPPPs when the mosquito bites barely itch in comparison to your rash.

My poor little girls have quite a few bites, complain about the itch, and I really don't have very much sympathy. Sorry, kiddos! Mommy knows what it's like to really itch.

Let's see...how else do you know you have PUPPPs...

You might have PUPPPs if...you're medicine cabinet is full of every over-the-counter itch cream known to man.

You might have PUPPPs if...it looks like the drug store exploded on your bedside table.

You might have PUPPPs if...you've considered joining a nudest colony just to avoid the hassle of clothing.

You might have PUPPPs if...you've fantasized about swimming in the ocean all day long.

You might have PUPPPs if...you seek out privacy in public places just to scratch the "awkward" spots.

You might have PUPPPs if...you have your dermatologist in your favorite contact list.

Got any to add? Feel free to comment!!

That Wild Eyed Look

My rash is going through a flare-up right now, and apparently it's obvious to my husband. He says he can tell when it's getting bad, because I get a desperate, wild-eyed look when I'm scratching. I didn't even realize I did that!

But now that He mentions it, it's a pretty good indicator. I wish I knew what factors played into the flare-ups! Once a month, it gets pretty bad for a week or so and then calms down. I'm not pleased that this current flare-up coincides with a week of weather in the upper 90's and our ventilation system going on the fritz. 

It's going to be quite a week. 

By the way, I'm in the midst of testing the black cherry juice remedy! I'll post an update after I've given it a chance for a little while longer. 

A Silver Lining to the Common Cold

That's an unlikely post title, no?

I know this is my PUPPPs blog, but I'm living with the itch AND a cold right now, so I may as well tell you about it. 

It's a little crazy, but the fever, aches, sore throat, and completely plugged sinuses have taken my mind off the itching! I'm rather miserable, but less itching is definitely a silver lining.

So, here I am in the middle of summer, hunkered in my hoodie and fleece jammies...researching the common cold. Ironic.

Now, let's be logical, if you're reading this because you have PUPPPs, you are about to or already do have children in the house. Children, the little germ factories, are the main way adults get infected. They're worth it, trust me. But with children in the house, you are going to become quite accustomed to colds, so you might as well buff up on your sniffly knowledge. 

I came across a fascinating webpage all about the common cold from Cardiff University in the UK. Here's a link to the article: link

Here's the run down in case you'd rather skip reading the full article. 

• Incubation period for the common cold is 2 days. Super short!
• You are most contagious when you have the early symptoms (sneezing, coughing, runny nose).
• The virus is commonly present in your nose and throat, but it doesn't take root unless your immune system takes a dive (like if you get stressed). 
• Your mother was right! Getting chilled can give you a cold! A study took roughly a hundred college kids and chilled their feet in ice water for a while. Compared to the control group, they were statistically way more likely to get a cold! Researchers believe the chilling of the feet constricts the blood vessels in the nose and throat, thereby lowering your immune reponse (due to the lack of immune system cells that would normally be present with the blood in that area!) The gist? You get cold, you're more likely to get a cold. This is also probably the reason colds are more common in fall and winter. 
• There are roughly 200 different viruses that causes common cold symptoms. Awesome. This means you can get one cold right after another. Your body will be immune the first cold, but not prepared to fight off the second one. 
• Symptoms usually last 7-14 days. 
• You'll first feel sick where the first viruses attach themselves. If it's in your nose, you'll probably get a runny nose first. If it's in your throat, you'll get a dry scratchy throat. 
• Many infections don't cause symptoms. The virus takes root, but your body fights it off before you start to feel sick. Come on, body! Why didn't we do that this time?! 
• You can't tell the difference between a cold and a flu based on the symptoms. They can act very similar. A flu is often worse than a cold. There are some laboratory tests for the flu. 
• Your nose doesn't actually get blocked with snot. It gets plugged up, because the blood vessels in your nose swell up. It gets all inflamed in there, and then the tiniest amount of mucous blocks the rest. Lovely. 

(Image from the Cardiff University website for common cold info)

Well, after all that, I'd say our trip to the beach was our downfall. We all got chilly in that blissfully cool air. And then we all got sick. It sure felt good! Next time, I'll bundle up better. 

Greetings from the sick house

What do you do when you have PUPPPs, crazy seasonal allergies, and 3 kiddos with a nasty cold?

Not much. 

Sorry for the brief hiatus in posts. 

Beating the Heat (and the itch)

At home, it's been close to 100 degrees. Heat & PUPPPs just don't mix. However, at the coast, it's been in the 60's. Yes, please!!

I wish it was possibly for all PUPPPs mommas to head to the chilly ocean for a stretch. I don't have much advice to offer in this post except the encouragement to stay cool this summer! 

So chilly we had to be bundled up. Yay!

Pelicans! 

Sea anemones. They closed up when you poked them. 

Starfish. I wonder who munched his 5th leg?

And the all-time beach fave, salt water taffy. Absolutely delightful. 

I'd like to thank the icy water and the brisk wind for their soothing anti-itch properties! Spending the whole summer at the beach sounds pretty nice right now!