Might have a clotting disorder - anyone on Heparin ?

[sue68]

Hey there Peeps,

I went for my follow up yesterday with OB to get results on blood tests.  They're not all back yet but, from what he saw - protein c ( ?) is borderline so I may have clotting disorder.  He said if the other tests are positive indicators he'd put me on aspirin and Heparin.  Anyone on Heparin ?  I'm just curious and would appreciate any thoughts on it.  I told him I'd already started taking low dose aspirin and he okayed it.  He told me to come back end of October for the rest of the results but, that I could ttc if I wanted.  Okay, I know I got the green light but, now I'm paranoid - should I wait for the other results in case I need Heparin or is the baby aspirin enough for now ?   I was so stressed out in the waiting room, scared I was going to get bad news.  Now, I guess if I have something to work on - that's a plus right ? Or am I trying to convince myself ?  I'm trying to hope that aspirin is the solution - that it'll make the third pregnancy a charm.....

[Miranda9]

Hi Sue,
The green sludge that I drink every morning is something that I started taking years ago when I was keenly "fit", ie running, weightraining, etc etc.  I'm now a solid 10 lbs. heavier since my first m/c 2 years ago....ah, I digress.

Anyways, yes, I just started taking it, mixing a heaping TB in a glass of orange juice.  If you check out the "Greens Plus" webside you'll see that it claims a long list of health benefits, from liver cleansing to improved energy and well being to improved immune system....I don't know if it's all hype, but I have read a few things about the benefits of wheat grass and bee pollen for fertility, so I've decided to take it now since I have nothing to lose.  

I'm also taking Q10 now.

Oh, as for the aspirin, I've been taking it along with my Omega fish oils without any ill effects, but I had stopped taking the fish oils once my RE prescribed fragmin.  

[sue68]

Hi Amanda,

Its great to hear from you - I'd been looking out for your update and wondering what was happening with you. So glad to hear you and baby are progressing.  I read and heard that if you were underweight before the pregnancy - that you should gain about 35 lbs - so, you got like 10 to go...show off that baby bump !
Thanks for your reply - yeah ,  at first I thought "Oh no, what now ?" but, later I thought I might have something to work on now.  Thanks for the encouragement - can you tell me what vitamins you are taking and the doses ? Thanks !

Usuk,

Thank you too for your response  - keeps me hopeful ! How are you doing ?

[usuk]

my friend had two MCs at 8 weeks. it was suspected clotting. she is now on thinners (not just aspirin) every day and 36 weeks along. good luck.

[adgal]

HI Sue.  I know this sounds strange, but this is actually great news!!  Having a possible diagnosis for what has been going on with you is wonderful.  And if this does turn out to be the issue, easily treatable.  I didn't have this, but my husband's cousin did. She was diagnosed after several miscarriages.  She took heparin and now has 2 gorgeous little girls!  

As for the supplements, go for it!  I too feel like a pill pusher sometimes, but whatever it is I am doing is working this time around.  Saw my OB today and both baby and I are really healthy.  It's hard these days to get everything we need through diet alone, no matter how hard we try. So do what you think is right, keep working with that OB and I know I'll be congratulating you on your healthy pregnancy soon!  XOXO

[sue68]

Thanks bny807,

Went to Walmart yesterday and there was a special on Jamieson brand ( for you Canadians ) 50% off on select vitamins - including prenatal !  So, I got two of those and folic, plus omega 3 and b12.  I was singing the song by Iced-T " I'm your pusher...."  on my way out and telling dh that this mission is turning me into a pill popper. He doesn't think I should go overboard on this - seeing as how I didn't use to take any cough meds or even aspirin unless it turns into a pounding headache by the end of the day.  He thinks 5 mg of folic is enough and that I should check into the B's first.

So, I'm looking in my "Healthy Pregnancy over 35" book and it says the recommended daily rate during pregnancy for B vitamins are :

B1 = 1.5mg
B2 = 1.6mg
B3 = 17mg
B6 = 2.2 mg
folate = 400mcg
B12 = 2.6mcg  

All of these are more than covered by the prenatal vitamins I just got so now I"m reconsidering. I eat a healthy diet so I figure I can just chow down and get them through food sources instead.  Hmmm....my Spidey sense tells me to look into it further....Thanks for your info - learned lots.    

I've been tracking my cm and thinking its ovulation time soon. Hopeful but trying not to be toooooo hopeful - you know what I mean.  

[bny807]

yup, DHA is a form of omega 3... mine is all plant derived so that there is no risk for mercury in it.. i guess FDA doenst always regulate supplements so even though they may say low or no mercury its not guaranteed (that being said i took fish oil for a long time anyways though)...  I believe getting just the omega 3 is the way to go.. when i was researching it.. aopparently most people have plenty of omega 6 and 9 and it can be out of balance with omega 3... so its important to take omega three and it balances it out somehow.. so i'd recommend just an omega 3 one.. or DHA
    yea as far as taking DHA./omega 3 with blood thinners thats only if your on heparin or something like that.. and i took it while iw as on heparin for a while.. until i started bleeding at 12 weeks!!!! it was due to placenta previa but my INR (clotting factor) was a little elevated above what it shoudl be so i started only taking the DHA every three days or so.. but i'd say take it while your ttc, until you get a BFP.. i dont think it would hurt combined with the asprin and everything else.. i agree I am so not a "pill popper" and never took even a motrin for anything. .. but now i am like an old lady with all my pills, however i'm just thankful that there are pills that can help, so i dont mind!!! : )    GOOD LUCK! : )  keep us udpated!

[sue68]

Actually, I don't know what DHA is  - bny807 - could you fill us in ?

I'm taking the prenatal "Equate" generic brand from Walmart.  Same as Centrium but cheaper , also generic brand of folic acid as well as the aspirin.  Was at Costco yesterday and saw gi-normous jugs of b- vitamins ( not cheap but then you get a decades worth ) .  Amanda/Adgal recommended and took fish oil so I'm going to add that to my list.  Make sure its mercury free and from wild fish not farmed.  I think its supposed to help with the development of the baby - the brain I believe.  Oh, dh just looked DHA up - its an omega-3 fatty acid. Fish oils are rich in DHA.   Are omega's ( 3-6-9 )  all fish oils ?  I'm running out of prenatal vitamins so will be checking out for DHA added.  Big vitamin run this weekend.  If anyone else has other suggestions - please do share.

Miranda9 - what's that green sludge you're drinking ? What's the purpose ? And what's this about omega's and blood thinner meds ?  They shouldn't be mixed ? Does that include low dose aspirin ? I'm new to vitamins - not a pill popping type of person until this baby mission started.  Need to learn all I can. I had thought I'd get them through my diet but, any extra bit might boost my chances.  

[Miranda9]

I've always popped a pre-natal multi-vitamin with folic acid, an extra folic acid, vitamin D and 2 omega 3-6-9s, but when I was TTCing in July I stopped taking the omegas once my RE prescribed the fragmin (I read on the omegas bottle that it shouldn't be taken if you're taking blood thinning meds).  Oh and I forgot about the calcium chews.  (YES I DO take a large number of pills don't I?!)  This is in addition to eating as healthy as possible.

I am considering upping my vitamin Bs and even wondering about Q10.  I want to wait until I get my AF to TTC again, and in the meantime I'm swigging back green sludge with my OJ every morning (that Greens powder that you see in health stores).

What is DHA?  What are its benefits? And what type of multi-vitamin are you on with DHA?  

[bny807]

oh yea i took a lot of hpts!!! i had had chem pregnancies in the past.. so i really liked to see the tests get darker, even though i know they say thats not accurate.. i should have invested in hpt stock years ago, who knows how many i took over the last three years!!  
  i get the B vitamins off the shelf.. apparently they have a folic acid/b vitamin available by prescription - i believe its called folagard or something like that.. i think the doses are similar to what i am taking..  yea i always used ovulation kits, but turns out i was getting the LH surge, but my egg wasnt releasing.. so i stopped once i found that out- i was then just using trigger shots and doing IUI's. GOOD LUCK!! keep me updated!

[sue68]

Hi bny807 ,

I wrote down your cocktail list - just curious - did your doctor prescribe  those particular doses for the vitamin B's or is that is what is available on the shelves ?   Did you really take 12 hpt's ? ha ha  - whenever I go to the dollarstore I feel the urge to sweep the whole hpt section into my cart  ;D       I saw ovulation kits at a DollarTree when I was in the U.S. a few weeks ago - but, didn't stock up as my periods are irregular and I'd probably get discouraged and paranoid.

Miranda9,

I'm so sorry for your loss .  And you're not crazy to try again - you're hopeful. Keep positive and don't give up hope.   My OB told me one of his patients is 53 - yes 5   3  !  Then the nurse I spoke to this week said her friend is 43 and just had a baby - she said its still possible so don't give up. You'll get that good egg - meanwhile are you bumping up your vitamins and folate ?  Sticky baby dust to you - I'm sure we'll hear good news from you.

[Miranda9]

Hello,
I went to a fertility clinic earlier this year to get tested for my recurrent pregnacy losses when I conceived naturally yet, only to lose the chemical pregnancy.  It was then that my RE found out that I have anticardiolipin antibodies - elevated IGGs and Protein-C, which, he said, may lead to antiphospholipid syndrome.  Well didn't that scare the heck out of me, once I started reading up on the subject.  I read research that showed higher success rates for sustaining pregnancy when heparin was combined with baby aspirin.

Anyways, I started taking daily baby aspirin and my RE monitored me and prescribed a 2500 ml of fragmin injection once a day, along with progesterone.  The fragmin is like heparin and I injected it under my belly every evening.

I still lost the pregnancy, just last week, but I believe it could be because of my age. I'm crazy enough to try one more time.

Good luck.

[bny807]

oh i know exactly how you feel!! even when i got a positive pregnancy test i would sooo want to be excited (which i was) but with that came the possibiliy of loosing it all yet again!  i would get so mad that even the excitment/joy of finally getting a bfp was dampened by my fears from all the mc's!   one time ( i think the 3rd pregnancy) i said you know what, i'm just going to be excited... and instead of saying if this works, talk like this will be it.. but of course it ended in mc....  But as i said before.. being on a new "cocktail" gave me hope when this pregnancy test came back positive (or ten or tweleve tests haha).. but it is crazy to think back and think. wow if only i had taken all these things from the get go, i might have been able to save us so much loss and pain.. however, there really just isnt anyway of knowing!!
     I take 50mg B6, 1000mcg B12, 81mg asprin, 2mg folic acid in the am.. and then i take my prenatal (which has the DHA and the 1mg folic acid in it) in the afternoon. and then take 2mg folic acid at night....    
    as far as waiting or starting now.. ughh.. thats a personal choice of course..... we took a month "off" but i was aware of when i was probaby ovulating and defintely bd'd around that time.. but went into it with a "no pressure" approach...... i think that if your taking the B vitmain cocktail, asprin, and even the DHA that you should be ok if you get preg again if thats the cause (as i said i have a friend who did it and she tested positive for one of the disorders) but of course its not guaranteed.. so i'd say thats up to you of course..  but either way i'd start taking everything to "get it in your system" .
    GOOD LUCK!!!! let me know if you have any other questions.. and your in my prayers that a super duper sticky BFP is right around the corner for ya !: )
  

[sue68]

Thank you thank you thank you for giving me hope !   Its so good to hear from people who've "been there, done ( or doing ) that".  I love this forum.  I know I should be positive but, deep down I'm afraid of allowing myself to hope that maybe that's all I need - baby aspirin..  I can't help but worry that it could be so simple a solution and there must be some sort of "fine print" I should be on the watch for.  I'm suspicious if things seem too easy.  But, then again, I guess I have to just jump in wholeheartedly because the reward is worth it if - oop, WHEN  I have my baby, eh ?

So, what B vitamins are you taking ?  I need to make a shopping list.  The nurse told me the new recommended dose of folic acid is 5 mg so I've been taking a prenatal that has 1 mg, then I take two or three 1mg extra folic pills plus one 81mg aspirin daily.  Do you separate your pills throughout the day or take them in one shot ? Just wonder if its okay to take them together.   Oh, and don't you ( or anyone ) ever apologize for a "long"  response.  The more info you can share the better ! Do you think I should hold off ttc until I get the rest of my test results on Oct 26th ? I' m worried that if I do get pg - I don't want to go through another m/c if I need more than baby aspirin.  

Still - thanks for your info - I like a happy story - gives me hope - and congrats on your pregnancy !  

[bny807]

hello!! i have been there!!! We had three miscarriages when our bloodwork was getting evaluated, and i found out i was pregnant the day they called and told me something was positive on them.. it was too late - that was a chem pregnancy.. however i learned i was homozygous for a clotting disorder.. as upsetting as it was to find Yet ANOTHER "fertility challenge' it is also relieving to have a possible answer.. it truely gave me new found hope! : )  
  we were taking a month off (i actually stopped the birth control halfway thru since it was causing me to bleed for two weeks straight- i just said i need a break!!) anyhow it was my first month on the asprin (81mg) + 4mg folic acid (which helps with clotting as well) and B vitamins.. and we got pregnant naturally, with a successful pregnancy!!! (currently 33 weeks! :) : )     I have been on heparin twice dailiy since the positive pregnancy test, and i believe its the reason we are still pregnant! :)
    that being said, many times just asprin esepcailly with the addition of folic acid and B vitamins can be all ya need too!    they really have people on such a low dose of heparin, that they are starting to put people on it even if there isnt a diagnosed disorder, but a history of recurrent losses...  
  So i would defintely keep ttc, taking the asprin and you can add the folic acid and B vitamins as well if you want (they are starting to show that more folic acid while ttc than originally thought can be useful anyways)  also the prental i was on the month we concieved (and still am on) has an additional1mg of folic acid, + 300mg DHA (which i took that month, however i can only take the DHA every three days or so now since it can thin the blood in addition to the heparin)
    SOO sorry for the long post.. but i am defiintely a believer. .. and i also have a friend who had 4mc's and her first month taking asprin, folic acid and B vitamins she had a successful pregnancy (two since!! with the same cocktail) and no more mc's... she did not take heparin, but was not homozygous for any disorder that they could find.. GOOD LUCK! let me know if you have any questions i can help you with! : )