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Hi, hope you don't mind me joining you, I'm pretty confused here, I have 2 daughters and 2 angels, (one between my 2 girls at 21weeks and one 3 months ago at 5 weeks) I did all the tests a few years ago as my dad has bloodclotts and takes bloodthinners and so I was advised not to go on the pill without testing, so all the testing came back negative. Anyway my obgyn sent me to retest after this 2nd missed mc and today I met with the perinatologist - I am already 6 weeks pregnant. Anyway she went through the tests that I did 6 years ago and said that I'm neg for all the genetic ones but she'll retest for 2 that are not genetic as they could change, but she wants me to start on the lovenox now (I've been taking asprin up till now) as it will be another month before we get the ressults, then here's the bit that confuses me... she said that even if they come back neg she wants me to keep doing the lovenox injections until 6 weeks after labor and then all future pregnancies. Why would I need to do that if all tests show neg?

Cubbie, lovenox is safe to use as a precaution...that is probably why she is having you do that and you are lucky to have a dr. who is willing to let you do something like this that could help if there are things the tests don't pick up, etc. Many doctors are just too conservative and won't prescribe the blood thinners yet you could be borderline on something and it makes the difference betweeen life and death for a tiny embryo. Good luck to you!!!

Jessicab3 thanks so much for the invite! is it TTC after a loss with 81 members?

Cloud9, no it is a private group so you can only get to it if I tell you the URL. We only have like 13 or 14 members which is really nice cause it makes it more personal. Do a mom search and find me (Jessicab3) or let me know your screenname and I will find you. Then I can message you with the URL link. =) Jessica

cubbie, Its sounds like you found the right doc. I agree with Stefkay there really isn't a reason to NOT try it, especially since you do have a familial history. Good luck on your pregnancy.

thanks for your replies - and stefkay also thanks for replying to my post on the first trimester board! Ok one more question, i read on the lovenox site that it's a risk to get an epidural while being treated by lovenox, has anyone heared about that, i can't imagine going through labor without one.

also my original post was meant to say that i lost my 2nd angel at 15 weeks not 5

cubbie, I'm so very sorry for your losses. I hope you get some answers soon!

cubbie, most docs will switch you to heparin around 36wks so you can still do an epidural when you go into labor. I've heard the needles are bigger so not very fun. Some docs will also schedule an inducement and just take you off Lovenox the day before that way you don't have to go the heparin route.

Hey all, I just got back from my rheumatologist. Okay, good news first. I don't have an autoimmune disease!!! No lupus, hepatitis, sjogrens, etc. THANK YOU GOD/UNIVERSE! Bad news - the ANA and MTHFR are confirmed. The ANA (Antinuclear Antibodies) keep my body slightly inflamed all the time. Really low grade - I have no pain whatsoever but it can cause a m/c. As soon as I get my next BFP, I'll be put on 20 mg of prednisone throughout the 1st trimester. For the MTHFR (blood clotting disorder), I'll have to be put on lovenox for the entire pregnancy (most likely 2 injections a day given in the belly or thigh - nurses have promised me that it is a small needle. Yikes!). The GREAT news is that I've figured all of this out now and feel that I will have a healthy pregnancy hopefully some time in the near future. Next step... I see my RE for the first time this Monday armed with all this info. Thanks for reading :)

I went for my follow up appt with my OB today after my miscarriage and D&C three weeks ago. Nothing abnormal showed up in the pathology so he agreed to test me for MTHFR. He did a complete thrombophilia panel so we are checking for lots of other things. What I didn't like was how he responded to me when I asked about MTHFR. He said it is a very "weak" factor for causing miscarriages and he said it really isn't something he would be worried about. I have done A LOT of reading and was prepared for my doctor to be on this side of the fence but I really hoped he would be way more proactive and willing to treat it aggressively. He said that if I do have MTHFR, the only things he would do is say take more folic acid and take baby asprin. After reading just about everything I can get my hands on about this I am pretty sure I will want more than just that. He did say he would also suggest doing progesterone suppositories for the first trimester during the next pregnancy. I have to wait 5-7 days to get the blood tests back but hopefully we can start making a real game plan as it were in the near future. I am ready to endure anything in the world to have a healthy pregnancy and baby.

htf, it sounds like your doctor takes a stance that most doctors take, but it is good that he is willing to do the progesterone! You could work on him about the lovenox (as for a prophylactic dose of 40mg per day as a "precaution" -- that is what i am on) and if he won't budge there are other doctors, although I know what a pain that process is. The last doc I went to who I love was a nearly 4 hour drive from my home and I had to do that once every two weeks through the first trimester but it was worth it. CLOUDCLIMBER, Congrats on the diagnosis!!!!! I know that sounds weird, but I know I just wanted something concrete that could be treated and it looks like you got it :) My dr. said that prednisone was our next step if I were to have lost this pregnancy because I showed inflammation in my d&c path reports. That's nothing concrete, but he never tested my ANAs either. He explained that he didn't feel that prednisone was necessary so for him the risks outweighed the benefits. Really it was interesting how he explained there are hundreds of things that can be diagnosed, but there are relatively few treatments that cover the range. Progesterone, vitamins, folic, aspirin, lovenox or heparin and prednisone. Beyond that are more experimental things like IVIG and whanot. It sounds like you are on your way.

Thanks stefkay! Yeah, I feel better knowing that there is something I can do to help my next pregnancy. I'll feel a TON better after meeting with the RE on Monday. I'm 4dpo right now so I'm praying for a BFP this month! Thanks again for the words of encouragement! I appreciate it! :)

Cloud9, yay! I'm glad you got such good answers today. Wow you have a great team of doctors on your side, I'm so happy for you. I think they checked my APA levels too but I'm going to double check that. While I was in the hospital my inflamation numbers were really high, that has always worried me. They thought it was signs of infection but nothing ever showed up on the gram stain tests. Anyways it has made me think about the prednisone which I have heard of before but didn't know what it was actually used for. So thank you for that, more research for me to do, lol. I've been thinking about you, here's some baby dust*+.+*+.+*+.+*+.+*+.

Oh by the way I am on cd5, my first month ttc, so wish me luck =D

Thanks jessicab3 :) thanks for the baby dust. I'm 5dpo but don't have sore boobs so doubt that I'm pregnant this month. Oh, well. Have to keep trying right? I'll post after I visit the RE. Should be interesting. You're CD5 huh? Should be close to sex week for you! Have fun and I hope you make a healthy baby!!!