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Pregnancy

Talk about every stage of pregnancy, from early symptoms to preparing for birth.

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Original poster

Clexane injections

24 replies

GoooRooo · 05/04/2015 19:14

Anyone else having to take Clexane during pregnancy?

I have to be on it from last week (14 weeks) until 6 weeks after birth, with a break when I go into labour.

I've had to give myself injections before when I had a DVT but I forgot how much they bloody sting! I don't mind the needle going in, but pushing the plunger down really really stings.

My tummy looks like I've been in a boxing ring. Covered in bruises and I'm only a week in. I'm going to be black and blue by 9 months. I could put the in my thighs but I go on holiday in a few weeks so I can hide tummy injection bruises with a swimsuit - not so easy with thigh injections.

I know it's for the best to take it, but I am really quite miserable about it today.

OP posts:

CultureSucksDownWords · 05/04/2015 19:23

I had to have it post delivery and it was almost the worst part of the recovery process so you have my complete sympathy. The bruising/stinging is really annoying, and the fact you're doing it to yourself is horrible.

Can you get someone else to administer some of them so you get a small break from torturing yourself?!

Hobby2014 · 05/04/2015 19:26

Oh I had these after my section. Had to get DH to do them for me. Horrid.
For you having to do them for so long.

Original poster

GoooRooo · 05/04/2015 19:38

I had them after my last delivery for six weeks too. I hoped I might escape them for the pregnancy this time but I have a varicose vein caused by last pregnancy (thanks DS) which looks like it might be clotting (it's gone hard!) so consultant is making me take it as a precaution, which I know is the sensible thing but bloody hell I look like I've done 12 rounds with Rocky already!

Thanks for the sympathy - glad to hear I'm not alone but not glad to hear you've had to take it previously too, obviously.

DH wouldn't do them. I don't think I'd want him to anyway, I'm a bit of a control freak!

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Orangeisthenewbanana · 05/04/2015 19:44

I had to do this in my last pregnancy and will for any future ones. It does get easier and you'll have less bruises as your technique for doing it gets better. Some days I could do it perfectly, other days it stung like hell! Sympathy and

CorBlimeyTrousers · 05/04/2015 19:47

I had IVF and did clexane from egg collection to 12 weeks I think. I did find I got better at doing it and the bruises were less. Remember to never rub even if it stings. They aren't nice though so you have my sympathy.

Patatas · 05/04/2015 19:57

Poor you, I had to do them the whole way too. I had a PE 10 years previously, so was put on it just in case. I felt very sorry for myself having to do them and hated it at first. I found it was a real treat to have someone else do them for me, I hated pressing it myself. Unfortunately dh is needle phobic, so no use at all, but I managed to time it right so my mum could do a few.

I did all of mine in my thighs, it did leave them quite sore and I now have a few broken veins but it might be worth doing a few there to give your stomach a break.

byhec · 05/04/2015 20:01

I've did this for all 3 pregnancies...it's ok really when you get used to it

2015isgoingtobeBIG · 05/04/2015 20:07

Did this during ivf and found icing the injection spot before and after reduced the bruising. Literally just held an ice cube on the skin for ten seconds then injected then did the same after injecting making sure it was a direct pressure not a rubbing action. Good luck

Flugdrachen · 05/04/2015 20:12

I've had to do them from conception until 6 weeks after delivery through 4 pregnancies - it sucks. Rubbing the injection site - even a tiny bit - makes the bruising far worse ... apart from that I have no advice ... The bruising isn't nice :/

MayfairMummy · 05/04/2015 22:11

GoooRooo... I've just hit 35 weeks and have stopped now until the 6 weeks after birth. I noticed that my bruising got much lesser as the pregnancy progressed. not sure why, though, whether it was technique or some 'trick' of having to pinch a stretched belly to get a good spot. I did ice in the early days, but got bored of it.

What i did notice is that there are some bits that sting a lot more than others. Towards the end, if i touched the skin with the needle and it stung, i'd just move elsewhere and try there; there are a lot of places where actually it hurts a lot less. Quite often the ones that really stung bled more too; enough to make the plaster full of blood and leave a stain on my clothes/bedding.

As an unusual tip, i found it helpful to have something to take my mind off it while i was actually squeezing the plunger (and distract me from the stinging). I had a book of puzzles sitting beside my kit, and as soon as the needle was actually in, i'd concentrate on trying to solve the puzzle, while only half thinking of getting the clexane into my skin. It worked well too if i was watching game of thrones while i injected - i'd get caught up in the show :)

Murphy29 · 05/04/2015 22:14

I had to do this for the first 12 weeks and would be full pregnancy if I ever had another and I looked so bruised! I switched side each day which made it a bit better and found that the needles with a spring plunger were much better than the normal kind. Hope it gets better soon.

Original poster

GoooRooo · 07/04/2015 09:12

Thanks for all your experiences folks.

MayfairMummy I've been lucky so far (and previousy when doing these injections) they've never bleed. I do bruise really, really easily when taking them though. Interesting that you've stopped taking them at 35 weeks - is that the advice from your consultant? I'm going to ask again about it as I'm quite concerned about taking it all the way up until labour.

I have sing in my head to distract me from plunging. At the moment Twinkle Twinkle Little Star is the most effective

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Orangeisthenewbanana · 07/04/2015 10:09

I took mine all the way up until I had DD. They just told me not to take it once my contractions started. I restarted it the next morning after she was born. I guess it depends on the reason you're taking it? Your consultant will be able to tell you. I was also taking aspirin and had to stop that at 36 weeks.

Original poster

GoooRooo · 07/04/2015 10:11

That's exactly the advice I've been given orange take it until labour starts.

I'm also taking asprin.

OP posts:

CoffeeBeanie · 07/04/2015 10:19

I was on Clexane following a PE after childbirth, maybe keep telling yourself the alternative is much worse?
I found Warfarin much worse, and was glad to come off it.

When I had a suspected DVT at the beginning of the year I was on Clexane for a few weeks (before and after a leg vein operation) and found it not a problem at all.

Clexane is quite safe, and I was told I had to take it as long as you were told to take it if I ever had another child. Nope, never ever

See it as the preventative measure that it is, a life saver. Nuisance, yes, no doubt.

mawbroon · 07/04/2015 12:07

Urgh, you have my sympathy.

I had to inject myself with Clexane after breaking my ankle near the end of a pregnancy.

They told me to stop after a couple of weeks and I thought that was the end of it, but they wanted me back on it after the baby was born.

I remember sitting there with the needle working up to stabbing myself with it. Horrible. But there was no way I was trusting DH!!

I hope you get used to it and it becomes second nature x

sycamore54321 · 08/04/2015 18:14

Coffeebean, that's a great attitude, I too bad post partum clots and had Clexane for six months. I will need them again for any future pregnancy, but a smaller prophylaxis dose rather than the massive therapeutic dose thankfully.

My tips are 1. Do it yourself, I had initially gotten relatives to do it for me but once I worked up the courage to do it once myself, it was so much better as I could control it.

Take a huge pinch of the fattiest part you can find. I found lower down on my tummy, and far put to the sides well away frombelly button was best. Hold onto the pinch the whole time, do not let go as you plunge. I made that mistake once, never again.
When you have your pinch, look for the whitest part of the skin and inject there. Avoid anything blue (blood vessels, ouch) or red (more muscular, less fat). I am very pale skinned Caucasian so I dont know if this tip translates for people with a different skin tone to me, but I found it made a huge improvement for me, often it was painless when I got a good fatty white patch.
Inspect your needle before you touch skin. You are looking for two things, firstly to make sure there are no drops of the medication on the emd of the needle, if there are, shake them off as otherwise it burns like crazy when it touches the skin. And secondly, the point of the needle is at an angle, you wany to hold it in such a way the the smallest part enters the skin first.
Now, in we go! I preferred to touch the needle to my skin and apply pressure to force it through slowly, but most people seem to prefer a dart-like jab. Try both and see which works best.
Distraction is your friend here, my trick was to focus really really hard on wiggling my toes in the most exaggerated manner possible while I plunged really slowly. Sounds nuts but it helps me hugely. Wait for the clicm and the it almost withdraws itself whe it clicks properly. If it malfu ctions a bit and doesn't click, just make sure you have injected all the medication and bubble then lift it out slowly and gently at the same angle. Let go of pinch, throw needle safely in sharps box, pop reward chocolate in mouth, turn on a really good song on your cd player and by the time the song is over, any burning will have stopped. And for the love of all that you hold sacred, do not rub!

Honestly, by the time I figured out all the above worked for me, I found the final few months of them not too bad. If you are in the UK, you should add a step of gratitude to the NHS too, I am elsewhere and my Clexane injections cost a whopping €22 each, daily, for six months, to add insult to injury! That stung almost as badly as the injections!

But having said all that, the emotio al part of having to inject yourself daily is rwally quite tough, so do be kind to yourself and you are definitely allowed the ocasional pity party. And also be proud of yourself for doing it too. Congratulations on your pregnancy.

MuddyWellyNelly · 08/04/2015 22:34

Oh this brings back painful memories. For a while I was cruising, then one day I bled and I think started tensing after that. I found the position I was in mattered. For a while I'd do it slouched on the sofa, almost lying back. Then I went to the dining room chair, so much more upright. I think alternating every few days helped me get different areas. Sometimes I did standing too. Agree with the poster who said try a different site if the first one stings. I used to just swear violently for a few seconds. Stopped me tensing at least.

Good luck. It will all be worth it.

Original poster

GoooRooo · 09/04/2015 10:14

I sit on the edge of the bath to do it. The actual needle part is fine - it's the plunging I hate. It stings so badly!

I saw the midwife today for a 16 week appointment and she used the doppler to hear the heartbeat. When she pulled my trousers down over my tummy she was like 'bloody hell, look at those!' I am totally black and blue.

OP posts:

Dukketeater · 09/04/2015 10:29

I done mine in my arm as it bruised less and hurt less afterwards but doing it into muscle at the time is painful... Swings and roundabouts.

Dukketeater · 09/04/2015 10:30

Also because I couldn't stomach (sorry!) the idea of doing them in my tummy, made feel ill at the thought

sycamore54321 · 09/04/2015 15:44

I'm not sure if this is exactly what you mean but Clexane is supposed to be administered subcutaneously, not intramuscularly. Maybe I am over-reading your post but you should check with youe doctor or pharmacist to make sure you are using a suitable site - it woukd be awful to go through all the pain and stinging etc only for the medicine not to have the proper effect because it was IM rather than sub-q.

flagnogbagnog · 09/04/2015 15:55

I've used clexane through two pregnancies. The second time round a lovely nurse took time to 'train' me how to do it.

She said do it 5cm on either side of your belly button (alternate each side each day). Pinch the skin a bit and inject in the middle.

I got on much better this way. I couldn't feel it at all most of the time. Occasionally it would really sting and I had no idea why.

MayfairMummy · 09/04/2015 20:42

GooRoo... both the NHS, and my private (and very well known, and expensive) clinic who are actually IVF based but were treating me for recurrent miscarriage told me to come off it at the same time. It does, however, come out of your system quite quickly, so if something goes awry, it shouldn't be a huge issue (though they may want to wait 12 hours after your last injection before surgery). Aspirin stays in the system longer and you should end that earlier than d-day. Previously they've not done ERPC's on me until at least a week after my last aspirin.

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