Cycle Day 9

So, there was a question from yesterday's blog that I think I should answer.

What is Leiden Factor 5?

Leiden Factor 5 is a genetic blood disorder.  It causes blood clots.  You can inherit one or two copies.  I have only one.  Having only one copy increases my chance for a blood clot from a person without it 10 fold.  If you have two copies, it can increase your chances to 80 times a person without it!  So, while it sucks that I have it, it could be much worse!  Factor 5 as it is commonly called appears in about 5% of Caucasians in the US.  It is hardly seen in any other race.  It is nearly non-existence in the Asian population.

This does run in my family, so I wasn't too terribly surprised when I found out I had it.  Daily maintenance is fairly simple for me.  I take 1 baby aspirin daily.  I'll have to at least take this for the rest of my life, until I have to go on a blood thinner, which is almost guaranteed that I will have to take one.  Now, since I've been taking one for almost two years, when I get cut, I bleed a bit more.  In the past, when I'd get cut, I didn't bleed all that much.  I've always been quick to scab up from a cut or scrape.  Not anymore!

Having Factor 5 increases your chances for miscarriage because of blood clots.  The clots can go to the placenta and block blood flow to the baby.  These usually happen later in the 1st or early in the 2nd trimester.  We have no proof that this has caused a miscarriage for me.  The most recent miscarriage, we were able to determine the baby had a chromosomal defect.  However, the miscarriage I had before then, we weren't able to confirm anything, so it is a slim possibility that a blood clot was the cause.  We say slim because the baby never made it past 5 1/2 weeks so there was no placenta yet to have a blood clot block blood flow to.

Because of my history of miscarriages and the risk the Factor 5 carries, Dr. James would like for me to start on a blood thinner when I do get pregnant.  I would be taking Lovenox.  This is one of the only blood thinners approved to take during pregnancy.  There are risks from the blood thinner, like if I had an accident while on it, I could bleed to death.  For me though, the risks for that sort of thing are less than the risk of a blood clot. 

Tomorrow I go back for my ultrasound to check my follicles.  I'm nervous, I hope we have some good ones!  I am keeping positive happy thoughts this cycle.  I hope we trigger on Saturday!