Does Anyone Have MTHFR -Blood Clotting ?

Yes, when I lost my daughter at 39 weeks (stillborn) my new Dr. did testing and learned that I had MTHFR. They don;t think the MTHFR was a factor in my daughters passing, but to be on the safe side, immediately when I got pregnant with my son, she had me taking Lovenox injections once per day. I took them daily until 6 weeks post partum and have a healthy son. I am now 10 weeks pregnant and am doing the same routine. My OB started me on the shots immediately when I missed my period, so 4 weeks. The high risk Dr. agrees. It is just a safety precaution and I have read tons of success stories. I would tell her to get back on them or find a Dr. who supports the shots. They work.

My son had stroke while in uetero, so when we found this out he and I underwent a ton of blood tests and they did a little w/ my hubby as well. The MTHFR is a "gene mutation"and there is more than one type and some are worse than others. My husbands is worse than mine, but we both have it. When I was pregnant my specialist had me take 4mgs of Folic Acid a day on top of my prenatal vitamins. I can't say I am an expert, but I was able to have sucessful pregnancies without having to use blood thinners. I have had 2 miscarrages in my life as well, but they didnt attribute one to the other.I was adamantly opposed to using blood thinners and luckily my Doctors did get on the same page. My son will take 1mg of folic acid a day his entire life,just as a preventative thing as well as my husband(he has been avised to at least). I don't know if this helps....I hope your friend is able to have a happy healthy baby!

Hi E.,
After three miscarriages, my OB, an amazing doc and fertility specialist found that I had both MTHFR and a pro-thrombin mutation (another clotting issue). He put me on one baby aspirin a day until I was pregnant (this I will be taking for the rest of my life) and then, the second we found out that I was pregnant, he started me on the daily shots in my stomach of Lovenox (I much preferred this blood thinner to heparin and was lucky that my insurance covered it - they are only once a day and come in pre-filled shots). The last month of pregnancy you have to switch to heparin though as it's half-life is shorter which is needed in case you go into labor early.

They were uncomfortable to give myself in the beginning and caused some bruising, but as time went by, it was nothing, especially since I knew I was helping my baby. My doc just told me to be extra careful when I was hiking, etc. not to fall for fear of bleeding. And, with time all the bruising went away.

I am not sure if this would have been the same treatment for just MTHFR, but, for a pro-thrombin as well, it was something that I would definitely not want to stop suddenly. Make sure your friend gets the right reason for stopping all of a sudden.

My doc is great, he's in BH and takes a lot of insurances. Please let me know if you would like his information if she'd like to see him to get his input.

I know that he had so much to do with me now having a healthy and strong 17-month-old baby girl.

All the best to you and your friend.

My 1st pregnancy at age 34 resulted in a healthy girl. No problems. Then at ages 36 and 37 I had miscarriages at 12 and 17 weeks. With the 4th pregnancy, I insisted on testing for blood clotting disorders. Turns out, I had one that was age-related... a Protein S Deficiency. I had shots of Lovenox (blood thinner) in the belly nightly from 8wks preg. to the end of the 8th month. The 9th month, I was switched to Heparin 2x day. I was sore and bruised the entire pregnancy. But it was worth it... I had a full-term healthy baby boy.

Sorry my response wasn't directly related to MTHRF, but I thought you'd like a blood clotting success story. Good luck!

I am homozygous for the MTHFR gene and was undiagnosed and suffered 2 miscarriages at 7 weeks, placenta previa with my first live birth and a TIA (mini stroke) at 39 weeks pregnant with my second child (born full term and healthy at 40 weeks). So, yes, success despite MTHFR. Now that I am diagnosed I am on Folic acid B vitamin supplements and baby aspirin for life and if I were to want to get pregnant again I would definately go for the blood thinners as others have mentioned. When you are pregnant, you have more blood, it is thicker, you often aren't as active and you weigh more - increasing your risk of blood clot further so a treatment plan is integral to keep you and baby safe.

I don't have MTHFR, but I have the g20210A mutation for blood clotting. Blood thinners are usually the protocol during pregnancy. Did they do an analysis on the miscarried tissue? I had 2 miscarriages, and it was determined that it was a mutation in the chromosomes.

I would also consider an acupuncturist. I joke that my husband, an acupuncturist, is getting women pregnant all over town. He has had a lot of success treating infertility including me. We have a beautiful daughter who is now 5. One of his other patients was told that, after 5 miscarriage, that she should just be happy with her one child. She now has a 10-month old.

Good luck, there is still hope.

N.

I would follow the direction of the Fertility Specialist. They had me taking Omega 3, 6, & 9 plus baby asprin the whole pregnancy until I was about 35 weeks. I now have a beautiful baby boy that turned 15 months yesterday! I also highly reccomend accupuncture. I believe a combonation of all three really helped me. Accupuncture is not only good for blood flow but it really helps reduce the stress hormone. Especially since she has already had miscarriages. She will be stressed the whole pregnancy. I know I was, I did my kick count every day and had one of those machines you could listen to the heartbeat every night.

Hi E. - I was diagnosed with APS (antiphosolipid syndrome - a blood clotting disorder) during the time I was trying to get pregnant. I had 3 miscarriages before they discovered it. Once I was diagnosed I was fine (I now have an 18 month old son). I did give myself shots of Heparin (a blood thinner) twice a day in my stomach. I did this for almost 8 months of my pregnancy and I really didn't have any issues. I think I stopped the injections around 32 weeks. I will tell you that my son was born 6 weeks early but it was determined that stopping the injections had nothing to do with his early arrival. My son was 5lbs 2oz, 19 inches when he was born so he wasn't as small as most preemies. What concerns does your friend have? She is welcome to contact me if she has questions. I hope this helps. I will agree with your friend the injections were an inconvenience but not that big of a deal either. Please tell your friend...Congratulations!!!!

Hi E. - I had never heard of this before. Very interesting! I did find this website which explains why the doctors have such varied opinions:

http://miscarriage.about.com/od/thrombophiliadisorders/i/...

Fish oil is a natural blood thinner and WAY healthier than aspirin, etc. They can check her clotting factors with regular blood tests and increase or decrease the fish oil as needed...AND it helps with the baby's development, brain, etc. Most MDs do not follow this protocol, but it can and does work!

I tested negative for MTHFR but know that it puts you at a high risk for preeclampsia which I have had in a previous pregnancy.

Based on my past, I side with the perinatlogist on high risk stuff...

Is your friend in Orange County? Dr. Asrat at Magella near Hoag is FANTASTIC...incredibly knowledgeable, wonderful physician. Highly recommend if she wants another perinatlogist referal.

Good luck.
-M