Bruising with blood thinning injections

[Emlou87]

Hi all,

I’m currently 5 weeks pregnant and have been put on blood thinning injections (Enoxaparin) due to previous pre-term labour/ miscarriages as well as finding out I have ‘sticky’ blood.

I’m finding these injections rather painful so have been icing the area first. Yesterday was the 4th injection I have done and has left me with this almighty bruise, although funnily enough, it’s been the least painful one so far!! You can see the fainter, much smaller bruise next to it which is what I have been left with when doing previous injections. I’m concerned that this shouldn’t happen and I may not be reacting well to this injection. Is there anyone else out there who can tell me if you’ve had the same or any tips to minimise bruising?!

[Hidden]

Hi there, this is 100% normal. My stomach looks like a Dalmatian at the moment! Covered in them!

I have found getting rid of air bubbles in the syringe helps a bit but some brands tell you expressly not to do that

I’m just back from holiday and the stares I got by the pool were classic! Just trying to think of being proud of them as war wounds of all we are going through x

[Emlou87 in reply to Hidden]

Haha! Good for you for showing them off proudly! Thank you for putting my mind at rest. Better get used to them I suppose!! X

[B4mb1]

gosh I got a pretty gnarly bruise from inhixa I was really worried it was so big, but it is faded and they have told me not to worry. Congrats by the way!

[Emlou87 in reply to B4mb1]

thank you x

[Habibi87]

I have found out that the best way to decrease the discomfort/pain from enoxoparin is to inject it really really slowly. I take well over a minute to inject mine! There is mixed research on whether lower spies of injection helps, but it definitely works for me .

Congratulations xxx

[Emlou87 in reply to Habibi87]

Ooh I’ll give this a go! Thank you xx

[HollyT7]

I used an ice pack before and after and injected slowly and that seemed to help x

[Emlou87]

I’ve been using ice before and after and wondered if that was what made it so bad! I’m going to keep icing though as it’s made it so much less painful. Will try injecting slowly xx

[LSandJ in reply to Emlou87]

I received conflicting information on this from two different nurses! One said ice (for the pain I think)! But one said don't ice (for the bruising!). I had clexane pre-filled pens and was so scared of the pain (so many people had mentioned the pain!) that I always used ice! Until I mentioned it one day and another nurse said no, don't use ice (I can't remember exactly what she said but I'm sure the gist was it wasn't good and can lead to more bruising!)

I wasn't bruising that much anyway but I tried without and it didn't hurt as much as I expected (hardly at all)! So try without and see how you get on?

[Emlou87 in reply to LSandJ]

thank you, the first two I did really hurt which is why I started using ice. I’m wondering if it’ll hurt less in the legs but I’m currently on Lubion injections for my legs. I stop those at 16weeks so I’ll move my blood thinners to my legs then and see if that is less painful! X

[MariaHdz]

Hello, i did not have it for pregnancy, but i inject herparine when i break a bone in my feet (which is pretty common 😅), and yes it is normal. What helps is to pinch the area where you will inject it, and to inject slowly. Also take the syringe out slowly. The ice did not help to avoid bruising I found it is the technique and the area where you put it that helps. Also in the instructions they tell you where to inject. If you go too low, it tends to bruise more (at least with me) and be too painful.

[Emlou87 in reply to MariaHdz]

Ouch! I bet that hurt!! Thank you for the advice. 😊 x

[Koala365]

I was injecting Clexane (low dose heparin) during the TWW due to testing positive for various implantation issues. I got similar bruising. I wasnt icing the area and I was trying to use a slightly different injection site each time. The bruising was worse than the bruising I get with the stim injections. I just figured that I bruise easily and it is normal. It went away again shortly after I stopped injections following my BFN so hopefully you will only have to endure this until the end of the 9 weeks or however long they put you on them for and then it will go back to looking completely normal again x

[Emlou87 in reply to Koala365]

I definitely bruise like a peach so that doesn’t help. I have to be on them for the whole pregnancy as they think my ‘sticky blood’ contributed to me going into labour at 32weeks years ago. I suppose it will be a small price to pay to hopefully finally get our rainbow baby. Sending you love and hope for a BFP next time xx

[Positivechangeplease]

I’m afraid it’s really normal. I think you can also administer in the thigh but I did find that more painful. And yes they always bruise.

[Emlou87 in reply to Positivechangeplease]

I’m currently doing Lubion injections in the thigh. I’m like a pin cushion! X

[hoping_for_our_time]

Very normal unfortunately. Avoid rubbing the area afterwards, just press on it instead. this minimises the bruising. All the best! x

[McQueeny]

Agree that it’s sadly very normal, I’ve just started on inhixa again and waiting for the bruising to start soon 🤦‍♀️🤪 congrats and good luck x

[Emlou87]

thank you! Let’s hope it’s all worth it. Good luck to you too! X