Factor V Leiden & Lovenox

SaraGore83 · December 2014

Does anyone else have any experience with this?? I have the Factor V Leiden Disorder (blood clotting is increased during pregnancy) and they have put me on daily Lovenox injections. This is my first pregnancy and I also I have never given myself shots. Can anyone else share their experiences?? Any weird side effects?? Thanks everyone!!

allieb543 · December 2014

Hi, I have factor v leiden (homozygous) and another genetic marker, MTHFR. This is my second pregnancy and I have a healthy 14 month old boy. I am on generic lovenox shots 40 MG once a day and a daily baby aspirin. I never had any side effects from lovenox last time, generic this time, or heparin as it got closer to delivery. The shots aren't too bad once you get used to them. It's kind of a pain doing them every day and you can get some bruising but they are a small price to pay for piece of mind. Happy to answer any questions. Congratulations!

SaraGore83 · December 2014

@allieb543‌ I have MTHFR as well. When I went to the specialist she said the FVL concerned her more. I just don't like the burning sensation, but you are right!! It is well worth it. They said they wanted to switch me to heparin at 6 months too (so I can get an epidural) Did you deliver vaginally for your first child?? I would like to - I have heard that sometimes they do C Sections when people have FVL.

allieb543 · December 2014

I was induced at 39 weeks because of the factor v and my age (I had him 1 week before my 40th bday) he was transverse and got stuck after 27 hours so I ended up having a c section. I'm guessing that my age was more of an issue then the blood clotting disorder as far as the induction goes.

ckoch159 · December 2014

I have both as well and do blood thinner shots twice a day. I started at about 5 weeks and they said I'll switch to heparin at 36 weeks. The doctor told me to do them in a circular motion around my belly. Good luck

DahliaFlower · December 2014

allieb543 said:

Hi, I have factor v leiden (homozygous) and another genetic marker, MTHFR. This is my second pregnancy and I have a healthy 14 month old boy. I am on generic lovenox shots 40 MG once a day and a daily baby aspirin. I never had any side effects from lovenox last time, generic this time, or heparin as it got closer to delivery. The shots aren't too bad once you get used to them. It's kind of a pain doing them every day and you can get some bruising but they are a small price to pay for piece of mind. Happy to answer any questions. Congratulations!

Wow! I could have written this myself: I have Factor V Leiden, triple variant MTHFR and also have a healthy 14 month old boy. I, too, am on Lovenox 40 mg daily and baby aspirin. I took both for my pregnancy with DS and had no issues except for brusing (not a big deal). I changed to heparin at about 36 weeks. I think it is a very important treatment.

SaraGore83 · December 2014

Anybody deal with a long burning sensation after the injections?? I have a constant burning that generally lasts 5-10 minutes. Is that normal? It's a tad painful but always goes away. It freaks me out a little that it lasts for a bit...

allieb543 · December 2014

Depending on where I inject I get the burning sensation for about 5 min after sometimes. I think that's normal.

michelle654 · December 2014

I have Factor V and MTHFR as well. This is my third pregnancy since February. I found out about the Factor V 6 years ago after I had a pulmonary embolism so I knew from the get go that any pregnancies would be high risk for me; we didn't learn about the MTHFR until after the second miscarriage. With the first one, I started taking Enoxoprin 40mg right away, the second one we decided to wait to ensure a secure clot for the embryo to implant, this one we decided to do the Enoxoprin 40mg and added 4mg folic acid daily. (I'm further than ever before!) I really questioned if I was doing the injections correctly as well because they burn, but the dr said that is normal and to try numbing the injection site before doing the injection. They also said it is really important to make sure you have the air bubble in the syringe and to make a rainbow around your belly button.

Do you know if it is safe to shower or exercise right after the injection (my brother was diabetic and both of those affected insulin uptake)?

ambercdc · January 2015

A fvl first time mom here. I'm 8 wks 2 days and have been on lovenox once daily since 6 wks. I've taken them in the past for long flights too, and I think my husband and I have worked out a good system to make then as painless as possible.

First, i do them at night, have dh inject me once I'm in bed for the night. I find I have so much less bruising and burning when I'm as still as possible after the shot.

I also think it really helps that dh does the injections. It's much more painful when I do it myself.

I use buzzy (link below) for 60 seconds before the injection on the site, and move it beside the injection spot while he does the shot. Dr approved approach.

So it's kind of a team effort but so much better than when we did them without. Worth a try if you haven't yet! Good luck to everyone. Only about 300 more shots to go here. Ugh

https://buzzy4shots.com

qtjo5 · January 2015

I have FVL but the lesser of the two evils in which there is no need for injections while pregnant. I will have to do the shots after birth.

pinkiemo · January 2015

FVL here too and on Lovenox for the second time. Didn't have to inject it for DD as I'm heterozygous, but then I got a blood clot (TIA) so now I'm high risk.

It does burn and bruise but you get used to it. Heparin doesn't hurt as much but you have to do it twice per day instead of once and you have to measure it out yourself which I found a little annoying. Usually they switch you over at 35-36 weeks. Then it's back to Lovenox for 6 weeks postpartum.

I can't have DH do them, it hurts less when I'm in control of it. But that's just me.

Just curious, are you heterozygous or homozygous? If hetero, do you have a history of clots? Because if not, just having hetero FVL by itself doesn't really increase your chances of clotting that much and I might talk to your MFM about the necessity of the shots.

allieb543 · January 2015

I've been experimenting with my shot process lately and wanted to share with you ladies. I do the shots lying down, pinch and inject at 90 degrees and then I have been putting pressure on the spot for about a minute or two and then trying to lay down for about 10 min after. I've noticed much less bruising since I've been doing it this way. Just in case this helps anyone else!

Ashgal · January 2015

I have not been active on this board, but Hi! I also have Factor V Leiden. This is my 3rd pregnancy taking daily Lovenox injections (40 mg) as well as a baby aspirin. Though due to my deductible resetting, I actually just switched to Heparin because it is much less expensive! I have two healthy boys with a girl on the way. My husband gives me my shots(God bless him) because I have a needle phobia. He pinches the area and rotates around my belly. It hasn't stung as much in general this pregnancy and my bruising hasn't been too bad either. Good luck with everything!