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Hello Everyone, I haven't been on for awhile, a lot has happened. Just to catch some of you up on my story. I was on Lovenox for my third pregnancy. My first pregnancy lasted until my 29th week. My son Shawn is a healthy, smart and active 8 yr old. I had pregnancy induced hypertension (pre-eclampsia) with my first pregnancy. For my second pregnancy, I started off with high blood pressure, so I was on a blood pressure medication. I started bleeding at 20 weeks and delivered my baby after bleeding for 24 hours and I ended up loosing my baby. After I lost my son Jonathon, I had testing done and found out that I had a MTHFR gene mutation which can lead to blood clots. Which is what happened with my second pregnancy. So for my third pregnancy I was put on Lovenox. Which I had done a lot of reading up on it before I even found out that I was pregnant. My third pregnancy ended at 27 weeks. So even with taking the Lovenox shot every day at the same exact time everyday for the 27 weeks of my pregnancy, it didn't help me reach full term. |
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I was on lovenox for my last pregnancy with twins after I lost my first baby at 28 weeks - my HEALTHY twins are now 8 1/2 months old and I am so thankful for lovenox. I had tested one time for LAC and then I am MTHFR - the common mut. , but I havent tested postitive again for LAC. I was on a prophalactic dose (40 mg per day) and I know it is what helped me. I am now pregnant again without any fertility treatments - so a lot less hormones (which adds to any clotting disorder I believe) and I am taking lovenox again as a precaution. It is a pain , literally!, but it is so worth it - it only makes your blood slightly thinner than the normal persons and there are no side effects except I got bloody noses more frequently - but who knows if that was the lovenox. Good Luck, and I would never be afraid of lovenox , but as everyone says you have to do what you feel is best for you. I am just a believer in it bc it gave me my pure joy and love like I have never known with my twins! |
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I just want to clear up what appears to be a misconception or misunderstanding of my original purpose...obviously I posted this a long time ago...I have 2 boys, Jake was nine in Jan and I took Lovenox and Joey was 4 in Dec and I took Heparin...if I were to get pregnant again I would take Heparin again, the only difference as far as I was concerned is I had to take 2 shots a day with the Heparin but from reading through some of the posts here some of you are taking 2 Lovenox shots a day....anyway, in like 2002 or 2003 Lovenox was recalled, you can google "lovenox FDA alert", it was found to cause a multitude of birth defects, including what Jake was born with, Esophageal Atresia with a Tracheo-Esophogeal Fistula. We had a long hard road to get to age 9...he had surgery at 5 days old to repair his esophagus and has had over 10 surgical procedures to stretch his esophagus because it tightens up on him causing food to become lodged in his esophagus (mid chest)...he takes Prevacid daily (just recently cut down from twice daily) for reflux and Singulair daily because where they sewed his trachea closed is floppy and causes a seal like bark cough which worsens with cold weather or him being active (he now plays football and lacrosse so he coughs A LOT)...he will probably be one these meds or meds like them the rest of his life...he will also probably have to have his esophagus stretched periodically for the rest of his life...he has turned blue on me on more than one occasion as well as I have been forced to pull the car over and rip him from the car seat when something is stuck (when we're in need of a "stretch" his own saliva has trouble going down)...Its been a scary ride, one I would not wish on anyone...that is why I chose Heparin for my second pregnancy...Joe was born perfectly healthy...my point is just research the medication, there are alternatives, a very close friend of mine was pregnant for the 1st time while I was pregnant with Joe, she and I both have "positive anticardiolipin antibodies" and that is why we must take the blood thinners, she was put on Lovenox and her son is severely handicapped...he and Joe are both 4 but he functions at the level of a 9 month old and may never improve...I can't prove Lovenox caused these things but I'd rather be safe than sorry...I'm not trying to scare anyone just trying to save someone the heartache we have been through and will go through the rest of our lives...May God bless you and your babies... |
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I just want to clear up what appears to be a misconception or misunderstanding of my original purpose...obviously I posted this a long time ago...I have 2 boys, Jake was nine in Jan and I took Lovenox and Joey was 4 in Dec and I took Heparin...if I were to get pregnant again I would take Heparin again, the only difference as far as I was concerned is I had to take 2 shots a day with the Heparin but from reading through some of the posts here some of you are taking 2 Lovenox shots a day....anyway, in like 2002 or 2003 Lovenox was recalled, you can google "lovenox FDA alert", it was found to cause a multitude of birth defects, including what Jake was born with, Esophageal Atresia with a Tracheo-Esophogeal Fistula. We had a long hard road to get to age 9...he had surgery at 5 days old to repair his esophagus and has had over 10 surgical procedures to stretch his esophagus because it tightens up on him causing food to become lodged in his esophagus (mid chest)...he takes Prevacid daily (just recently cut down from twice daily) for reflux and Singulair daily because where they sewed his trachea closed is floppy and causes a seal like bark cough which worsens with cold weather or him being active (he now plays football and lacrosse so he coughs A LOT)...he will probably be one these meds or meds like them the rest of his life...he will also probably have to have his esophagus stretched periodically for the rest of his life...he has turned blue on me on more than one occasion as well as I have been forced to pull the car over and rip him from the car seat when something is stuck (when we're in need of a "stretch" his own saliva has trouble going down)...Its been a scary ride, one I would not wish on anyone...that is why I chose Heparin for my second pregnancy...Joe was born perfectly healthy...my point is just research the medication, there are alternatives, a very close friend of mine was pregnant for the 1st time while I was pregnant with Joe, she and I both have "positive anticardiolipin antibodies" and that is why we must take the blood thinners, she was put on Lovenox and her son is severely handicapped...he and Joe are both 4 but he functions at the level of a 9 month old and may never improve...I can't prove Lovenox caused these things but I'd rather be safe than sorry...I'm not trying to scare anyone just trying to save someone the heartache we have been through and will go through the rest of our lives...May God bless you and your babies... |
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I just want to clear up what appears to be a misconception or misunderstanding of my original purpose...obviously I posted this a long time ago...I have 2 boys, Jake was nine in Jan and I took Lovenox and Joey was 4 in Dec and I took Heparin...if I were to get pregnant again I would take Heparin again, the only difference as far as I was concerned is I had to take 2 shots a day with the Heparin but from reading through some of the posts here some of you are taking 2 Lovenox shots a day....anyway, in like 2002 or 2003 Lovenox was recalled, you can google "lovenox FDA alert", it was found to cause a multitude of birth defects, including what Jake was born with, Esophageal Atresia with a Tracheo-Esophogeal Fistula. We had a long hard road to get to age 9...he had surgery at 5 days old to repair his esophagus and has had over 10 surgical procedures to stretch his esophagus because it tightens up on him causing food to become lodged in his esophagus (mid chest)...he takes Prevacid daily (just recently cut down from twice daily) for reflux and Singulair daily because where they sewed his trachea closed is floppy and causes a seal like bark cough which worsens with cold weather or him being active (he now plays football and lacrosse so he coughs A LOT)...he will probably be one these meds or meds like them the rest of his life...he will also probably have to have his esophagus stretched periodically for the rest of his life...he has turned blue on me on more than one occasion as well as I have been forced to pull the car over and rip him from the car seat when something is stuck (when we're in need of a "stretch" his own saliva has trouble going down)...Its been a scary ride, one I would not wish on anyone...that is why I chose Heparin for my second pregnancy...Joe was born perfectly healthy...my point is just research the medication, there are alternatives, a very close friend of mine was pregnant for the 1st time while I was pregnant with Joe, she and I both have "positive anticardiolipin antibodies" and that is why we must take the blood thinners, she was put on Lovenox and her son is severely handicapped...he and Joe are both 4 but he functions at the level of a 9 month old and may never improve...I can't prove Lovenox caused these things but I'd rather be safe than sorry...I'm not trying to scare anyone just trying to save someone the heartache we have been through and will go through the rest of our lives...May God bless you and your babies... |
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I took Lovenox for a month before realizing it made me feel sick. After switching to Arixtra, which is either a new drug or newly approved for blood thinning during pregnancy, I felt better. Our son is 2 years old now. He had colic as a baby and acid reflux, but he has been healthy so far. |
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Betsy, thanks for mentioning that. I have taken lovenox through 3 pregnancies and never put it together that part of why I was so sick was the lovenox. It also makes my heart feel all fluttery, which made me nervous. Thankfully the babies were all fine, but it made pregnancy more difficult than it already was. My last pregnancy I had a new dr and he put me on arixtra - I was nervous about it because it was so new but my son is also now 2 and very healthy. One thing that was a bit scary was when he was born, the cord was separating from the placenta. I don't have any reason to think it was from the arixtra, but I have had 8 babies and never heard of that happening before. I am now expecting again and a bit nervous about it. I started on lovenox but was so sick and switched to arixtra just yesterday and already feel soooo much better - I am still queasy but don't feel like I am going to throw up all day. I am still questioning my decision on the meds, though.... I know the lovenox makes me feel bad, but it also has a longer safety record and arixtra is still so new - my dr here has never even heard of it. |
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Hi walley5, |
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Ha - thanks Betsy. I know it is scary to think about more after a challenging pregnancy. I was advised after my first clot (which was REALLY big) to not have more children. Thankfully, I had a complete peace about another baby and was not really nervous the next time - I figured I was better off since I was on blood thinners from the beginning. I used lovenox for the next 2 and then with #7 I didn't use anything and I was fine - had my first "natural" labor and delivery (only birth where I was not induced). However, with my next pregnancy I had another clot which really threw me for a loop, I figured since I sailed through the last one, I was ok. I will probably switch to lovenox at the very end since it is shorter lasting but am thrilled that I feel so much better already. But, I just wanted to encourage you that if you do decide you would like more children, that your next pregnancy would probably be very different - do they know why you went into labor early? Although a few women repeatedly have early babies, it is often just a one-time thing. That's what I am hoping with the whole cord separation thing - I will be glad when this new little one is safely in my arms, though! Enjoy your children, everyone, they are precious gifts! |
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I agree, every pregnancy is different and just because you deliver early once does not mean that you will again, but that wasn't the case with me. I delivered each one of my babies early, to early. And unfortunately Lovenox did not help me carry my last baby to term. Just make sure that you are comfortable with your decision, and do your own research. =:-) Good Luck |
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I agree, every pregnancy is different and just because you deliver early once does not mean that you will again, but that wasn't the case with me. I delivered each one of my babies early, to early. And unfortunately Lovenox did not help me carry my last baby to term. Just make sure that you are comfortable with your decision, and do your own research. =:-) Good Luck |
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I agree, every pregnancy is different and just because you deliver early once does not mean that you will again, but that wasn't the case with me. I delivered each one of my babies early, to early. And unfortunately Lovenox did not help me carry my last baby to term. Just make sure that you are comfortable with your decision, and do your own research. =:-) Good Luck |
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oops!!! My pc was on the fritz and I posted three times. lol sorry |
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Hi All, It has been a very long time since I posted anything on this site. The last time I posted I was pregnant with our daughter Makenna Ray. She was born on October 22, 2008 and unfortunately passed away at the age of 6 weeks. We had no idea that anything was wrong with our daughter before she was born. She was taken to the NICU the morning after she was born and never had the opportunity to leave a hospital or a NICU for that matter for the rest of her short life. I was on daily Lovenox, and baby aspirin. I had a normal pregnancy, with the exception of TERRIBLE morning/afternoon/evening sickness. I will say that her illness had nothing to do with Lovenox. She had a rare disorder called Neonatal Hemochromatosis. I won't share anymore of Makenna's story, but if you would like to read it, we still have her CaringBridge Site. |
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so....it won't let me post the link.... |
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I know how you feel. I didn't get 6 weeks with my baby, he died 2 1/2 hours after he was born, it is a horrible feeling to loose a child and it is something I would not wish on anyone. I have never heard of the treatment that you mentioned. Is it something that is approved for in the US? Good Luck to you in the future. |
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