Preparing for complications/ anticoagulant questions / loss mentioned
AngelAccaliasMommy
member
Hello Ladies. New here. This is long, I'm sorry.... We are not yet TTC but plan to start soon. I have too many questions before we take that leap. I went to my OBGYN but got a very heartless response so now I'm searching for a new doctor..... in the mean time I'm hoping I can find some support here...
My history....
We lost our first child at 28 weeks gestation. It was a fairly normal pregnancy, no major complications. I did have a touch of gestational diabetes but it was well controlled with diet and exercise. After an autopsy and extensive blood testing there was no medical explanation for the loss, they just said "these things happen".... A week and a half later I was admitted to the hospital with multiple Pulmonary Emboli and DVT's. i was put on coumadin and sent home. 6 months later I was tested again and diagnosed with Elevated Factor 8 and Protein S Deficiency. Both cause abnormal clotting. I was to continue the Coumadin indefinitely.... a year later I missed 2 doses and suffered multiple venous clots in my brain.... after recovery I was still suffering with major headaches. I was diagnosed with Pseudo-tumor Cerebri (elevated spinal fluid levels). My body now makes SF at a normal rate but does not get rid of it fast enough, the SF builds up and causes debilitating headaches and dizziness and if not kept in check I will lose my vision. I was put on 13 different medications to treat it and the pain.... after starting all these other medications my INR became nearly impossible to regulate... I was being tested every other day and it would swing wildly from one end of the chart to the other. we battled this for over a year and finally my doctor decided to take me off the Coumadin and give me 10mg injections of Arixtra daily. I have done well with the arixtra and have even been able to cut back on many of the other medications for the Pseudo-tumor Cerebri... things are falling into place and im hoping we can start trying for a baby again soon.
So here are my questions.....
For anyone else who may have suffered a late term loss - how did that impact your next pregnancy in terms of risk?
For anyone who may be battling the same medical conditions - how has this complicated your pregnancies? I know I will have to stop many of the medications for the SF issue. I should be given Heparin injections instead of Arixtra and the doctor will likely induce labor in order to control those bleeding risks. Is it ok to delivery naturally or should I expect them to want to do a C-section? which is safer in terms of giving the doctors more control over bleeding risks?
I have since learned that my dad has the same clotting issues, this seems to be genetic - if your clotting issues are genetic as well then at what age did you have to start treating your child? will I be giving an infant injections every day? (I ask because I recently met a toddler who was also being treated with anticoagulants. I didn't want to bombard the mother with questions but it really made me question the risks I would be subjecting a child to.)
I know most babies are given the Vitamin K injection right after birth. Vitamin K causes clotting. If my child does have the same clotting disorders would it be hazardous to give them the vitamin K injection or would it matter at that age?
My most recent issues were with AF. (if this is TMI im so sorry!) I have the Paragard IUD, so no hormones. I was seeing a small amount of spotting daily but had not had an actual period since February. In July my doctor did an ultrasound and discovered that the endometrium was swollen. She put me on progesterone for 30 days to try to kick start my cycle and get things back on track. Two weeks into it I missed one dose and it certainly jumpstarted my period. (I continued the entire 30 days of progesterone) I had the most painful, heavy, awful period of my life...I was changing a pad or tampon every hour and at times there were large clots every ten minutes. After about 3 weeks it finally stopped. I haven't had a period since. If my calculations are correct, I'm about 13 days late.... I googled progesterone and found that it is used for treating irregularity issues but its more commonly used to help with conception as well as preventing miscarriage.... should I be concerned? I thought the progesterone was going to help get my cycle back on track. should I just give it more time? The doctor doesn't seem to want to try it again she simply says if the IUD is causing pain I should have it removed. It not, im pain free. no spotting. just late... I'm a little confused I guess....
If anyone has anything to offer on any of these subjects I want to thank you in advance!
There are so many questions and I'm still learning the science behind all of it. The TTC and High risk pregnancy boards are where I have found postings regarding progesterone so I figured I would ask that part here as well, if its the wrong place im sorry.
Re: Preparing for complications/ anticoagulant questions / loss mentioned