Does anybody know about antiphospholipid syndrome?

[kitpuss]

I had a healthy baby in 2005, but in the last 6 months have had two miscarriages. I've just found out I'm pregnant again and to be honest I feel terrified.
I was just looking up some miscarriage things on the internet and read about antiphospholipid syndrome, one of the symptoms of which is joint pain, which I have had after my two miscarriages.
I'm probably panicking unnecessarily, I'm not even sure if you can have a normal pregnancy like I did when you have this syndrome.
Does anyone know anything about it?
Thanksxx

I'm sorry for you losses and I have APS.

My first pregnancy was pretty uncomplicated until my membranes went at 35 weeks. DD was fine but it turned out that my placenta had aged prematurely & the preterm labour may well have saved her life. Next pregnancy I lost in the second trimester - I had bleeding from the placenta from 12 weeks and eventually had another PROM (way too early to save the baby), then a placental abruption. Before my next pregnancy I was diagnosed with APS & received the appropriate treatment (aspirin & heparin from conception to birth) & had planned section at 38 weeks (I wouldn't go any further than that due to the risk of placental problems).

APS is pretty easy to diagnose - either/ raised anticardiolipin antibodies (that's what I have) or/and lupus anticoagulant. They test your levels twice (I had mine done 8 weeks apart). One test showed high levels and the other was borderline but since I'd had a second trimester loss & a history of placental problems (I'd also had a leg clot in dd's pregnancy which is also a sign of APS) I was diagnosed.

You can get the blood tests done privately if your GP won't refer you - they tried to fob me off with the 3 losses line - it is one of the few causes of miscarriage that there's a treatment for.

Minster, thank you so much for that, your comments were really informative. I'm sorry to hear what you have been through but it's great that they did work out what was happening to you and your babies.

After my first miscarriage I was diagnosed with erythema nodosum, which I have just found is linked to APS, so I am more worried now.

I hope I am worrying unnecessarily, but finding out I am pregnant again has brought back a lot of fears, and if by any chance I do have APS then I guess it will be too late for this baby already. It's all getting a bit too much this pregnancy lark.

Your message struck a chord for me. I had a healthy pg in 2005, then constant joint pain ever since (inconclusive blood tests) and a lupus-like malar rash on my face. I then had two missed miscarriages in the last year. I don't have APS as such but may have something similar/borderline, so I'm on 75mg aspirin since conception for this pregnancy. It's really really early days for me though, so I'm very nervous.

How far along are you? My consultant has a private clinic as well as his NHS one - if you Google Mr Shehata or The Miscarriage Clinic, you should be able to find him.

HTH

Hi and sorry for your losses. I have lupus anticoagulant which the doctors don't really explain to me other than say it can cause m/c. They have not actually ever diagnosed me with APS even though I have LA. I have had joint pains, migraine and tiredness, swollen glands along with chronic anaemia for years. I have had 7 pregnancies; m/c at 11wks, DD (full term), DD (full term), s/b at 23 wks (DD had chromosome disorder), DS's (full term), late m/c at 20 weeks (preterm rupture of membranes) she was stillborn, and then a m/c at 6-7 wks. I was told to take aspirin when becoming pg. I have read alot of studies which show that aspirin can reduce losses to APS and Heparin can reduce them further (but the docs have not offered me this).