Any body with Antibodies?

[bee21]

Wanted to start a thred for people with all different types of antibodies as no one knows where to go for information...
And just to find someone that has the same or simular antibodies in their pregnancy's.....
I was told that i have anti-E antibodies, my titer score was 16 and now it has risen to 32 and is now complicated with anti c..
I go for fortnightly bloodtest and the same with ultrasounds..
Still have 9 weeks to go, not sure of what to expect but ill keep u posted on how things end up in my pregnancy..
Please feel free to add your experiance with ur antirbodies weather the same or different, or if u have some advice for me, would love to hear from you all...

[moonmother]

I have anti-k antibodies.I am not pregnant but did suffer with this through my 2 pregnancies.

I like you had to have fortnightly bloodtests and regular ultrasound scans up till both births.And cord bloodtests after labour.

I found it incredibly scary with my first pregnancy as Midwives etc didn't really give me much info on it.
My second was alot easier as I knew what to expect etc.

I was lucky though that it didn't affect my pregnancies at all.

Just wanted to post my experiences ans wish all of you with similar problems good luck

[bee21]

wow,

I haven't relly heard anything about anti-k, do you know wat ur titre score was when u were pregnant?

I have been wondering about what they do after the babe is born, do they do blood tests on the baby after the birth?
how do they test for anemia and stuff like that??

Well its good to know that ur pregnancy's both had good out comes and im sure you will put a few other anti-k mums at ease, because not knowing is the hardest...

[ruthmollymummy]

Hey,
you're so right - there's v little out there on antibodies.
I just had my first baby and had anti-D. It was pretty scary but also had fortnightly blood tests to check titre and dilutation levels.
I did so much reading up on it I could write an essay!
Doctors did cord blood test and baby had blood tests up to three times a day as she was in the NICU having phototherapy (excess bilirubin is a by-product of the red blood cells being attacked and broken down which causes jaundice).
Thankfully she didnt need blood exchange or transfusion, the only thing I'm worrying about is the next one, I also have PND so not quite sure how its all gonna go...

[bee21]

having anti-D would have been scary while you were pregnant, did you have to have the baby early or did you make it to full term??
and how long did bub have to have phototherapy?

Sorry about all the questions but the more i know the better i feel, the doc has said that the babe will be jaundice and i find out at my next visit if he wants to induce me or if he wants to let me go a little longer...
Anyways, looking forward to hearing from you and i hope all is ok with the pnd my sister also suffers from it, hope you have plenty of support around for you...

[appletise]

Hi there
I'm 14 weeks (1st baby) and have anti-JKa, the antigen was picked up from a blood transfusion 19years ago, I was told by heamatologist that the only time this could cause problems was if I became pregnant or needed another transfusion. I mentioned this to my GP when found out i was pregnant and she'd never heard of it!
Not even the midwife had heard of anti-Jka or any other antigen!
I was referred to an obstetrician who advised me of all the possible dangers - which are very few nowadays as they are able to monitor blood and the fetus progress.
They will do regular blood tests to check titre levels (i think my danger limit is 28), however she did'nt seem overly concerned with this condition and sees very few complications, I think the most common condition is that the baby is born jaundice but the obstetrician informed me that this is pretty rare too.

Ask your GP for a referral to an obstetrician as you should be being monitored, it also helps to put your mind at ease if you can talk to a professional, it certainly helped with me and dh.

Good luck
x

[nutcracker]

I had anti C antibodies during my pregnancy with Ds 5 years ago. I had regular blood tests and my care was transferred to a larger hospital once my levels got too high.

I was then scanned fortnightly and had a blood test weekly. Ds was born at 37 weeks and was immediatly jaundiced and remained that way for quite a while, I forget exactly how long but it was at least 6 weeks. He then became anemiac and was so for about a month, narrowly avoiding a transfusion.

Since then he has had no problems at all and is a healthy 5 yr old. I have been advised not to get pregnant again, but when asked for information to support this I was never given any and my own research has told me more than the hospital ever did and I would get pregnant again given the chance.

[bee21]

Hey good to see we have a few more gal's out there that can open up and share what they have been through,
Nutcracker, could they tell that your baby was being affected in the scans, is that why you had the him at 37 weeks or did you just go into labour a little early??

I feel like my doctor is waiting for something to happen, usualy i walk into the doc's room and he say's your not exciting yet,then last fortnight he didn't even wait for me to sit down before telling me that i was exciting now because my titer had risen and now i also have anti-c,I don't quite know wat to make of him, He is a pregnancy specialist and aneathisist but i just think he seems a little heartless.. I see him again tomorrow and im preying that he isn't excited. lol!

[bluedomino]

bee21, try not be offended by your doc, and make the most of his interest in you and your baby. At least this way you are getting some good attention. Its amazing to find a doctor whos actually interested in his job! Hope all goes well for you.

I don't know anything about the antibodies mentioned on here. I have intrinsic factor antibodies resulting in pernicious anaemia. Only through my own research have I discovered that the antibodies are passed placentally and can make the baby anaemic & have neuro problems. I bfed my DD for 6 weeks before I had to stop as she was allergic to me and very ill. Nobody was interested in my Pernicious anaemia or the effect it may have had on DD. Now pregnant again & really struggling to get any decent treatment, only getting B12 every 3 months despite levels being very low and I think its causing neurological problems. I was given Gas & air during birth without any hospital staff knowing it scavenges B12 and makes you even more anaemic, as I result couldn't walk for weeks after the birth. I would kill for a doctor who was even slightly interest or concerned. Sorry for the rant.

[bee21]

Thanks bluedomino, i didn't really think of it that way.

Dont worry about ranting i do it all the time and we should do it more often realy!!!

It's quite sad to hear your not getting the treatment you should be, maybe you should see a specialist and organise to get more scans on the bub so if anaemia does become a problem for your baby, something can be done sooner rather then later.
I hope all goes well for you and bub, and you find a doc that will start listening to you...

Feel free to rant anytime!

Its the only way to find the one person that may have the information you are looking for... Goodluck

[bee21]

Seen the doc on the third and the baby is not moving as much as he would like, so now i have to go to the hospital every week for ctg's + weekly blood tests and ultasounds so they can keep an eye on fetal movement and heart rate,
He told me that he would like to induce me at 36 weeks so that we are not taking any more risks but if my ultrasound is not good on the 10th then i will go to neapean hospital in sydney to have bub streight away,

We were considering having another baby in a year or so but after this pregnancy i dont think i could deal with the stress again especialy when it is suposed to get worse with each pregnancy...

[bee21]

Went to neapean hospital for scan on bub all was ok with baby, Though the specialist reccomended i have no more children after this one because having more then one antibody will be even more dangerouse for the next child.

On the way home from scan had a realy bad headache and decided to get it checked out i was seeing sparkles in front of my eyes and was quite dizzy, the hospital cheacked my blood pressure and it was 140/100 so i was addmitted for four days while they ran tests now im on meds till i have bub to try and keep the blood pressure under control...

I never had ANY probs with our first child so i am having trouble trying to figure out why this one should be so different!!!

[bluedomino]

bee21, sorry to hear you're having a hard time, hope you BP is coming down. Take it easy and try not to worry too much. Thinking of you.

[WeasyPeasy]

Anti - JKA

I am 32 weeks pregnant. 6wks ago I gave a blood sample. 2 days ago I received a letter from the heamotology dept telling me I had this Ant-Jka antibody in my blood and to carry a card around with me incase I ever needed a blood transfusion. It was a standard letter with no literature about Anti-Jka attached so I just assumed this was a common thing and re assured myself that if it was anything bad then surely they would have called me to come and see them for a follow up.....Then I googled it and came across some information that didnt look very good and i'm now in a bit of a panic.

I've spoke to 4 qualified nurses who have never heard of the antiboy so I decided to call my midwife and ask what it is and why i'm not getting a fortnightly check up as I have read in your blogs. She sounded baffled, asked another midwife and then told me that its nothing to worry about and its just that the baby will get its blood checked after delivery....I never queried further as I dont think I was going to get anywhere with it. Should I be worried about this? It seems that I should at least insist on getting my titer levels checked just now but again no one seems that worried?

Thanks to your comments i'm now going to insist I speak with the Consulant first thing on Monday, I just have this horrible feeling that somethings not right?

This is my 2nd child. Everything went very smoothly with my first.

[roundabout1]

Hi WeasyPeasy - I have anti e & also an unassigned/unknown antibody detected in my bloods, I am currently 20 weeks. I have been given very little info, originally had a letter from the hospital saying they needed to redo bloods, went for the appointment & they said they needed to double check as some anti bodies had appeared on the first sample. Was told that if antibodies were still there it would be a case of having monthly bloods & nearer end of pregnancy fortnightly or weekly bloods. Since then had more bloods taken, mw told me it was anti e & another but didn't have any more info than that. Like you I panicked a bit after googling & also am a bit concerned that no mention has been made of extra scans etc. I'm seeing my own mw tomorrow but don't hold out much hope that she will know much about it. I have had a feeling of doom with this pregnancy (is my 2nd), probably because it followed an early miscarriage but this & the lack of info just seems to feed my paranoia. Hope you managed to get some answers today.