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C

chinita

Active member
Joined
Jan 17, 2008
Messages
34
Location
i live in new rochelle,new york
hi everyone im new to this forum so i dont know if im posting in the right place
(sorry if im not)..my story....
at age 6 i had open heart surgery to replace my mitral valve i got a mechanical valve replacement and now im on coumadin everyday and a binicillin injection every month till age 40 in now 26... 14 years to go( jajajaja)
well ive been through 2 pregnancies with mild events that didnt leave sequels
im now on my third pregnancy and trying to decide wether to continue this pregnancy or not ver, very, very painfull desicion does anyone here give a word of hope on this does someone know somebody that has been through this anything will be much much appreciated

thanks
 
I'm sorry that I too have no advice for you, but welcome to this wonderful site.

Please don't get discouraged, others will be around to answer your question.
 
Gosh, reading your post takes me back to a very painful time in my life when I too had to make this agonizing decision. I will explain.....

When I found out back in the latter part of 1974 that I needed OHS to replace my AV & MV, I was practically a newly wed. We got married in Aug/1974 & I found out in Oct/74 that I needed OHS but I would have to be put on medicines to strengthen my heart muscle & to rebuild me with iron supplements, etc., because the rheumatic fever had practically killed me & left me in a very weakened state & they said this was necessary so my chances of surviving the surgery were better.

A few months went by; in Jan/1975, my state of health was even worse. I was so weak I could not get out of bed some mornings & my menstrual cycles had suddenly stopped! I thought that because of the fact that I was so weak, that that was the reason. I only wish it had been. Well, in Mar/1975 I was examined by my family doctor & told that I was pregnant but that I had no chance of surviving the pregnancy & that it was best if I had it terminated! So in April/1975 I had the pregnancy terminated & I went in for OHS to replace my AV & MV in May/1975. Needless to say, words could never explain just how devasted I felt then & often wonder what that child would have been had I been normal & well & been able to have my baby.

Our lives take on devasting turns at times & we just have to ask God for guidance & strength to keep us going. I have a very strong faith in God & I believe everything happens for a reason although sometimes it's very hard to understand, why???

Ask your doctors what they think is best for you; what is best for your health then just do what you have to do & ask God for strength & guidance. Best wishes!
 
It's doable, but very risky as you know. If you've got the proper High Risk Pregnancy team and an excellent anticoag Doc, you should be as safe as it gets. I can't tell you one way or another. This is one of those calls that you know you have to make, but wish someone else could for you. Sorry.
 
Welcome to the group! There are many factors to consider in your situation.
Have your other 2 children been checked for heart defects? Is your heart condition inherited?
Best wishes on a difficult decision.
 
Welcome!

It sounds like you need to rely on your past two anticoagulated pregnancy experiences for how you can handle it. And also factor in the shape of your now 20? year-old valve.

What is "binicillan"?

Your story should be very encouraging for our members who have young children with mechanical valves. I think you have quite a success story!

God bless.
 
Bina said:
Welcome to the group! There are many factors to consider in your situation.
Have your other 2 children been checked for heart defects? Is your heart condition inherited?
Best wishes on a difficult decision.
Click to expand...
no my condition is not inherited!!!!!!! thank god
 
Karlynn said:
Welcome!

It sounds like you need to rely on your past two anticoagulated pregnancy experiences for how you can handle it. And also factor in the shape of your now 20? year-old valve.

What is "binicillan"?

Your story should be very encouraging for our members who have young children with mechanical valves. I think you have quite a success story!

God bless.
Click to expand...
binicillin is a antibiotic that i get as a prevention for any type of infection that i might get very painfull injection by the way.
 
Sorry to read your post, must be a nightmare. Wanted to wish you the best of luck with your descition, hope you reach the best outcome possible for you.
 
I assume that you might mean Bicillin, a penicillin based antibiotic? I'm really surprised that you are on monthly injections with a mechanical valve. I had RF and was on monthly injections for quite a while, then went to oral meds. However, that is now considered "old medicine" and hardly over done anymore. Even premedicating for dental work is considered questionable at this stage of the game. How old is your doctor?

As far as the pregnancy goes, what problems are you having with this one to make it different than the other two? My assumption is that you have 2 healthy children and know how the anticoagulated pregnancy works. It is a long, difficult road that I am thankful I didn't have to undergo, but if you have been successful twice already, you are very lucky.
 
Lisa in Katy said:
I assume that you might mean Bicillin, a penicillin based antibiotic? I'm really surprised that you are on monthly injections with a mechanical valve. I had RF and was on monthly injections for quite a while, then went to oral meds. However, that is now considered "old medicine" and hardly over done anymore. Even premedicating for dental work is considered questionable at this stage of the game. How old is your doctor?

As far as the pregnancy goes, what problems are you having with this one to make it different than the other two? My assumption is that you have 2 healthy children and know how the anticoagulated pregnancy works. It is a long, difficult road that I am thankful I didn't have to undergo, but if you have been successful twice already, you are very lucky.
Click to expand...

Yes that is the correct name sorry everyone!!!!!!!
really is that not used as much now my doctor is not very old or old at all he might be like 40 something but yeah he says it is to prevent any type of infection and i defenetly take antibiotioc before i see a dentist
i was 6 years at the time of surgery didnt know anything about this
i just followed instructions from my mom "TAKE YOUR PILL" as i became older i understood more but still not enough and know that im nmore into it im getting scared even with both my pregnancies i didnt really know how HUGE of a risk it was (i wasn't living here in the states im from guatemala) and my doctor over there did'nt tell me (he absolutely knew everything ) and part of me thinks sometimes that that was good because i wasnt worried all the time
thinking that my valve could thrombose any time any day, i just gave myself heparin shots everyday and thougt i was 100% safe but let me tell you that it was a pretty uneventfull pregnancy and yes i think i was very LUCKY (thank God) but now that i have a better idea im freaking, freaking out and thinking i might not make it this time.
 
If you are seeing your cardiologist regularly and have a high-risk OB for the pregnancy I don't see it being any less manageable than your last two. We have a saying here in the US "Ignorance is bliss." That means that sometimes not knowing so much makes us happier, it's when we start to learn things that we get scared and worried. So I know what you're saying about how knowing more now makes you scared. But it's not the knowing of the information that would make a pregnancy more difficult - it's just that you've tackled 2 pregnancies with a mechanical valve - without knowing just what the risks were. But you made it through in fine shape.

I would really rely on your cardiologist to help you determine how your heart will handle the preganancy. If you aren't experiencing any symptoms and your tests have shown your valve to be doing well, I would hope that would make you worry less. You've been through 2 babies with the heparin shots and all that and you did well - I applaud your determination.

I'm a little unclear as to why you get the monthly penicillan shot. I'm guessing it doesn't stay in your system for long, so the doctor must be giving it to you to knock out any unknown bacteria that might be there. However, the thoughts on antibiotics have really changed, as Lisa mentioned. Your body may be penicillan resistant now, if you've been doing the monthly shots for a long time. Doctors now are very hesitant to prescribe antibiotics for things that are not definite infections. For years doctors were prescribing antibiotics for "just in-case" issues. If you had a cold, or an ear ache, they'd prescribe right away. Now they wait because so many people have become resistant to antibiotics from too much use, so there body doesn't use the drug to kill off infection when they get one. Plus, bacteria keep developing in to more resistant strains that antibiotics don't work on. So you may want to have your doctor revisit the monthly shot issue for you. It's possible that you have an issue that would require this - but I don't think we've had anyone here before who's had the monthly antibiotic shot before.

I wish you the best. Make yourself at home here and keep asking questions. There is no such thing as a dumb question.
 
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