When to begin aspirin???

[Rommy'sMummy]

I have some experince of Asprin so thought I might share what we are doing in case it helps at all;

I am on Aprin (100mg daily) and have been since TTC with this bub (29 weeks pg now). Theory is that due to having a couple of m/c and a small for dates baby previously Asprin would help with avoid another m/c as often the cause is clots forming and would also assit with bubs growth dureing pg. Both have turned out to be true for me.

My DS was on Asprin from birth to 3.5yrs due to heart condition and is now on Warfrin. Asprin is thought to be safe for long term use at the right dose unless stomach issues arise. You can get 100mg tablets of Asprin from supermarkets now.

Also, we were asked to take DS off Asprin 5 days before heart surgery due to needing to have more clotting factor in his blood for surgery - obviously open heart surgery is a pretty bloody operation and I was always told that the Asprin does take 5 days to take full effect and to wear off.

HTH.

Good luck with this cycle!

[Dutchie80]

Thanks heaps BDT and RommysMummy.
I guess I will just have to wait and see what the FS says but I have no issues with pushing the boundaries to get a BFP. I have only had one TF thus far but I would hate to do another 4 or 5 without success knowing if I had of used aspirin things might have been different.
BDT- I had also read of aspirin contributing to m/c and I guess this is where my reservations about starting too early have come from. To my knowledge I have no clotting issues, no lupus anti coagulant antibody, no anti cardiolipin antibody and I'm guessing this is why heparin/clexane hasn't been offered to me, only mentioned by FS and this was before I got the results of the immunology tests I had done.
I'll update when I have spoken to my FS, thanks again for your help.

[phynna]

To my knowledge I have no clotting issues, no lupus anti coagulant antibody, no anti cardiolipin antibody

Don't know if this is of any use to you at all, but I have the anti-cardiolipin antibodies, years ago with my ex we never could fall pregnant except once, which was a miscarriage very early. I don't have the syndrome that goes with the antibodies, just the antibodies on their own. But after doing some research, I briefly started taking aspirin daily not so long ago, and when I trace my pregnancy with my current man back to conception, it's exactly when I was taking the aspirin, so perhaps it does help to take aspirin ahead of time if you are trying to conceive?

[Dutchie80]

Thanks phynna, your story is reassuring. Congrats to you on your pregnancy.

[Dutchie80]

Hi guys,
The FS today said to follow the instructions from the Preg Management Clinic and start aspirin following a +ve BT. I feel a little bit anxious atm especially as I'm about to start another round of ivf.

[Baby Dreamtime]

Hi Dutchie,
I just Googled 'ivf treatment antinuclear antibodies' and found this:

What Are Anti Nuclear Antibodies?
Anti nuclear antibodies (also referred to as antinuclear antibodies) are a unique type of antibodies that have the ability to bind to certain structures within the cell?s nucleus, which is the core part of the cell.

Anti nuclear antibodies generally indicate autoimmunity and therefore can be a sign of autoimmune disease. As such, these antibodies have been linked to such autoimmune diseases as rheumatoid arthritis, Sjogren?s disease, rheumatoid arthritis and pernicious anemia. In addition, antinuclear antibodies have been linked to diseases other than autoimmune diseases, including chronic infections and cancer.


Anti Nuclear Antibodies and Infertility
While anti nuclear antibodies are present in small amounts in about 5% of the population, high amounts of these antibodies are linked to fertility problems, including unexplained infertility and miscarriage.

In fact, many women with high levels of anti nuclear antibodies are unable to conceive or to carry a pregnancy to term. Irregular anti nuclear antibodies levels are also linked to implantation failure as well as miscarriage, due to the inflammation of the uterus and placenta with which anti nuclear antibodies are linked.

An abnormal presence of these cells in the body is also linked to a low pregnancy success rate for methods of assisted reproduction, especially intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) and in vitro fertilisation (IVF).


Anti Nuclear Antibodies Blood Test Procedure
Your fertility specialist will conduct a blood test in order to evaluate the level of antinuclear antibodies in your bloodstream. Test results are typically available after a few days, following comprehensive analysis in the laboratory.

Antinuclear antibodies are measured in units known as titers. A negative result of less than or equal to 1:40 titers means that levels of antinuclear antibodies are low and that irregular amounts of antinuclear antibodies are likely not the cause of female fertility problems.

However, a positive result of levels of antinuclear antibodies above 1:40 titers means that antinuclear antibodies can be contributing to infertility.

If you test positive, there are a variety of infertility treatment options available. The most effective treatment for anti nuclear antibodies is fertility drug therapy. Prednisone is one particularly beneficial drug therapy treatment; upwards of 54% of women taking this drug successfully conceive during their next fertility treatment cycle.


I can only assume that your levels are on the low side hence your FSs belief that it is not contributing to your infertility. Do you have a copy of your test results? I don't want to be a drama queen, but you don't want to get down the track after a few unsuccessful cycles to have this come up again. xx

PS, so maybe it is not the aspirin you should be looking at but rather the Prednisone?

[Dutchie80]

Thanks BDT- your help is greatly appreciated

It's soo frustrating that no one thinks that ANA contributes to implantation failure but I certainly do. I have read a lot about it and I'm convinced they are problematic for implantation as well as pg. Dr Beer's book defines ANA as a category 3 immune problem where these antibodies first form in the blood and later graduate to the lymphatic system and tissue. After repeated losses, antibodies to DNA components can develop into antibodies that occupy organs such as the uterus, and cause local inflammation that may contribute to further m/c. Dr Beers uses IVIG for patients with ANA but I've read of a lot of women using prednisone and some using heparin/clexane. I've fortunately never had a m/c and have even achieved a natural pg about 11 yrs ago that didn't end in m/c, perhaps this is why no one thinks it contributing to implantation failure for me.

It's just soo damn confusing and I'm no doctor but I am going to keep 'bugging' my FS about it. I think I'm just going to go with the aspirin this cycle as my rheumatologist said there's some newer research out thats shows that ANA may benefit from aspirin, he also said if aspirin works for some antibodies (APA for example) then why couldn't they work for ANA.

So I'm going to begin aspirin 24-48hrs after ET. I don't know if this is enough but I'm content with just aspirin just for this cycle. I suppose I want to see if it will work with just aspirin.

My ANA titer was 1:320, I don't know what my most recent titer was, I stupidly forgot to ask though he did say that it was quite high so I'm assuming it was higher than 1:320.