DVT or blood clots

[cmccaffrey]

Has anyone experienced a DVT during or post pregnancy?

After being on bed rest for 8 days, having pre-e and then a c-section I was diagnosed with one in the back of my calf. I am currently going through coumadin treatment (and will for another 5 months), but I am just curious to know if anyone has experienced this and gone on to have other pregnancies without DVTs. Also, did you have a blood disorder that contributed to your DVT?

[l412angel]

I did not have one thank god, but that was a huge worry for me I know. I do have factor V. They can put you on blood thinners, while your pregnant.

[cmccaffrey]

l412angel,
I tested negative for factor v and all of the other blood disorders, but I want to be retested after I get off coumadin (just in case my postpartum hormones plaid a part in my results). How did you find out you were positive for factor v? Isn't taking lovenox/heparin super expensive (not that you can put a price on a healthy mom and baby)? I was on lovenox for 5 days and the shots were like $300 and that was with insurance.

[angieb]

There is a generic version of Lovenox which makes things a lot cheaper. I'm on 30 mg twice a day and refill the prescription every month, it's only a $10 copay for me. The name brand version of lovenox would have been a $200 copay. (Which still was okay since it looks like my insurance is paying $1500+ a month for it.)

[cmccaffrey]

That's really not as bad as I thought it would be. I guess I shouldn't be too worried about it then.

[l412angel]

l412angel,
I tested negative for factor v and all of the other blood disorders, but I want to be retested after I get off coumadin (just in case my postpartum hormones plaid a part in my results). How did you find out you were positive for factor v? Isn't taking lovenox/heparin super expensive (not that you can put a price on a healthy mom and baby)? I was on lovenox for 5 days and the shots were like $300 and that was with insurance.

I was tested literally for EVERYTHING under the sun...thats how they found out about my Factor V. Lovenox was 40$ a mo for me and I have Blue Cross insurance. So not too bad. My understanding is that it IS super expensive IF you o not have insurance or RX insurance. They do however have a generic for Lovenox as well now, I believe that it is not heprin, but heprin is another option as well, but that is taken twice a day instead of once.

[cmccaffrey]

just met up with a hematologist today and he had some of my blood results from my OB already... one of them came up borderline positive, i believe it was the lupus anticoagulant. It was 14 and anything from 0-13 is normal. Since he did not perform the tests himself he decided to rerun them and have me meet him again in 2 weeks. Super nervous.... its nice to get answers, but at the same time it would be nice for everything to just be a fluke.

[michelarea]

Hi! I don't know what happen with your lupus anticoagulant after you re-did the test, but I wanted to tell you that a borderline lupus anticoagulant (real borderline, always stable in further labs) without any other clotting disorder was enough to cause (most probably) my hellp syndrome at 32 +2 during my first pregnancy and deliver an iugr baby. The good news is that Lovenox (Clexane 4000 in Italy), along with LDA, is working very well for me during this second pregnancy. I am now 37 + 1, having my c-section this Monday with very mild or no PE at all and an estimated normal though not big second daughter. I'll keep you updated, feel free to ask if you want to know more (I was very moved by your posts on Mason, I think you are a great human being)

[cmccaffrey]

Hi! I don't know what happen with your lupus anticoagulant after you re-did the test, but I wanted to tell you that a borderline lupus anticoagulant (real borderline, always stable in further labs) without any other clotting disorder was enough to cause (most probably) my hellp syndrome at 32 +2 during my first pregnancy and deliver an iugr baby. The good news is that Lovenox (Clexane 4000 in Italy), along with LDA, is working very well for me during this second pregnancy. I am now 37 + 1, having my c-section this Monday with very mild or no PE at all and an estimated normal though not big second daughter. I'll keep you updated, feel free to ask if you want to know more (I was very moved by your posts on Mason, I think you are a great human being)

37 + 1!!! That is great news! I can't wait to hear about your birth story in the very near future! I also want to know how your c-section goes since you have been on blood thinners. Do they plan on keeping you on them postpartum as well?

I received my test results from the second test, but my hematologist does not seem convinced that they are accurate and wants to retest yet again in April(when I come off coumadin). So far, the only test that came back positive was Antiphosphatidylserine Antibodies IgM. The reference range is 0-25 for negative and I tested 29. He said in his opinion that it's not high enough to be a fore sure positive especially when everything else is VERY negative. The only tests I have not had are for protein s and c and thats because of the coumadin... so those will also be tested in April. Both hematologist and ob have already assured me that I will be on anticoagulants for future pregnancies. Hopefully I will get the opportunity to have future pregnancies.

Thanks so much for the response and for the offer. I will definitely be bugging you in the future. I feel so alone in so many ways because almost every woman I know has had such normal and easy pregnancies. I can't really talk to any of them because they don't do anything and everything turns out alright. I'll be thinking of you and your precious family this week and praying everything is very uneventful for the birth of your daughter!