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I have recently been diagnosed as having moderate Anticardiolipin Antibodies & therefore Antiphospholipid syndrome. Just wondering if anyone has this and how it has affected your pregnancies etc. Doc has warned me of a high chance of recurrent miscarraige & stillbirths.
Hey there,
I don't have this, so i don't have experience i'm afraid. I have Hashimoto's Thyroiditis, another autoimmune disorder so i kind of understand the frustrations of coming to terms with an autoimmune condition. My condition can also make miscarriage more likely though i wasn't diagnosed when i lost my babies and because the disease isn't linear i was lucky enough to carry my DD to term without treatment. I only know a little about your disorder (read up alot on autoimmune as there's a lot of it in my family...).
I think with your condition they can do things to help, like monitor you the whole time, give you heparin and baby aspirin when you're pregnant and frequent midwife appointments and scans to make sure bubs is doing ok. Apparently there are a few people who carry to term without treatment and with treatment around 70-75% pregnancies succeed.
Maybe someone else round here has first-hand experience?
Hana
Hi Luvmyboyz and Welcome to Belly Belly.
Do you have other children? JUst asking as it isn't uncommon to "develop" APS.
I have borderline results when non pregnant. However, it is the consensus of a number of specialists that I have a condition that is mimicking APS. As you know it's an autoimmune disorder and one that can be treated and often causes no side effects.
There is an article in here on it and I will endeavour to find it and link you to it...
I have had 3 mid trimester losses attributed to APS or it's mimicking disorder. There is a very high risk of miscarriage/stillbirth with APS. The good news is that it is treatable. Often just with low doseage asprin but also with heparin therapy. The drug used is Clexane or similar (I am on Fragmin) which is self injected daily. The results with this therapy are very good. They are actually highter than 75%. Which is about the pregnancy loss rate for the general population.
I will come back later on in the day and link you to the article. I strongly urge you though to ensure you have commenced the low doseage asprin prior to conception. The clotting process begins in the very early stages of pregnancy and so therefore you need to have meds on board. The clexane is not used with every woman (I suspect it will be with yousince you have a moderate APS) and is not commenced until you ahave a positive preg test (some obs don't commence it until embryonic heartbeat at 6.5 weeks).
I hope that helps some... :hug:
Okay the link is HERE
Thank you so much ladies,
Hana, that is amazing, my sister has Hashimoto's. She was diagnosed about 4 years ago. She has been so lucky not to have had any pregnancy losses & has 3 beautiful girls (all on clomid). My family is also familiar with autoimmune diseases as my Mum & other sister have coeliac's disease (SP?).
Flowerchild, I have two healthy boys. My first was uncomplicated apart from prem labour & a week in hospital @ 26 weeks. I carried him to term. My second was delivered @ 33 weeks due to a placental abruption.
My specialist has taken me off the aspirin that the GP put me on as I havnt had DVT or any clots like that. She said that bf can sometimes cause an incorrect result with the blood test..... Have you heard of this? I have to have more blood work done once I have weaned my bub. Thank you for the info on the link... I have had the tests 6 weeks apart like they mentioned (I have also had another since.... guess Im still not convinced :) .
No I haven't heard of that and if I may be bold I find it hard to understand how that could be so...
If you are not actively ttc than the asprin isn't an issue if you have normal clotting factors.
Preterm labour is another alert factor to APS so it's great that you have a diagnosis.
I had four healthy children before my condition reared it's ugly head. The fourth though was considerably smaller than her 91/2 pound siblings so it would seem things began to change then.
Wishing you lots of luck on your journey... :hug:
Hello,
I have been TTC for 3+ years now and have had 2 miscarriages at around 11 weeks. Although I have one of the "best" specialists, he was reluctant to do any tests after the second, saying they only happen after the third(!). So I went to my GP instead and got the blood tests done...came back as high ANA's....told specialists, he was "put out" (?) and said it was nothing to worry about, go on clomid. Well I did but also sought out a rheumetologist for further investigation. He did more tests and I was positive for anticardiolipin. Redid the tests some months later and came back with a positive again. Went back to specialist, still "put out" that I had done some investigation of my own. Now I have just found out I am pregnant and rheumy has put me on 100 mg of asprin per day. I was very happy about finally becoming pregnant again, but now am quite worried about the outcomes.
Catt,
Congratulations on your pregnancy - I understand your fears and concerns.
It is damn scary being pregnant after loss - especially such late losses... I am sorry for the pain you have been through.
It's great that you are on the asprin. Have you asked your specialist about using clexane as well? I wish you all the very best with your pregnancy and look forward to hearing happy news. You would be most welcome to join the pregnancy after loss forums for support and nurturing as you navigate this pregnancy.
Big hugs... :hug: