When Ashley McAtee, 37, was pregnant together with her first little one in 2019, she developed a painful rash on her torso on the finish of her second trimester. The likelihood that it was shingles by no means crossed her thoughts. In any case, she’d all the time heard it was an sickness that primarily impacted older individuals—and there have been so many different methods she may have irritated her pores and skin. The stunning prognosis taught the entrepreneur and Bravo Summer season Home alum some vital classes about listening to her physique and slowing down. Right here’s her story, as advised to well being author Amy Marturana Winderl.
Once I was about 27 weeks pregnant with my first child, my husband and I went on a babymoon to Hawaii. My firm, Uptown Cheapskate Carlsbad, was nonetheless in its early days. Constructing a enterprise was actually annoying and got here with a number of rising pains. I hadn’t been capable of take off as typically as I might have appreciated, however I used to be like, Okay, I’m pregnant; I must go on trip. I’m solely totally relaxed once I make a journey, and I wanted to unwind. So we went to Maui.
The second day we had been there, I awoke with a small rash on my stomach. At first it wasn’t all that painful; it was principally simply uncomfortable and felt sort of bizarre—I’m unsure how else to explain it. Truthfully, initially I used to be like, Do we have now mattress bugs? That appeared unlikely as a result of we had been at a really good lodge, however I couldn’t determine what the issue was. Shingles didn’t ever cross my thoughts. I bear in mind pondering that so many random issues may have triggered a response: the brand new local weather, the lengthy flight, the pool. So I ignored it and went about my day.
The next morning the rash was greater, and I advised my husband it was scaring me a bit. I ended up calling my ob-gyn’s workplace and explaining what was occurring. The nurse I spoke with mentioned it gave the impression of I might need a warmth rash, which made sense given the place I used to be. At first the dialog soothed me, however the rash saved getting greater, and the ache worsened. I known as my physician’s workplace again the following day and was like, “One thing’s not proper.” I had heard of pruritic urticarial papules and plaques of being pregnant (PUPPP), a hive-like rash that some individuals get after they’re anticipating and thought perhaps that was what I had. Since warmth rash and PUPPP had been the almost certainly culprits primarily based on how I described my signs, the nurse recommended I strive hydrocortisone cream to see if it will assist. (Spoiler: It didn’t.) I satisfied myself it wasn’t a giant deal and simply pushed previous the discomfort.
Nevertheless, over the following couple of days, the rash unfold throughout my stomach and again. I known as my mother a couple of occasions; as a mom of six, she has seen all of it, so she was additionally making an attempt to assist me determine the issue. By day 5 or so, I began feeling horribly uncomfortable. The rash harm a lot I couldn’t sleep. I known as my mother once more in a little bit of a panic, and that’s when she mentioned, “Ashley, I believe you’ve got shingles.” And I used to be like, “What the heck? There’s no means! That doesn’t even make sense.” We had been leaving the following day, so I made a decision to attend and see a health care provider as soon as we returned to California. Wanting again I want I’d listened to my intestine and gone to pressing care in Hawaii so I may have gotten a prognosis and began therapy sooner.
