Anyone out there ever been on Lovenox during pregnancy?

[katydid1971]

I don't know anyone IRL who has had to deal with being on Lovenox during pregnancy and I would love to hear someone else's experiences. I was diagnosed Factor V Lieden and MTHFR. Now I have to inject myself twice a day with lovenox was well as take a bunch of vitamins. Its only been a month that I've been doing it and I am so beat up. My stomach and thighs are totally black and blue. Will it get better? I know the pay off (a healthy, term pregnancy) is worth it but I dread 7:30 ever night because I'm going to have to shoot myself again. If you have BTDT I would love to hear from you and how you handled it.
TIA
Sarah

[Jo..]

I was diagnosed with Lupus Anticoagulant and I had to inject myself with Lovenox once daily throughout my pregnancy with Adam (and one month beyond IIRC). It sucked, and I can't imagine twice daily, although as you said we do what we have to do. I got to the point where I couldn't STAND injecting myself in the stomach anymore, so many bruises and lumps and it was so painful. I found some fat deposits on the side of my hips NEAR my stomach, and I figured that was good enough, and my OBGYN said it was fine. If you find a little fat pocket to inject into it hurts way less, even if it's bruised. I also did it as soon as I woke up in the morning so I didn't spend all day dreading it. HTH!

[JenaW]

Yup. BTDT. 4 times. I was actually on heparin. Lovenox is a low-molecular weight heparin that is longer lasting, but basically the same stuff. I have antiphospholipid syndrome (diagnosed after 3 miscarriages). I am supposed to take a baby aspirin daily (even when not pregnant) and then as soon as I conceive, I start the twice-daily heparin. My thighs are permanently discolored from all the bruising. It sucks, but for me the alternative (losing another pregnancy) was not an option. I actually had a 4th loss between Maddie and Natalie. I did not know I was pregnant (had not started my periods yet after delivering) so I did not start the heparin soon enough. My best advice is to rotate your sites as much as possible to give each area a rest before using it again. When I was hospitalized after my water broke with Natalie, I was on a very high dose of heparin. The nurses would only inject my thighs and it got to the point that my legs were literally purple from the tops of my thighs down to my knees. It was pretty gross. Luckily it only looked bad. They typically do not hurt as bad as a regular bruise. If you have help (DH, friend, etc) have them inject in places you can't reach. It just has to be subcutaneous tissue (fat). DH would inject in my love handles, and although the bruises there looked ugly, they resorbed fast, did not leave permanent discoloration, and did not hurt much. Also, it helps if you do not hesitate when you inject the needle (whish is also why I think it helps to have someone else do it - they don't know it hurts). Pinch the skin and stab it right in like a dart. You will bruise (and hurt) more if you hesitate and go in slowly. I don't know if it gets easier, but I guess you do get use to it. I also had to do progesterone injections with Alexa. They are much much worse. The needle is probbaly twice as long, 2-3 times bigger, and the medicine hurts much worse. After starting them (luckily they are only once a week), the heparin did not seem like such a big deal.

Feel free to PM me if you have more questions.

Jera
Mom to Carter ~ 05.13.03
Madigan ~ 09.28.04
Natalie ~ 09.17.05 (born at 25 weeks!!)
Alexa ~ 11.03.06

[dogmom]

Can you get someone else, you significant other, to do the injections. Sometimes it's hard to get the angle right when you are doing it to yourself. Trying to inject with the littlest trauma to the sight is the best way to cut down on the bruising. Having said that, some people just bruise no matter what with the SQ injections of Lovenox or heparin.

Jeanne
Mom to Harvey
1/16/03
& Eve 6/18/06

[Fairy]

I was twice a day from the very first day I missed my period. This really didn't bother me at all. I had maybe 10 injections total that hurt, the others I was pretty expert at doing once I figured it all out. But, I've got a high pain threshold, I don't gross out too easily, I'm totally ok with sticks, and the bruising doesn't get me too riled up cuz I've always bruised easily and have alot of scars, so a few more were like, no big whoop. That said, it wasn't fun for me at all. I was terrified every single day that if I didn't do the stick on time every day, no baby. If I injected in the wrong place, no baby. I missed one injection and was a sobbing mess until my next U/S. So, I had other stuff to go thru with the Lovenox. So, while not the same as your challenges, still not fun.

Here's what I'd suggest, and pp's have also mentioned these:

1. DO NOT ease it in. Jab it in like a dart. Will hurt less, bruise ALOT less, and be over more quickly.

2. The actual injecting of the plunger for me had to be quick, but sometimes, slower was better, depending on the site. Figure out which one generally works best for you and go with it.

3. Rotate like a clock with the belly button in the middle. Start at 3:00 position, next injection at 9:00 position. Then the 1:00 position, next the 7:00 position. Then the 11:00 position, next the 5:00 position. Finally, the 12:00 position, then the 6:00 position. Rotate like this, and you should be feeling a little better.

4. If you're heavy, you're in better shape. You want to inject in the fattiest areas. Try not to inject somewhere that's lean or muscley; you want fat. Unlike many fertility injections, fatty, fatty, fatty. That's what you want.

5. AVOID the bellybutton area. This will hurt bad. If you're too close, move to the sides. It's ok to be as far as a even six or seven inches radius to the side of the bellybutton, or below a bit. I would not inject too high above the bellybutton, tho. Also, I avoided the thighs.

6. Do it the same times every day. I did mine at 11am and 11pm. Cary a few with you at all times so that if you're not home at the time, you can do it. I carried individual alcohol wipes and two injections at all times, and I did counless number of these in bathroom stalls. Believe it or not, you'll get good at this!

7. You've got Factor V Leiden. You need to follow the protocol, period. Especially in early pregnancy.

Good luck Sarah. PM me if you need any add'l info!

-- Fairy

ETA for spelling.

[alexsmommy]

Well heparin which was 2x daily - I was possible antiphospholipid. It was never clear cut in my case but after 4 mc this was the best guess in spite of wonky blood test results. No new advice, just you will get through this. There is a factor v/mthfr yahoo group if you find yourself needing addtional support. My thighs did not fade completely until more than a year after the biggest bruises. I found I bruised far less in my stomach though. Good luck.
Alaina
Alex Feb '03
Zachary July '07

[Jo..]

I'm interested in all the people who were able to inject their thighs. My OBGYN and the Lovenox insert said belly only. I'd love to be able to inject my thighs too, as I have some nice fat there. :P

[JenaW]

ETA: This was a response to Jo's post.

I think the reason for this is that some people (I am NOT one of them) may not have a lot of fat on their thighs. My inner thighs are ALL fat, ESPECIALLY when I am pregnant and not allowed to do much exercise. However, my 5ft tall 200+ pound friend's thighs are solid muscle, even though she is overweight and has other areas of fat. (She likes to joke that it is from carrying her heavy frame around!!) My 110 pound cousin's thighs are mostly skin and bone, so she would also not be a good candidate for thigh injections. MOST people (even super skinny ones) have SOME fat (albeit a much smaller layer than others) on their abdomen.

Another area that is often forgot about but may work in some is the jiggly underarm (tricep - not armpit) area. NOT your deltoid or top of your upper arm where you would get a flu shot! As long as there is enough fat to pinch, you should be fine injecting there.

Jera
Mom to Carter ~ 05.13.03
Madigan ~ 09.28.04
Natalie ~ 09.17.05 (born at 25 weeks!!)
Alexa ~ 11.03.06

[Jo..]

Thank you! I like this info a lot. I don't have much belly fat, but I do have some great fatty areas on my inner thighs (for the first time ever I am happy about this). If I get pregnant again this will make the shots much easier.

[katydid1971]

Its good to hear others have been through this. I just kinda felt all alone on this because NOONE I know IRL has had to do this and everyone I talk to about it thinks it sounds crazy. Jera, WOW 4 times you are a rock star way to go!!!!!!! I didn't have to do this with DS but was diagnosed after DS#2 was still born at 32 weeks. Losing him was the hardest thing I have ever been through so it is so worth it to not have to go through that again. I was wondering from the people who inject themselves in their theighs, my OB said that was OK to do but it seems to hurt 10 times worse than my stomach. Where in your thigh did you inject? I was also told I could inject in my upper arm or bottom but to becareful with the butt because it can be sore to sit on later. I have asked DH to help with the shots but he has such a weak stomach he can't even watch me give them to myself. Thanks so much everyone for your words of encouragement, I know I can do this and when I have my healthy baby in my arms I am going to be soooo happy.
Sarah

[katydid1971]

Its good to hear others have been through this. I just kinda felt all alone on this because NOONE I know IRL has had to do this and everyone I talk to about it thinks it sounds crazy. Jera, WOW 4 times you are a rock star way to go!!!!!!! I didn't have to do this with DS but was diagnosed after DS#2 was still born at 32 weeks. Losing him was the hardest thing I have ever been through so it is so worth it to not have to go through that again. I was wondering from the people who inject themselves in their theighs, my OB said that was OK to do but it seems to hurt 10 times worse than my stomach. Where in your thigh did you inject? I was also told I could inject in my upper arm or bottom but to becareful with the butt because it can be sore to sit on later. I have asked DH to help with the shots but he has such a weak stomach he can't even watch me give them to myself. Thanks so much everyone for your words of encouragement, I know I can do this and when I have my healthy baby in my arms I am going to be soooo happy.
Sarah

[Fairy]

I'm so sorry for your terrible loss, Sarah. I feel for you, I am so sorry.

You're on the right path with the Lovenox. I discourage you from doing this in the tush. Ouch. Seriously, they're not as fatty as one may think. Arm might be ok if you're fatty enough there, but I'd lean away from thigh, even if it's fatty. I still think the tummy is the best bet, but if you're doctor has given you choices, and you find a good spot somewhere, go with it, and try to rotate the injection site to avoid soreness.

We're here for you!

[Fairy]

I'm so sorry for your terrible loss, Sarah. I feel for you, I am so sorry.

You're on the right path with the Lovenox. I discourage you from doing this in the tush. Ouch. Seriously, they're not as fatty as one may think. Arm might be ok if you're fatty enough there, but I'd lean away from thigh, even if it's fatty. I still think the tummy is the best bet, but if you're doctor has given you choices, and you find a good spot somewhere, go with it, and try to rotate the injection site to avoid soreness.

We're here for you!

[maestramommy]

My sister was on Heparin twice a day at the beginning, then switched over to Lovenox once a day. She said that pressing on the spot before withdrawing the needle helped keep the bruising down. And she basically injected it into that pouchy part of your tummy where there's some fat, because it hurts less.

((HUGS)). I really don't know how she did it for all those months. But as she said, you do what you have to.

[maestramommy]

My sister was on Heparin twice a day at the beginning, then switched over to Lovenox once a day. She said that pressing on the spot before withdrawing the needle helped keep the bruising down. And she basically injected it into that pouchy part of your tummy where there's some fat, because it hurts less.

((HUGS)). I really don't know how she did it for all those months. But as she said, you do what you have to.

[jd11365]

Yep. Once a day for 12 weeks. My DH did the injections each night. One thing I would do was hold a piece of ice in my hand. It took my mind off of the injection.

[Happy 2B mommy]

You already have a lot of good advice. I had to inject once a day throughout pregnancy and 6 weeks after. I always injected on my tummy, because it was the easiest for me. Rotating sites like a clock and keeping far from my navel was really helpful. I found jabbing in quickly and plunging slowly really helped with the bruising and especially the lumps. Also, don't rub the injection site afterwards. Halfway through the pregnancy I got so good at it I almost never bruised.

Hang in there. It will get better and easier. And as you've said, it is a small price for a healthy, term pregnacy.