"...My doctor is really curious if this has happened to anyone else ..."

Q: I was wondering if anyone else who has survived HELLP has lost their hair in clumps and has memory loss really bad.  My stomach is still not good or what feels to be my stomach). I had 16 bags of plasma put in me.  Did anyone else have to have this done?  Did anyone vomit blood after having their baby and was suffering HELLP syndrome?  My body looks like I am a burn victim because of the stretch marks.  I normally weight 100 pounds.  I weighed 137 when I had my son and then went up to 175 afterward.  Did  that happen to anyone else?  My doctor is really curious if this has happened to anyone else also and that is mainly why I am writing and asking.  This is all so new to him that he is really interested to know what post problems others have had and I am as well.  Please, could you post my email address for others to email their answers to these questions to me.

A: hair loss

Hair loss after pregnancy is very common.  The natural cycle of hair loss is interrupted during pregnancy.  The hair that would normally be lost is not, and then large amounts are lost postpartum.  I have not heard that HELLP or preeclampsia makes this worse. Some women experience more loss than others.  There are some autoimmune conditions that result in hair loss.  For many women, it takes 6-9 months for their hair to normalize.

  memory loss really bad

Many women who have HELLP or severe preeclampsia have swelling of their brains while they are sick.  Many do not remember the details of their birth.  They have what I call "islands of memory."  Some have very lucid recollections but some large blank areas.  I would expect this to improve with new memories quickly.

  stomach is still not good

Not sure what you are feeling.

  vomit blood

Many women have erosions in their esophagus in pregnancy - heart burn. If your platelets were very low, then I might expect bleeding.  This might also be the cause of your stomach not being quite right. Treatment of excess acid may help.

  stretch marks

I do not think that HELLP makes stretch marks worse.  A woman's skin type usually determines if she will get them.  Excess swelling may have made them worse.

  then went up to 175 afterward

The sudden increase in weight is edema - excess fluid in the tissues. At some point you will lose this fluid.  If your BP is still up, a diuretic may help both.


Pancreatitis could be the cause of ongoing "stomach problems."  Occasionally we see pancreatitis that seems to be the result of HELLP. This seems to resolve quickly.  Pancreatitis due to other causes, (eg. gall stones), can be a chronic problem.  Inflammation due to pancreatitis could have accelerated her HELLP syndrome.