Want to quit/PUPPP UPDATED

Kristin

I am so frustrated, sad, and ITCHY! My baby girl was due in September, born 10-8 and I got hit with the PUPPP rash at 38 weeks. So I have been dealing with this rash for almost 8 weeks. It covers my arms, legs, and butt and is now spreading to my back and chest.

I know "it's not fair" is a waste of breath, but seriously!!! On top of the fact that less than 1% of pregnant women get this rash, for most of the women who get it it goes away at delivery. And I am here 5 weeks later and there is NOTHING that I can do... except to quit breastfeeding so I can take steroids. Which I seriously don't want to do!

I have scoured the internet, forums, and been seen by multiple doctors and have tried every cream, lotion, soap, and other medication I could find and I get no relief. I eat a practically clean diet with no gluten, grain or dairy.

breastfeeding is so important to me, not to mention we were extremely lucky that it came easy for both baby and me. I HATE to quit at this point. My doctor said I can have a referral to a dermatologist but it will take months to get in.

I gave in and took 2 days worth of claritin earlier this week which is supposed to be much less likely to cause milk supply issues and noticed a dramatic reduction in milk last night leaving baby screaming and me in tears. Last week I was given a prescription antihistamine that was not supposed to affect my supply but i took 1 dose and it made me super high and sedate and I couldn't take care of my daughter and she also got bad diarrhea from it.

Anyone go through PUPPP and have any words of wisdom? I'm sure I've already tried it but I'm grasping at straws here.

EDIT/UPDATE: my allergist referred me to a dermatologist and they had a cancellation so I was able to get in next day. After looking at all your pictures I was starting to worry it wasn't PUPPP anymore, my rash looked like the pictures at first but the last 3-4 weeks now it's just been scabs and intense itching. The dermatologist agreed that it wasn't PUPPP any more but my body's autoimmune type reaction to the continued inflammation. She said that due to my bad allergies and bad skin, my body basically wound up from the PUPPP and run away with it, which is why it has gotten worse. She said at this point, it would not go away on its own and that we have to shut it down with steroids and we're also starting UV light box treatments 3x per week to heal the skin and hopefully suppress it beyond the course of steroids. I spoke with my clinic's midwife/lactation consultant and luckily I only have to pump and dump for 6 hours after taking the meds. After one day on steroids I have noticed a considerable decrease in itching. I understand pharmacology because I work in the medical industry, so I knew it would help almost immediately but there was this part of me that was so scared it wouldn't help after going through something like this for so long with nothing helping! I am still itchy at this point but it's an itch that I can resist. I can't wait to see how it feels in a few days and have real hope that I can heal up a lot of the scabbing that will be visible in my wedding dress for my wedding in 2 weeks which is more than I could have hoped for! Thank you all for your help and support!

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