[L-SBB]

Hi ladies, my name is Lara, DH is Matt & we have one precious DD, Savannah who is 2 1/2. I'm currently pregnant again (unclear however if this pregnancy will last, first 3 beta draws have caused some concern) after being diagnosed with Factor II gene mutation (prothrombin) and elevated anti-cardiolipins after 2nd m/c and began taking Lovenox 10 days ago immediately upon + hpt.

I had a few questions about the Lovenox, and I remember a number of the ladies here were very helpful to me when I was TTC just after the Factor II diagnosis.

1) What dosage level of Lovenox did/do you take?

2) When were you switched during pregnancy to Heparin (or something else)?

3) Were you put back on Lovenox after giving birth? for how long?

4) Were you treated as higher risk or differently (induction recommendation, more monitoring, etc) because of the Lovenox throughout your pregnancy?

5) Did your Dr recommend you not travel during your pregnancy (flights or long car trips)? If anyone did fly I have some more questions about how you dealt with the syringes w/security

6) Did you have a lot of bruising beyond the injection area? I'm finding more bruises elsewhere than i am around where i'm actually injecting which is making me a little nervous.

7) Any tips for getting the cap off of the Lovenox syringe? this may be the stupidest question, but i had zero issue with the caps on my trigger injections but for whatever reason i'm finding the caps on the Lovenox injections incredibly hard to remove w/o bending the needle. I'm taking the generic for Lovenox if anyone is familiar with those syringes.

8) Did you get a medic alert bracelet/necklace while you were on the Lovenox? I'm thinking about getting one but i'm a paranoid mess right now so curious if anyone's doctor recommended it to them too.

Thanks in advance for input or experiences with any of these questions! I'm still in RE's care, so probably a month or more away from being able to ask my OB and/or peri more detailed questions about treatment plan for this pregnancy.

[emsketch]

1) What dosage level of Lovenox did/do you take?
I was on 100mg/ml twice a day. I am a big girl, and I have a history of clotting while on Lovenox, that is why my dosage was so high.

2) When were you switched during pregnancy to Heparin (or something else)?
I was switched at 36 weeks my second pregnancy. My first pregnancy I was switched at 32 weeks, not sure why they did it so early that time.

3) Were you put back on Lovenox after giving birth? for how long?
I was. Had breast feeding worked out for me I would have stayed on it until I was finished breast feeing. Since breast feeding did not work out for me I was on it a few weeks then I bridged back onto my coumadin. I am a lifer on anticoagulants, pregnant or not. I think the norm post partum if you are not on anticoagulants when not pregnant is 6 weeks.

4) Were you treated as higher risk or differently (induction recommendation, more monitoring, etc) because of the Lovenox throughout your pregnancy?
Yes. I was scheduled to be induced with my 1st at 39 weeks but never made it that far due to pre-e. With my second I was induced at 39 weeks. The norma with Lovenox/heparin is to induce. I also had twice weekly NSTs starting at 34 weeks, but these were more due to my history of pre-e and chronic hypertenstion. I never went more than 2 weeks without seeing my OB my entire pregnancy.

5) Did your Dr recommend you not travel during your pregnancy (flights or long car trips)? If anyone did fly I have some more questions about how you dealt with the syringes w/security
My OB did not want me traveling past 32 weeks. I never fly so that was not an issue, but I did take several road trips prior to 32 weeks and my OB was fine with that as long as I was getting out of the car and walking around for a few minutes every hour or so.

6) Did you have a lot of bruising beyond the injection area? I'm finding more bruises elsewhere than i am around where i'm actually injecting which is making me a little nervous.
Bruising was hit or miss with me. It seemed like sometimes I would bruise like crazy and other times nothing. The bruising you are experiencing could be from hitting a small blood vessel.

7) Any tips for getting the cap off of the Lovenox syringe? this may be the stupidest question, but i had zero issue with the caps on my trigger injections but for whatever reason i'm finding the caps on the Lovenox injections incredibly hard to remove w/o bending the needle. I'm taking the generic for Lovenox if anyone is familiar with those syringes.
It is not the stupidest question ever! I have never taken the generic, but always had a hard time with the caps on my Lovenox! I would grab it and jerk hard straight up. This usually worked for me, but it would also almost always cause a drop tp leak from the tip of the syringe which made the injection hurt more.

8) Did you get a medic alert bracelet/necklace while you were on the Lovenox? I'm thinking about getting one but i'm a paranoid mess right now so curious if anyone's doctor recommended it to them too.
I did not. I should wear one in every day life since I am always on anticoagulants, but I do not.

I hope these answers help, and I hope that you get some good news in regards to your betas!

[AmyLM]

1) What dosage level of Lovenox did/do you take? I am on 40mg twice a day.

2) When were you switched during pregnancy to Heparin (or something else)? I was switched to Heparin at 37 weeks. It will probably be earlier this time.

3) Were you put back on Lovenox after giving birth? for how long? Yes, for 6 weeks and then back on coumadin. Like Liz, I'm on anticoagulants forever.

4) Were you treated as higher risk or differently (induction recommendation, more monitoring, etc) because of the Lovenox throughout your pregnancy? Yes, high risk. With my first, I was induced at 38w5d. With my 2nd, I was scheduled for induction at 39 weeks but didn't make it. My water broke at 37.

5) Did your Dr recommend you not travel during your pregnancy (flights or long car trips)? If anyone did fly I have some more questions about how you dealt with the syringes w/security . I don't travel in the 3rd trimester more than an hour from the hospital. On planes and long car rides, I wear ted-hose, or compression stockings. Or, get up and walk alot or flex your calves often. For syringes on a plane, I pack them in my checked baggage and make sure that the box has the label from the pharmacy with my name, etc on it. I've never been hassled for them.

6) Did you have a lot of bruising beyond the injection area? Bruising is normal. It's a blood thinner so, you're going to get bruises. Some are worse than others.

7) Any tips for getting the cap off of the Lovenox syringe?It's not a stupid question at all. I remove mine with my teeth lol. Just don't swollow it!

8) Did you get a medic alert bracelet/necklace while you were on the Lovenox? I have one for when I'm on coumadin but I have not gotten one for lovenox. It's a good idea to have it.

[KatieBird]

1) What dosage level of Lovenox did/do you take? I'm on 40mg once per day.

2) When were you switched during pregnancy to Heparin (or something else)? My hematologist doesn't want me on regular heparin because of the increased risks for HIT.

3) Were you put back on Lovenox after giving birth? for how long? I'm still pregnant (6 weeks) and this is my first so this is the first time I've gone through the Lovenox in pregnancy dealeo. But my doc wants me on the 40mg, once per day until I'm 8 weeks PP.

4) Were you treated as higher risk or differently (induction recommendation, more monitoring, etc) because of the Lovenox throughout your pregnancy? My OB says that I will meet with the high risk team once or twice during the pregnancy as long as I don't show any signs of becoming a higher risk. The plan is to have me stop injections once labor begins so that by the time I'm actually giving birth, it will be (mostly) out of my system. I'll also be meeting with my OB a bit earlier than normal (for her) and we'll be doing the U/S a bit sooner. Not that I mind.

5) Did your Dr recommend you not travel during your pregnancy (flights or long car trips)? If anyone did fly I have some more questions about how you dealt with the syringes w/security. I haven't asked about travel yet. But you'll want to check with FAA regulations about the syringes. Diabetics bring their needles so I see no reason why we couldn't have ours.

6) Did you have a lot of bruising beyond the injection area? I have a little bruising where I inject but mostly little red dots. The bruising you have in general is just an effect of the Lovenox on your clotting factors. You'll bruise easier, gums can bleed easier, and hemorrhoids can come easier too. (Oh Joy, right? lol)

7) Any tips for getting the cap off of the Lovenox syringe? SAME HERE! Ugh, They're like, spring loaded and a pain in the butt! I'm a nurse and I give injections and shots on a daily basis and these syringes just peave me. lol

8) Did you get a medic alert bracelet/necklace while you were on the Lovenox? I haven't. But only because I'm on a low dose. My doc said that if I were on a higher dose, he'd recommend one. They certainly can't hurt! I'm tempted to get one anyway, just in case.