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I have been taking Lovenox for a little over a week now. I had my spleen removed because of a low platelete count (ITP) and now my platelets are too high. My first pregnancy was normal but I got a blood clot in my lung a year after. No cause was ever determined except that my platelets run high. Now I am 13 weeks pregnant with my second child and they have put me on Lovenox as a precaution.

The home health care nurse who instructed my husband and I how to do the shots said they could be given in the arm as well as the stomach and thighs. All the posts I have read only mention giving the shots in the stomach and thighs. Could she have given us wrong information? I definately need to clarify this with the doctor. You see, when I get the injections in my arm, they don't really hurt or burn compared to the stomach. I was wondering why everyone gets their shots in the stomach if it burns so much. The arms would be a much better choice (as long as someone else is giving the shot, it would be hard to do by yourself in the arm).

The nurse told us to alternate arms, stomach and thighs but I didn't have to get the shots in the stomach if they burn too bad. Does anyone know for sure if it is okay to give the Lovenox shots in the arm. Thanks for your help. And best wishes to all of you.

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Hi,

I posted a question on pg 17 can anyone answer?? Thanks,

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There really isn't any "normal" for beta numbers. It's difficult to say what's "normal" since every woman's body is different. The rule of thumb is your second beta should be double your first beta. Yours effectively tripled so that seems to be a good sign.

Hope this helps and hope everything continues to go well for you!


HeatherMak

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[quote author=AnnaP link=board=13;threadid=1981;start=255#29043 date=1165427477]
I have been taking Lovenox for a little over a week now. I had my spleen removed because of a low platelete count (ITP) and now my platelets are too high. My first pregnancy was normal but I got a blood clot in my lung a year after. No cause was ever determined except that my platelets run high. Now I am 13 weeks pregnant with my second child and they have put me on Lovenox as a precaution.

The home health care nurse who instructed my husband and I how to do the shots said they could be given in the arm as well as the stomach and thighs. All the posts I have read only mention giving the shots in the stomach and thighs. Could she have given us wrong information? I definately need to clarify this with the doctor. You see, when I get the injections in my arm, they don't really hurt or burn compared to the stomach. I was wondering why everyone gets their shots in the stomach if it burns so much. The arms would be a much better choice (as long as someone else is giving the shot, it would be hard to do by yourself in the arm).

The nurse told us to alternate arms, stomach and thighs but I didn't have to get the shots in the stomach if they burn too bad. Does anyone know for sure if it is okay to give the Lovenox shots in the arm. Thanks for your help. And best wishes to all of you.
[/quote]

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[quote author=AnnaP link=board=13;threadid=1981;start=255#29043 date=1165427477]
I have been taking Lovenox for a little over a week now. I had my spleen removed because of a low platelete count (ITP) and now my platelets are too high. My first pregnancy was normal but I got a blood clot in my lung a year after. No cause was ever determined except that my platelets run high. Now I am 13 weeks pregnant with my second child and they have put me on Lovenox as a precaution.

The home health care nurse who instructed my husband and I how to do the shots said they could be given in the arm as well as the stomach and thighs. All the posts I have read only mention giving the shots in the stomach and thighs. Could she have given us wrong information? I definately need to clarify this with the doctor. You see, when I get the injections in my arm, they don't really hurt or burn compared to the stomach. I was wondering why everyone gets their shots in the stomach if it burns so much. The arms would be a much better choice (as long as someone else is giving the shot, it would be hard to do by yourself in the arm).

The nurse told us to alternate arms, stomach and thighs but I didn't have to get the shots in the stomach if they burn too bad. Does anyone know for sure if it is okay to give the Lovenox shots in the arm. Thanks for your help. And best wishes to all of you.
[I am new to this site so I hope this all comes through clearly. Anyway, during by last pregnancy I suffered a PE and began taking Lovenox injections for the remaining 3 months of my pregnancy. I never gave myself an injection in the stomach--by husband always gave them to me in the arm. My pulmonologist and OB both OKd this. We did alternate arms each injection and I did experience a great deal of bruising, however the Lovenox proved to be very effective and all turned out well. Anyway, hope some of this makes you feel better about the info. you were given. As far as taking the shots in the stomach, I was told that this is usually the "fattiest" part of the body and should be the least painful. Also, I think that if you are alone and need to give yourself the injections, this would be the most logical way. Hope some of my experience helps and good luck with everything!!][/quote]

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I am so SO glad to have found this forum, I have an appointment with the perinatologist this coming tuesday and i am 99% sure that I am going to be put on lovenox ASAP when I go in. I am mostly concerned with my ability to give myself the injection...even after being poked and prodded for almost a year after my close brush with death from my pulmonary emolism at age 20 ( 1.5 years ago ) I still despise needles! Is it truthfully that bad? I am also worried about labor and being on blood thinners in it, will there be a greater blood loss and tearing/ bruising?

Also, do you have to avoid foods with vit K like you do on warfarin/COUMADIN?

Thank you so much for your help and good luck to you all! =)

Preggo Alycia

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I started Lovenox and I have bruises all over my body!! Is there any cure, or a way to avoid them?

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Hi everyone,
Well I went to the doctor today. They said I am 6w5ds. The heart beat looked good. I will feel so much better when I am out of my first trimester. The lovenox does burse and I haven’t found a way around that. I asked my internal fetal medicine spiciest about vitamin k and he said not to consume large portions but you don’t have to avoid it. He did tell me to continue taking my aspirin. And yes I do think the needles are that bad I have been taking them since the day before thanks giving and I still find them to be just as painful as the first time. But I am becoming a more willing participant. I used to whine for at least 10 minuets before my husband gave me the shot but the longer I stay pregnant the more I am just glad that I can do something to better the odds of carrying to term.
Julia

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I am just wondering how big the bruises are that everyone has from the lovenox. When I started the injections, the first shot I gave myself gave me a bruise the size of my fist. They have since decresed somewhat but there still bad. I look like I am somebodys punching bag!!

Also, I asked my hematologist if I was going to be taken off of Lovenox the week I am due and she said no??? ???I notcied that other women's dr's are taking them off and putting them on something else is this right? She told me that if I went into labor within 6 hours I could NOT have an epideral. :o

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Annap,

I was told by my dr that I could give them in the underarms too where the fat is. For me the stomach wasn't so bad at first, I found that the more fat I had the less it hurt, lol. I am now running out of spots on my stomach, so I may try my underarms. The only thing that stinks about that is you have to have someone else give the shot to you under the arm. Hope this helps.

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Mrsspfunk-
every post i've read & after talking to my DR- you are "supposed" to go off lovenox a month before the due date & go onto Heparin... So you may want to get another opinion on that---
also you are brave to give yourself a shot under your arm--- there is no way i could do that. i have only used my bottom so far-- my husband does it. Dr said i could do it there.... only 22 more weeks of that :)

good luck----but definitely check about going off lovenox prior to the duedate....

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Mrspfunk -

Yeah, I'm with Miicki on this one...you need to ask your hematologist about that one more time.

For a DOCTOR to tell you that you cannot have an epidural, to DENY YOU PAIN RELIEF, is in direct contradiction to the Hippocratic Oath they took to become a doctor in the first place!! A doctor is someone who decided to spend more time in school than you or me...that doesn't make them better people, just people who pursued a different path than you or me. A doctor – ONE doctor – does NOT know everything. So I would certainly press as to why you can’t be switched to Heparin before your due date and then back to Lovenox after delivery and WHY YOU WOULD BE DENIED PAIN RELIEF DURING CHILDBIRTH!!!

Lovenox has a longer “shelf life” and is not wholly surgery safe. Meaning, if you were to go into labor, the Lovenox might make things tricky. BUT there ARE medications they can give to you to COUNTERACT the Lovenox to prevent you from bleeding too much and that will enable you to have a perfectly normal delivery.

Heparin is more surgery safe...they usually give patients a Heparin Lock solution prior to surgery to prevent clots in an IV port, as well as to prevent the formation of blood clots throughout the body. Heparin, as I said, is more surgery friendly and is no problem for Mother, Baby or Doctor.

My RE put me on Lovenox the day I got my BFP @ 5 weeks, my OB put me on Heparin at 36 weeks and I had a beautiful C-Section at 39 weeks. I went back on the Lovenox the evening I delivered and continued for six weeks post-partum. There ARE alternatives so ASK ASK ASK. If your doctor tries to dismiss you, press harder. If they still dismiss you, ask your OB for another hematologist. Unless they are the only hematologist in town, you DO have options. I have a friend who’s OB ticked her off three days prior to her C-Section by making a VERY rude comment...very rude and unethical...and she got another doctor to deliver her baby three days later.

I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again – THIS IS YOUR BODY, THIS IS YOUR BABY. YOU HAVE EVERY RIGHT TO QUESTION ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING ANY DOCTOR OR NURSE TELLS YOU!!! Those who tell you otherwise need to not be involved in your healthcare.

Tough love, yes, but any doctor worth their salt will EXPLAIN – thoroughly and in terms you can totally comprehend – anything they ask of you.

Be polite but firm and ask your doctor why you can’t be switched to Heparin and why you wouldn’t be able to have an epidural...that is nearly unethical and criminal to DENY you pain relief. Seriously. So, you need to find out concrete answers.

Good luck and keep us posted!!


HeatherMak

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My dr. said I will have to be induced 1 to 2 weeks early because if you have a clotting problem there is an increased risk of still birth. So we will pick a date and I will just stop the lovenox all together one day prior to the induction and then I can have an epidural and things will be fine. My dr. said I can be pregnant no more then 39 weeks at the latest. So ask about that to while you are asking questions.
Julia

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This is my second pregnancy that I've been on blood thinners (I'm now at 24 weeks). The first one I was just on heparin for the last 3 months and 3 months after and this one they started me on lovenox first and are going to switch me to heparin later. I can tell you that I was horrified to learn that I was going to have to stick myself with a needle every day (twice daily with heparin), but truthfully, you get used to it (in a way). It still hurts a little, but it really does get easier. I have talked to different people with experience giving shots, and everyone says the same thing, don't do it slowly! It will hurt more! I did it so slowly with the first pregnancy that it would take me close to 15 minutes just to get the needle in and give the shot!!! As Mike says, Just do it. Also, in my experience, the close you give the shot to the outer skin layer, the greater your chance for bruising. I'm not a dr but it's what I've noticed on myself. As for greater tearing, I think it depends on your doctors/nurses at the hospital. As in any pregnancy, if you go too fast you are going to tear! With me they induced at 38 weeks after I had been off the meds for 24 hours to get it out of the system. It didn't happen that day so they sent me home (talk about torture!) and induced again a week later at 39 weeks. One thing that they did that they don't usually do in people not taking heparin is that they kept the epidural in for more than 24 hours! They said it was to prevent clotting at the spinal cord (we definitely don't want to go there...). It was uncomfortable, but hey, both baby and mommy ended up healthy, so it's worth it, right? Good luck starting the shots! -Daisy

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Hi all,

I am now 8 weeks 3 days..This is my second pregnancy with Lovenox (and then heparin towards the end). I had 3 miscarriages before being diagnosed with Antiphospholipid Antibody Syndrome (a lupus anticoagulant disorder)...My daughter was born (not quite full term) in March of 2003. Back then, I could barely find any information or anyone that had even experienced anything like this. In addition, I have a million and one complications to boot (i.e. incompetent cervix - therefore, I also had to have a cerclage and will have another one in about 3 weeks). I agree with some of the previous posts, just do it fast..It's over before you know it. I remember the hard spots and the bruises. They come from hitting a blood vessel which is just so common to hit. I had to take them in my stomach. A friend of mine, had to take them in her arm. So I don't really know the rhyme or reason to the location..but the stomach worked for me..It was just a little difficult towards the end, since there isn't a lot of skin to pinch. My husband assisted..and so did my family. It wasn't the worst thing..and nothing beats having a healthy baby at the end. They make it all worth it!

Good luck to everyone!

~ Chanille

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:)

I agree. With my last pregnancy, I had to have a cerclage at 24 weeks - WELL after I started the Lovenox. When I went in for the surgery they forgot to tell me to stop the lovenox for 24 hours before the surgery, so I stayed overnight and they did it the next day. I had an epidural while they completed the procedure, and even went home that night. When I hit 28 - 30 weeks, I hit more complications, and in case I had to have an emergency c-section, they switched me to heparin - which I stayed on for the duration of my pregnancy. BUT there are defintely options. I had an epidural for my c-section as well...

I wish you luck!

Take care,

Chanille

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