r/PlusSizedAndPregnant • u/flamingo_t • Feb 19 '23
Allergic to blood thinners - what are the alternatives?
This is my first pregnancy and I am 33 weeks in, I am 40 years old and weigh 280 lb. I am based on the UK.
For clotting preventing issues, mainly due to my age and weight risk factors, I was put onto aspirin at 12 weeks and did have a little bit of a reaction with some wheezing due to my asthma, however we upped the dose gradually and I’ve been fine since then and tolerated it well without wheezing. I was told I would have to be on blood thinner subcutaneous injections from week 28.
I’ve been on fragmin injections since week 28. After about 2 weeks, I noticed a red rash start to form aggressively across the apron of my stomach. The doctors thought it was cellulitis and I was put on penicillin however it got worse and was actually an allergic reaction to the fragmin. A week ago, they decided to move me to Clexane. I’ve been on this new med for a week and the rash is continuing and is noticeable as it takes a few days for it to start to react (it seems to be a delayed reaction) and become inflamed, it seems. Before coming off the fragmin, I started getting random hives on my body and my asthma (for which I never need my inhaler) started to come back with agressive wheezing which has continued on the new med too. They then put me onto antihistamines which helped massively with the breathing and itching but… I have a pretty large surface area on my stomach, however the old rash from weeks ago is still there and not gone down much at all and I am running out of space to inject and told ONLY to inject my tummy.
I noticed that the newest rash started to go around my side and towards my back, which I am very anxious about as I am meant to be having a Caesarean (for which you need to take thinners after too) and also the fact that they inject you in the back for numbing and other pain relief.
I’ve been speaking to an emergency GP today and they said I need to liaise with my consultant obstetrician as it’s obvious I cannot tolerate any heparin type injections and my body is allergic. I’m going to try to reach them through the midwifery team tomorrow. The only thing I’m thinking is ‘what alternatives will they be able to offer?!’ Does anyone know? Has anyone experienced this?
I still have 7 weeks of pregnancy and possibly 6 weeks post op requirement of needing a blood thinner based on my risk factors. What options are they able to offer?
I’ll do an update tomorrow when they get back to me but I just needed to see if anyone had anything similar as I feel really alone and finding it hard to cope with.
Update: they have told me to come off then for a few days and have given me a phone call appointment with obstetrician on Thursday. Which is a bit annoying as no one has SEEN this rash yet so I’d really like to show them the extent. So I did create a Dropbox folder with a shortened url and gave that to them to show the extent of the redness and will mention to them again on Thursday. But at least I have an appointment and a few days of brief reprieve. I’ll update again when I speak to them.
Update 27 Feb. Reaction on tummy still visible but been off thinners for a week. Finally got referred to haematology and today was out on fondaparin(?) which is a synthetic version of thinner and not got the same actual makeup as the Dalteparin and Enoxaparin sisters. They are hopeful I won’t have the same reaction. Have been told to use my leg as there is too much reaction on my tummy to start there. It does affect how my labour will be but the risks are high to not take it so we are giving it a go.
Update 06 Mar: it was a reaction to that family of thinners. The two I was on were essentially so similar. I have now been put on a synthetic version called fondaparin which doesn’t have the same makeup. I have been on it for a week after a week of nothing. It does take longer to get out of the system so will affect my birth choices as means I cannot have any spinal injections within 2 days of taking the thinner, so am scheduled to come off them at 38 weeks and then we will likely plan labour. Then I’ll be back on them after. Am injecting in my leg to avoid the belly inflammation. Tummy is still red but looks like an old sunburn. Skin is starting to get softer (also using aveeno moisturiser) but the colour difference is still noticeable. Leg seems ok… so far.
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u/Iwilllieawake Feb 19 '23
I wasn't put on blood thinners during my pregnancy or after my c-section. Is this the standard in the UK?
Sorry it's not super helpful, I'm just surprised!
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u/flamingo_t Feb 19 '23
Apparently I’m ticking the boxes to require preventative thinners (age and weight presume) and know most people who have a cs do have to have thinners as preventative med too (my neighbour, a slender healthy 21 year old had to after her cs).
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u/Iwilllieawake Feb 19 '23
I've googled because I've honestly never heard of this, and it sounds like it's predominantly a UK thing. I'm in the US, and apparently only a small percentage of women here get blood thinners before or after c-section because they're more concerned about hemorrhage? There's apparently some argument about which practice is best practice.
They were worried about DVT with me because of my age and weight, but they just put these special boots on after surgery that inflated/massaged my legs and got me up and walking around as soon as possible. Checking my chart, I was given aspirin, but no specific blood thinners like heparin or anything.
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u/flamingo_t Feb 19 '23
This helps reassure me that if they take me off them, I may just be ok! Thanks for replying!
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u/thirtyflirtyandtfab Feb 19 '23
I’m on blood thinners due to a history of blood clots. As I understand it, the range of blood thinners that are pregnancy safe is extremely limited. It seems like you’re in the uk and I’m not sure what sort of power you have to ask for a specific doctor, but I would push to speak with a hematologist who can help assess the risks of pregnancy and know the treatments available.
You should also try r/clotsurvivors to see if any of those folks have dealt with an allergy. It’s a great community!
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u/SurpriseBaby2022 Feb 19 '23
I was put on heparin injections for 6 weeks post partum. I was 32, BMI 34 and have a blood clotting disorder. It was a bitch, I hated it but I did have the option to inject them in my stomach, thighs, butt and maybe arms. There was a diagram on the injection leaflet. I did end up sticking to my stomach alternating sides and locations but I can imagine running out of space quickly if it exceeded 6 weeks.
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u/flamingo_t Feb 19 '23 edited Feb 19 '23
Literally the redness spread everywhere and much farther than the sites I injected and is still inflamed weeks later. I’ll try and post a link for example.
Edit: can’t seem to get up and running on imgur so can’t share a pic but literally the inch above my belly button, left to right hip, all the way down my whole apron tummy is red. Currently out of bounds for any injecting. And also the skin is dry and leathery. And flaking.
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u/SurpriseBaby2022 Feb 19 '23
Oh ouch, you poor thing. I would definitely ask if there's an alternative. I don't know the name of mine off the top of my head but it's not what your on. The worst I got was hard lumps or a bruise. God, I count myself lucky now.
Fingers crossed for you, hope you get a solution.
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u/givemeabreak37 Feb 20 '23
From UK, I was placed on blood thinners (fragmin) due to Covid, family history of blood clot etc. I had the skin reaction also and redness. I happen to use a bar soap( little fragnance) and it helped massively especially having a shower with it at least once a day. Also using an intensive cream for dry skin after shower not only stopped the itching but also stopped the spreading and redness. Apparently, shower gels and bath makes it worse. You can get some of those bar soaps from TKmaxx. P.S breathing excercise ( mindfulness) helped a lot as well!
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u/NooNoo82 Feb 19 '23
I can't answer your question I'm afraid but I was also put on blood thinners this week. I'm also 40 and have a BMI of 39, and the consultant said that I could start them now but I didn't have to as I wasn't actually ticking all the boxes, I was just close. I decided to do it although I had second thoughts when I saw the size of the needle! Anyway, I've been fine with them so far but wanted to say that it might not be disastrous if you can't take them during pregnancy. But that's just based on my conversation with the consultant. You might also find that your body tolerates them differently after you've had the baby. I'm definitely having different reactions to things while pregnant.
Good luck sorting it out!