Clexane injections.. any advice

[sparklygothkat]

Me and Lisad123 have both been put on Clexane injections as the hospital has discovered that we both have Sticky Blood symdrome. Any advice, as we are both scared..

Not horrible you don?t have to like people just because you are related to them! Or because they are old!

Hi Sparkly-it stings less if you make sure that no Clexane is on the outside of the needle as you inject (you kow when you sometimes get a drip come out when you take off the cap)

I have been away for the week, so have just read this message. I have the hugest (is that a word lol) bruise after i knocked the needle while i was trying to get the meds in.
Thanks for the advice, and SGC is right my grandad is an arse, although my nan is nice, its hard to spend nice time with her with my GF around.
Its a pain with these drugs, especially as midwife has told me it means no epidural or spinal if you have had your dose that day I was never going to manage natural labour without a epidural as I have servese SPD, which means walking with crutches or on really bad days a wheelchair.

As SGC said my dd was bron at 5lb, which was a big shock as all scans said she was fine in growth but a few doopler scans did show placental failure.

Im injecting intot he top of my legs as i couldnt bear the thought of injecting into tum and its pretty tight at 33 week

L

I started doing my jabs on tuesday by myself, I was so proud of myself, but have 3 injections where the plunger won;t go down and Dh had to push it in for me, and he hates doing it. Its not as stingy doing it myself, as if it starts to sting I can slow down the flow.

I did Clexane right through my pregnancy and beyond so became a bit of an expert!

I did mine in the tummy though as I found it stung less than the thigh. Pinch the skin really tight. Get the bubble to the opposite end to the needle. Go in with the needle at an angle, not straight in. Depress plunger slooooooowly. Make sure all of the air bubble is injected - massively helps to reduce bruising. Do not rub afterwards - causes bruising.

Oh, and although it felt better to swab afterwards with surgical spirit, I was told not to use it long term as it thickens and dries the skin, making subsequent injections more difficult in the area swabbed iyswim.

Good luck girls, it was more than worth it for me and my 10mo DD. (Born by c/s by the way)

My nan has the disorder too, she got the results this week, maybe they will listen to us in future, instead of making out that its because mine and DH's genes are crap..

SGK, I had a problem with one batch of my Clexane, where the needle was painful to push in and the plunger was really stiff, infact I was really glad that it wasn't my first batch and it was a relief to get another batch that worked better. It might be worth getting another batch if your doc will let you (has your sister got the same batch number on hers? or could you try one of hers?

Some of my batch have been really hard to do too Those ones have bruised more, although this mornings one, has been fine and the best one to date. nearly finished that box, only tomorrow and then new box.

L

Some of mine are too bubbly or the plungers come out too easily - I just disregard those.

Interesting what you said Katsma - I was told to get rid of all bubbles

I was told to get rid of the bubble too, but decided to go with the advice of MNetters and inject the bubble last, I have a few bruises, but nothing major.

Hello, I'm glad I came across this!

A friend from 'another' board has been talking about her situation to me.

She has been told that she would need to be induced early just in case she needs a CS or otherwise she'd have to have a GA. She is very anti-induction having suffered a bad experience with ds1, she wasn't given Claxane with ds2 although I think she had the blod clot problem before she had him. IIRC she was told she couldn't have epidural if within 24 hours of last injection

She is a mature lady of larger stature but feels healthy and fit otherwise. I was wondering about Evening Primrose Oil and it's blood thinning capacities and if anyone had looked into it, What about dosing up on that just before edd and coming off Clexane until after birth?

Has anyone got any tips?

Klaw, I have been advised that a natural birth is possible as long as she doesnt want/need an epidural or at high risk of bleeding. She is right if she needs an Emergency section she would have to have a GA, as spinals arent possible.

I have bad SPD so the plan for birth was a epidural but now thats not possible i am aiming for a planned c section.

I think your friend needs to make the decision of C section or induction, but maybe discuss the risks with consultant if she was going to aim for natural. If her others are fine, i cant see why she couldnt have natural, but she would then run the risk of any complications resulting in GA.

Because the drugs thin the blood if you stop it you then run the risk of developing clots, which I dont think primrose oil would help with. I think once the drugs are stopped they would want to keep a close eye on mum and baby, so looks like hospital the whole way.

Hope this helps

Lisa

I was told I couldn't have an epidural within 12 hours of Clexane injection. I guess it could depend on your dose - I was using 20mg. This is because of the risk of your thinned blood causing a bleed on the spine.

I ended up having an emergency section with an epidural. I had however already been in labour for 13 hours, so my Clexane level had dropped sufficiently.

Incidentally, I was planning a natural delivery and was told to do my injection when I got up in the morning. This is because there is a higher incidence of women going into labour in the night/early hours of the morning. If you've done your jab the night before, 12hrs my not have elapsed. But you would obv not do your jab in the morning if you're in labour iyswim. Therefore, you have a greater chance of being able to have a spinal if required.

Oh, and Evening Primrose Oil - Don't do it!!!
I was taking it for glossy hair , and had a DVT. So it obv doesn't work that well, if at all!

HTH

Oh, and the bubble thing. That's what the bubble's there for, it's actually called a bruise-reduction bubble. It really works.

Another thing I forgot to mention is holding the plunger down tight. As the end of the plunger is rubber/plastic it's springy, and can suck back up the needle [vom emoticon!]

If you depress the plunger slowly, allow the air to go in, then hold the plunger firmly down as you remove the needle, no suck back occurs, and less bruising.

yeah should have said, natural is possible if they stop the drugs 12-24 hours before, and yes I too was advised to do injection in the morning and not to do it if i thought I might be in labour

I was told the 12hr info as well.
My consultant said to get rid of the bubble, then the m/w at the EPU said to leave the buble until last to minimise bruising - I just hate feeling it bubble as it goes in (didn't use to get that don't know why now!)

Klaw ? I don?t know whether the advice they are giving your friend on induction and CS are related to the Clexane. I?ve been advised that as long as I haven?t taken my Clexane within 12 hours of the birth, its management can be totally normal. If I have, then a spinal block would be preferable to an epidural and I guess anyone with a blood clotting issue would prefer to avoid surgery because of the increased risk of clots. I took EPO pre conception but know that it can be dangerous in pregnancy though I don?t know the ins and outs. I?d also say that many of us have been advised to carry on injecting the Clexane for 6-8 weeks after the birth to protect us from clots so I wouldn?t want to come off mine prior to that other than on the day of labour. HTH

Anyone know about the risks of a natural third stage of labour if you have blood issues? I?ve read you can bleed more than with a managed third stage and wondered if anyone had any knowledge? Thanks

MrsMc - I was planning a natural labour, and was told that I shouldn't bleed more than normal (again, with the 12hr post-Clexane thing permitting).

I never got to third stage though, so can't speak from experience

Incidentally, the reason for my emergency section was abrupted placenta in 2nd stage labour. Bled a lot (obv!), but was told it was no worse than anyone else with the same condition, and I didn't need a transfusion.

I also continued Clexane after delivery, but only for 10 days after which I went back on the Warfarin I'd been on pre-preg. If you have clotting issues, you are at high risk post-delivery.

And the bubble going in isn't nice is it?! Used to hum my fave tune loudly to avoid hearing it

I'm glad I'm not the only one who doesn't like the bubble going in.
I have a previous history of PPH and have been told that providing it is 12 hours after my inj then I have not got a greater increased risk of PPH than without Clexane

Hi Clexane guys - think I have 'seen' some of you before! I always did my Clexane into the side of my tummy and it got progressively less painful as the skin got tighter! Was quite a shock post-delivery when was all saggy and flabby and painful again! After a pre-term delivery and post-natal DVT with DD1 4 years ago, I had a very straightforward pregancy on Clexane with DD2 (now 4 months) and very straightforward and quick delivery (in the car!) with no excessive bleeding etc.

Posted a separate thread but can anyone help? I already knew that I had Factor 2 prothrombin mutation and have been taking aspirin and injecting Clexane throughout my pregnancy to date (19+2). My Mum (on the back of me finding out I had this) has now got her results. Not only is she heterozygous for Factor 2 but she is also homozygous for MTHFR. She is now flipping out as she has been told that her risk of thrombosis is substantially increased due to the multiple genetic risk factors and thinks she?ll be prescribed warfarin for life.

Do any of you know what this means for me? I will of course speak to my consultant but wondered if anyone had any experience in the meantime ? thanks!

Sorry MrsMc, can't help, have no experience as my thrombophilia screen showed nothing up despite a pulmonary embolism and two DVTs.

I'm on warfarin for life now, and it's not so bad. Once your INR and dose is stabilised, the blood testing can be done monthly. Can understand why your mum is flipping, but better to know about it and receive treatment than be an accident waiting to happen iyswim!

Hope your consultant tells you what you want to hear.

Thanks Katsma being totally selfish, I cannot believe that I have nearly made it to my 20 week "safe" mark only to find out that there may be another mutant gene thrown into the mix! I've left a message for my consultant to call me

Have no advice, but my nan has just been diagnosed with Protein S deficity. Can't believe that any of us managed to have a baby at all.

Sorry to hear that is she any better?. I have a friend with protein C deficiency and he only has to inject heparin when his levels are off, not all the time, not sure if it is the same with protein S deficiencies. Does this mean that your Nan and potentially you have multiple genetic risk factors or so far is the protein S the only mutant gene detected? I have asked my consultant what a second mutant gene will mean for me so hopefully she'll come back to me soon.