Mini Aspirin

I think I forgot to mention that I have been taking one mini aspirin a day since the day after the embryo transfer. I was only supposed to take it from a positive pregnancy test onwards until they put me on heparin. But I thought that the benefits of avoiding blood clots would surely apply also to the implantation period. I am pregnant so obviously it didn’t hurt.  I am also still taking progesterone in form of a cream twice  a day. The concentration is so low compared to the pessaries I was taking until the pregnancy test that I wonder why I do it.  It’s more a superstition than a firm believe it will make a difference.  There are no conclusive studies out there that suggest it can help sustain a pregnancy. But again, I don’t think it will hurt.

Factor V Leiden

I forgot to mention that I finally got my blood results back. Needless to say that it was a major Odyssey to retrieve the results. It was meant to take 4-6 weeks for the results to come back and from week 4 I called the surgery every week to see if they were in. Finally, after 8 weeks I insisted they track the samples and at least confirm that they had been sent. Yes, they had been sent and the results had been sent to the fertility clinic, not my GP (leave alone me, the patient!). The fertility clinic didn’t bother to tell me the results were in so next I had to chase them. I am glad I have some project management skills or I’d never get anywhere with the NHS.

The test for factor V Leiden was positive – everything else negative. I have read up on it again and (as always) the role of factor V Leiden in pregnancy complications is controversial. It seems there is an increased risk for pregnancy loss in the second and third trimester, preeclampsia, fetal growth retardation and placental abruption.  The treatment: mini Aspirin from positive pregnancy test and heparin from the first scan at 8 weeks. I read that mini aspirin also helps in the implantation phase because it helps blood circulation in the uterus.  I am surprised that there aren’t any definite and conclusive clinical studies on thrombophila and pregnancy less or the prevention of pregnancy loss.  There are so many women pregnant at any given time, they should have super accurate statistics by now. How come all these studies show contradictory results?

For more information on mini Aspirin  http://www.conceivingconcepts.com/learning/articles/aspirin.html

Very basis factor V Leiden reading: http://miscarriage.about.com/od/thrombophiliadisorders/p/factorvleiden.htm

And a comprehensive overview on pregnancy complications caused by factor V Leiden with references to medical publications  http://www.geneclinics.org/profiles/factor-v-leiden/details.html

attitude

I realise that I worry too much. I always seem to want to prepare myself for the worst and paint scenarios of failure. What I need are positive thoughts and confidence that in the end all will be well.

It has to do, I guess, with me being born the most impatient person in the world. Once I make up my mind I can’t wait for things to come my way. They have to happen now. It might be healthier to look at my two past miscarriages from a viewpoint of encouragement rather than labelling them as a failure. After all I am 40 now and I still managed to conceive twice on the first try. That is quite a good sign that my body is still healthy. I will conceive again and maybe have to endure another miscarriage but in the end I will have a baby. It is worth doing it again with that in mind. I just need to be patient and wait my turn.

In the meantime I have put myself on mini aspirin in the hope it will help with building up a thicker uterus lining and keeping the blood supply healthy when the embryo implants. That is  if I conceive this month. I am due for a scan today at the clinic. It is only day nine but since I have missed my ovulation date last month we decided it is better to have three scans and get the date right than to miss it again.

For further reading on mini aspirin http://www.conceivingconcepts.com/learning/articles/aspirin.html