Monday, July 9, 2012

He "lovs" me...he "lovs" me not

Loven.ox
The injectable drug used to thin the blood and prevent clots from forming. Many times after a second or third loss the doctor will run an rpl panel and find either an inherited or acquired blood clotting disorder. I've been tested twice and nothing abnormal found in me or in the placentas. Doctors will sometimes use loved.ox or other blood thinners with unexplained patients like me, believing there is an undiscovered or undiagnosed clotting issue. Tiny clots form over time in the umbilical cord, etc and slowly stop the fetus from growing.

I was told after my second miscarriage to take a baby aspirin next time and if it happened again we may need to look into taking blood thinners...so when it happened again I just assumed that is the course I would take. After all, surely something needs to be done differently since the chances of having 3 losses in a row after ten weeks is under 1% (how's that for my super awesome statistical luck)?

Well, after the last loss I went to that rpl specialist and her words were "if it happens again we will look into thinners." Excuse me? How many more times do I have to have to go through this? These losses are at the second trimester, and they are missed miscarriages which is another indication of clotting issues. That did not settle well with me.

So I went back to my RE who mentioned Loven.ox when he did my septum removal. He now is really reluctant to give it to me because of the risk of stroke and I have nothing on paper to say I absolutely need it. The risk is very low, but then again so is my situation I'm in now...and he says if he keeps dishing it out someone is going to be the one with that happening. I understand his point. My OB thinks I need it and I have yet to meet the MFM I will have when pregnant for their opinion. I lose sleep over it. I feel like I really need to be on it because I don't want to look back if it happens again and think "what if I took it?" I can't help but keep thinking these miscarriages are not happening early. We always see strong heartbeats. I have to do something....but there is the other part of me that is scared. I am a Mom first, and I need to stay healthy for my daughter. I am constantly thinking about it. I know it's not an easy drug to take. Injecting my stomach everyday, bruising, etc...but I feel like I have to do something...something has to be happening and I just have a hard time sitting back the next time.

Anyone in "blogger land" take blood thinners despite no known clotting issues? Or know anyone who does? I worry about this constantly, and will speak more to the docs when I get pregnant again. Although I'm happy there is nothing found that's majorly wrong sometimes I just wish there was something concretely fixable.

Ahhhh big decisions....

17 comments:

  1. I have no experience with blood thinners, unfortunately. I feel like at this point, though, if a doctor told me to drink rotten milk to conceive a healthy baby I would do it! I hear you on not having a concrete diagnosis. It is one of the most helpless feelings. You basically can't do anything to help your situation and you just have to cross your fingers and hope for the best. I really hope the Loven.ox helps you! You are so brave for being able to stick that needle in your stomach.

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  2. Ack! That sounds like such a hard decision. I don't have any experience w/ clotting disorders so I can't contribute anything there. Like you, I would strongly feel like I needed to be doing something different. Do you have an appointment with the MFM?

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    1. I don't have appt yet...I hopefully will choose one soon and get another opinion.

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  3. Oh I wish I had some words of advice for you, but I don't. I hope you continue to advocate for yourself though and I can't imagine the thought of you having to go through another loss. Sometimes all of this stuff is just so unfair and almost too much to handle! Thinking of you and hope someone can point you in the direction you're looking for soon xoxo

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  4. I am so sorry that you are going through this. Can your OB prescribe it for you if she thinks you need it or is she relying on your REs opinion first? I took Lovenox / Heparin for 5 weeks with my first pregnancy as they thought I might have had a blood clot when I went to the ER at 35 weeks with trouble breathing. I refused a CT scan & decided on the Lovenox instead. (They determined through testing afterwards that I did not have one.) It is not easy but if you think it will help, I would recommend trying it. I do not think your OB would recommend it if she thought it was going to hurt you. They had me on it for 5 days for my 2nd pregnancy until more blood tests showed I did not have the blood clotting conditions they thought I had after repeat bloodwork. I went on it for the 5 days to be safe. Hope the drs are willing to work with you to figure out the best plan! Wishing you the best!!

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  5. I am going to my OB next week to talk about it more, then I will get another opinion from an MFM when pregnant. Thanks for sharing your experience, I was wondering too if they would test me as I went along to see if any issues came up.

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  6. First of all hugs to you! I know it is so frustrating.

    With my recent loss and Pulmonary Embolism I am being tested for multiple clotting disorders. Both my OB and my Hematologist tell me that regardless of the results, I will be treated with Loven.ox during any subsequent pregnancies. Both OB and Hematologist tell me there are possible clotting disorders out there that tests haven't been developed for yet. I am all for it, personally! Anything to ensure a healthy pregnancy!

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    1. I figured you would be on it too...we can do it together! You will be trying again in no time...it will go by fast....prayers for you.

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  7. Hey lady, I'm reading Coming to Term by Cohen. He discusses the research regarding blood thinners, as well as other treatments for RPL. It is a solid resource. And, more importantly, it has given me some hope.

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    1. I'm all about hope...I read the book. My miscarriage doc that told me wait until it happens one more time is one of the docs he refers to a lot in there. I read it right after my last miscarriage so I wasn't in the right state of mind. I need to re read! Thanks!

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  8. I am on Lovenox. I had 2 previous miscarriages with no causes/issues found, although both times I had strange issues with my uterus continuing to over-produce clots after the miscarriage (I bled for 12 weeks the 2nd time). Just before I got pregnant this 3rd time, I had some allergy testing done b/c I was breaking out in a rash every time I ran or would sweat. My allergist determined I have an autoimmune disorder which could be causing my infertility (I have always had crazy cycles) and my miscarriages. Unfortunately, my disorder is non-specific and can take years to diagnose through more testing. I was about to start pursuing that when we found out I was pregnant again. I went to see my fertility specialist (he is amazing) and he is the one who put me on Lovenox. He said that while there wasn't time to find out if my exact issue needed Lovenox, many autoimmune disorders manifest themselves as clotting disorders in pregnancy. He also said he was comfortable putting me on Lovenox even if I DIDN'T need it, as there are really no risks. So, I started immediately and have been on it ever since (I'm at 19 weeks). I don't know if it's the shots or not, but this is my first pregnancy to make it this far and I will ask to be on it again for any future pregnancies. My regular OB did say he didn't think I needed to be on it, as there is more and more research that shows it might not do anything at all, but that he would leave it up to me b/c (again) there were no real risks to being on it. I would give it a try b/c it really can't hurt. And I will say that shots SUCKED for the first few weeks (they really sting and I would bruise each time), but it gets SO much easier and I rarely bruise at all anymore. You just get used to it. And as I say, I'd gladly take 200 painful shots a day if it resulted in a healthy baby in the end. :) You can email me if you have any other questions. I did have on other friend with recurring losses who was put on Lovenox and went on to have 2 successful pregnancies using it, and that helped my decision to stay on it as well. Best of luck to you!

    My email is emilmoore623@gmail.com

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  9. I read "making babies", the doc recomends taking baby aspirin even if there are no clotting issues. Sorry so late. I kind of stopped reading that damn book since we cant even make an embryo. I don't think you should have to "wait until it happens again"! That seems rediculous. Are there any other dr's you could see? I hope for you, that this never happens again.

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  10. Thank you for stopping by my blog... and so sorry to read your story :( My heart breaks for you... and I can completely understand you wanting to do something different. I was told that our daughter passed away at 20 weeks due to an under-diagnosed clotting disorder/issue that is only just starting to be recognised as a cause of pregnancy loss. It's call Foetal Thrombotic Vasculopathy... and is tiny clots in the maternal side of the placenta that most pathologists can't pick up (her placenta went to a special lab for analysis). I am normally very healthy with no previous issue with clotting... and completely normal clotting tests outside pregnancy. Therefore my OB wants me to be on aspirin plus Clexane ( ? same as Lovenox ) from the time I have an embryo transfer. I know there's a tiny risk of stroke... but they believe that taking this medication will prevent problems during future pregnancies. I share your fear b/c we also have a child at home. Your situation may be different from mine... but ask your docs about this if you think it might help. Thinking of you and hugs from Oz xoxo

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  11. I started taking lov.enox before I had known clotting issues, but later on was diagnosed with clotting issues so it was a good thing. I also have a history of TIAs (mini strokes) and blood thinners are good for strokes, so I don't understand what are the risks that your RE is talking about regarding strokes? FWIW, I took baby aspirin AND lov.enox.

    I firmly believe it's the reason why I got farther in my last pregnancy than any other, and I really don't know of a downside to it. But, admittedly, I'm no doctor.

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  12. I'm currently going through my fourth loss, my first missed miscarriage. Went to my first ultrasound on Monday, and the baby measured right on track at 8w0d but had no heartbeat. I am still waiting for the miscarriage itself to happen. So frustrating! The dr. recommended that I get tested for clotting disorders. I would be very happy if they can figure out why this keeps happening. I have never heard that there can be a connection between mmc and clotting disorders. Can you point me in the direction of anything I might be able to read that discusses this? I'm super curious now! Thanks!

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  13. I'm going to go ahead and weigh in too. I was on lovenox and aspirin for the first 3 months. However my thought is that perhaps you should try progesterone suppositories along w the lovenox. If they won't give it, find a doc that will. I believe the progesterone saved this pregnancy. It can't hurt. My specialist would always err on the side of caution.

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    1. Thanks....I've been on progesterone suppositories each time....hopefully next time will be it!

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