As a by-product of the two miscarriages James and I have experienced I was tested for a bunch of different conditions. Not one to fail a test, I came through with APS (Sticky Blood or Hughes Syndrome) and Prothrombin Gene Mutation. Both of these means a higher chance of blood clots, especially in pregnancy. Craziest thing is that it's a Viking condition! Apparently one Viking dude started with it, raped and pillaged a few villages and now millions of European descendants are walking around with the mutation. Due to it's ability to help prevent fatal bleed outs during battle and childbirth the condition has been allowed to live on and defies Darwin's Survival of the Fittest campaign.
The medical world's solution to clotting - Clexane! Clexane is administered through self-injection, in the stomach. It works to thin the blood and prevent the likelihood of a clot.
In order to go overseas last month I was instructed by the doctors to begin the Clexane injections. I'm not sure if there are many people out there who would volunteer to jab a syringe in their tummy, but I am definitely not one of them. Lots of anxiety and worse case scenario mini movies ran through my mind before I actually did the deed. Injecting yourself is not ideal.
I wasn't willing to be defeated by this cheeky stick of metal so I sucked up the pre-stab jitters and got on with it. The reality? Much easier and less painful than I thought. Surprise, surprise. Yes, it definitely stings when the needle goes in, and a nice little bit of pressure is required to ease the pain once the drugs have gone in, but other than that it's fine.
So now I have my uber cool sharps bin - with way more street cred than a sleeve tat, and when we get pregnant again we'll have a much better chance of the bambino making it through.
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