Clots, Meds, and Pregnancy
Question
I am 27 and have residual blood clots in my left arm from 2006. They have not dissolved properly and still show up on my ultrasounds of my arm. I am currently on warfarin pills, after having been off of them for awhile from a doctor’s thoughts that the clots were not dangerous anymore. I have a new doctor now that is worried that the clots are still in my arm. I have a normal d-dimer level and nothing is indicating that I am currently clotting in any blood tests.
I am recently engaged and will be practicing NFP once married. I am worried about becoming pregnant. I am really looking forward to having kids, but I worry about the effects of this medicine on any baby. I worry about having healthy pregnancies. Can you provide any advice for me? I imagine charting will help me to know exactly when I am pregnant so that I can switch to a different medicine right away, but I am so worried. What should I do before and during any pregnancy? Would I be considered high-risk?
Thank you so much for your help. I feel so overwhelmed with all this.
Mary
Answer
Last Updated: May 8, 2022
The residual clots are probably not a danger. What you, your doctor and, perhaps, a hematologist need to determine is what your clotting risk will be on the future, both pregnant and non-pregnant.
If you need to be on a blood thinner while not pregnant then warfarin is the usual choice. If you need to be on one while trying to conceive and while pregnant then Lovenox injections make the most sense (with a possible transition to heparin at 36 weeks).
In health,
George Delgado, M.D.
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