Clexane

[Jill72]

I had NEVER heard if this but my midwife spoke to me today about it. Really???

[starfishmummy]

Im currently having a course of this so your thread caught my eye. Im not pg - for me its to treat a superficial blood clot and is a form of heparin. I did have heparin after Ds was born by cs. Iirc it was to prevent a dvt while i was stuck in bed.

[mummytasha11]

I had an emcs and had to take clexane injections for 6 weeks after the birth twice a day! Something to do with bmi and to stop u getting blood clots.

[silverangel]

Its to stop clotting - I had an injection once a day for five days after EMCS...

[BagofHolly]

I was on it every single day for both my pregnancies and for 6 weeks after. You get used to it.

[Jill72]

it won't stop you from breast feeding will it?

[gallicgirl]

No it doesn't.

I was prescribed it for 6 weeks after birth but argued the consultant down to 1 week.

It's not pleasant though :(

[Jill72]

I am forever caught between a general suspicion of the motivation of of the medical people versus a dose of healthy common sense. I am finding myself treading the fine line between what is over cautious interference and absolutely needed medical treatment.

[BagofHolly]

For some people, depending perhaps on the path they walked, no amount of caution or interference will feel like it's enough especially when the stakes are very high.

[jenniec79]

It's commonly used for anyone having moderate to major surgery to prevent blood clots in legs/lungs. Clots in legs are an inconvenience, but need treating to prevent bits breaking off and settling in lungs which is life threatening. If you do get a clot and it needs treating you'd be most likely to be put on warfarin for 6 months, which really is a pretty nasty drug (lots of blood tests, interactions and generally a pain in the backside dose wise) BF is fine on heparins like clexane but NOT warfarin.

High risk for clots from things like hormones (OCP, pregnancy), previous clot, surgery on abdomen (eg bowels or c-section) pelvis or legs (fixing breaks, joint replacement) immobility (post op?) dehydration (breastfeeding? - make sure you get enough fluids for 2), high BMI, smoking (so don't re-start if you stopped for the pregnancy!) some family histories of blood problems & odd heart rhythms.

You will likely get bruising where you do your injections, but otherwise clexane's pretty safe, used in high risk ladies during the pregnancy as well as most surgical adult inpatients in hospital, and more and more often for a while on discharge.

[ImTheMap]

ive just started injecting again with pg no2,
had it all the way through pg1,
not great but it worked for me.
good luck.

[emjay74]

Clexane injections here too! Been prescribed 40mg once a day due to family history of DVT, and a multiple pregnancy. Not the most pleasant thing to have to do..stings a bit and i have a lovely selection of bruises but weighed against actually having a blood clot I decided probably for the best.

Am 30 wks now and have to continue until DTs are 6 wks old. All the info I have read has said that it is safe in pregnancy and breastfeeding but the only issue would be if you were wanting an epidural. You cannot have an epidural within 12 hrs of having a dose. Bit inpractical given how unpredictable baby birthing can be!

[Tangle]

Jill -did the MW give you a reason why she was advising clexane? I'm on it for this pregnancy after being diagnosed with high clotting factors. I know other women who have been given a small course after a CS (and others who've had a CS with no clexane - but we've all been given a reason why we have risk factors that would make them recommend it for us as individuals.

I also tend to question medical advice before following it - for me I could understand why they recommend I take it and am doing so. Not the most fun thing I've ever done, but if it stops me having another MC it'll be worth it.

[BagofHolly]

Did your midwife actually recommend it? Mine both times had been initiated by the consultant obstetrician and managed by the haematology department. It's not usually a mw thang! Or did she just mention it and you thought WTF is that about?

[Jill72]

Came out of the blue. She was warning me that my consultant would be talking to me about it at next appointment. Confused as everything has been fine with pregnancy and certainly no problems to do with blood pressure ect. No family history or previous problems. Just surprised by it.

[BagofHolly]

How odd! What do you think made her say that?

[Jill72]

Fixated on my bmi. It's all she seems to be interested in -

[emjay74]

It is odd! My mw went through a list of risk factors with me...which included BMI 30+, more than 3 previous pregnancies, previous thrombosis problems, aged 35yrs+, immediate family member history and multiple pregnancy...from what I can remember - there could be more!

Not very nice of them to throw something like that at you and worry you without any explanation. Hope you don't have too long to wait until your next appointment.

[Tangle]

How bizarre (and a little unprofessional to not discuss it further) of the MW. Is your BMI particularly high? I'd try not to worry too much about it for now and see what the consultant has to say. If you were at particular risk then they'd be doing more than they are.

Apologies if I've got this wrong, but are you also experiencing some resistance from this MW in planning a HB? I wonder if she's bringing up clexane as another tacit pressure to suggest you're not low risk and "should" be in hospital, which might be a solution far more within her comfort zone.

Fingers crossed your consultant appointment isn't far away and they're a bit more informative!

[AngryGnome]

Clexane here too - I ended up on daily injections for about 6 weeks following some labour complications. They give you the needles to inject yourself, is v. easy and doesn't hurt. It doesn't interfere with breastfeeding at all.

As I understand it, they will usually give it to you if you have a CS, and have high BMI, a family history of clotting problems, or mobility problems.

Pretty unprofessional of her to just throw it into conversation without explanation, I hope your consultant can give you some reassurance.

[nunnie]

I had 1 injection a day for 5 days post EMCS.

[nunnie]

Should say I was never told why I was given mine after EMCS. My BMI is "normal" did have a leaky wound so might have been related to that, will never know now I suppose. I didn't ask because I presumed it was the norm as it was given to me with all my other pain killers etc in a bag to take home, and I was just told to inject same time everyday and to do it around the scar because it was numbest area. I did it in thigh to be honest as I found it more comfortable.

[thursday]

i was offered clexane in pregnancy due to high BMI. i was put off by the lack of knowledge both consultant and mw had about it. i wanted HB and my consultant said they have no experience of HB with clexane so to refuse it if that was my intention mixed message much, either you think i need it or i dont, shirely? i googled and decided against it, but in hindsight i think i was a bit daft.

i did end up with it post section, but i didnt do the full 6 weeks. just the week i was in hosp and a week at home. stings like buggery! bruises everywhere. i actually thought my scar had burst open at one point but it was just the needle sting.