I'm in the middle of a medium-sized freak out. Due to my history of unsuccessful pregnancies, when I found out I was pregnant this time, my doctor ordered some blood work to check for clotting disorders. I have crappy veins, so it involved 7 sticks at 2 locations (my doctors' office (3) and LabCorp (4)) and 15 vials of blood. Everything came back fine, except that I am homozygous (2 copies) for the C677T MTHFR mutation. It's somewhat common among people of European descent and doctors aren't exactly sure it is really a type of clotting disorder or not. Anyway, as a precaution I take baby aspirin, though some doctors prescribe low molecular weight heparin like Lovenox - in fact, the doctors (not my actual doctor) that said I didn't need it used to prescribe it routinely. Sooo...yeah. Plus, I have trust issues with them to begin with.
Unfortunately, this 2x C677t this is the worst kind to have. And Dr. Google has not been my friend this morning, as I got to reading about horrific third trimester losses possibly caused by blood clots in the placenta or cord, the risk for which is theoretically increased with the mutation I have. I really don't need anything more to worry about. My job already gives me a complex about bad things happening, as I see it happen all the time. Every time I see someone's name on the L&D computer "chalkboard" typed over a gray background (meaning they had a fetal demise) I panic on the inside. Now I'm considering essentially insisting on Lovenox for the rest of the pregnancy. The prospect of something happening to this baby and me "what-ifing" myself for the rest of my life is basically incomprehensible.
1 comment:
Hi Jessica, I work with Neevo. Maybe I can give you some additional information on MTHFR? Perhaps the biggest implication is the traditional folic acid may not be effective in raising your folate levels. You must seek additional folate support from diet and/or a more modern supplementation such as L-methylfolate. Modern prenatal vitamins have begun to include active L-methylfolate to help patients with MTHFR.
About 10% of the population is homozygous TT like yourself. These individuals have less than 30% of the normal amount of MTHFR enzyme and cannot process folic acid effectively. These patients tend to be at risk for folate status. This web page explains how L-methylfolate bypasses the genetic limitations of MTHFR:
http://www.neevodha.com/MTHFRPoly
I hope this information helps. I wish you luck.
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