I have been told I am Lovenox for life due to Coumadin necrosis.
I can never have Coumadin I lacks something to break it down.

I can't give you much hope for the bruises being I get them and currently I have a whole group. When they trained my mom to give them to me, when I first got out of the hospital I was to weak and on to much pain medication to really care. They trained her in which she than trained me. I am sure they did try to train me but I was highly medicated due to the pain. They didn't have her pinch my skin, she held it down tight then at an angle gave the shots. It seems to work better on not bruising. Unless it hurts I don't touch the area, I do get the needle holes which she could almost always predict when it was going to happen. I get the same whole marks with blood draws.
After a few weeks I regain my strength I could do it and I get more bruises then when she gave to me. I always had to look for non pain areas due to the Coumadin necrosis.
I haven't had issues with my INR after two weeks of being off of Coumadin. I do have a filter but am unsure if it is giving me much protection. I have a lot of question still about what happened and why. I plan on asking about the vials and smaller needle if that might be an opinion for me being I already do insulin and if I can get my 200 mg in one shot verse two shot that is better for me.
I know I have to go through a insurance process to receive the amount of Lovenox that I require each month. Good Luck with the government and getting the OK.

so you have shots for insulin and lovonox also. ouch, ouch.
you sparked a memory for me. i remember being on lovonox the first time i had the dvt and PE. i to was so weak i stayed at a friends home for a week or so rather than with husband and kids.actually i think i was person napped, i was to weak to stand and my friend would not let me go home. i don't even remember giving myself the shots.
, eating taking medication, showing nothing. she said i did. thank god for good friends and parents. . i don't remember eating or being there. so i must have needed her dearly. thank God we have people in our lives like that. i am gonna call her in the morning and ask her how i did the first time. it was only ten days. this is for life already been since oct. i hope the VA will do the smaller needles but i had to laugh. .
i hope they will go for the small needles. at some point it has to get better. i have my VA hematologist appointment Monday.i know for sure the coumadin had a lot to do with the worsening of the bruising. i am sure it will lessen. i just am a little sad. i never thought i would ever get another clot nor. be this sick all the time. boggles my brain.
i have never heard of coumadin necrosis before a few days ago. having that on top of the pe. i can't imagine the pain and worry about clot protection. in fact until this episode i had never heard of lovonox as anything other than what you take for the first few days. and i didn't know most people took it. i thought i did because of the severity of the clots and not being able to be coumadinized for the first four- five days. this site is teaching me so much. everyone has been so helpful. when knowledge is not available in temperament and patience. thank you all

Well, I don't know what military coverage for the new "generation" of blood thinners being introduced, but I would definitely look into that since it is a totally different medicine than warfarin and doesn't involve needles.

I mean, I personally want to wait a few years to see how the new blood thinners turn out in long-term application, but I would think it would be of extreme interest to the Lovenox lifers out there -- both in terms of cost and of comfort.

im feeling like im a lovenox lifer,i had my pe,s in sept2010 i was in the hospital soooo long with crazy inr reads n they finally decided i was coumaden resistant,ive been taking lovenox the past 2 months 100mg a day,i have medicaid n dont know what id do if i had to pay for it,to my understanding its very expensive and you really have to prove to insurance your resistant to coumaden,i dont bruise as much as when i was taking it with coumaden but i still do get some bruising and like marbles under my skin which really are hidious to my belly,some days the needle dont hurt so much other days it seems i really gotta push it through caliced skin,the medicine going in always hurts though,ive been told my hormone meds coused my clotting and as long as i need those meds ill need a blood thinner hence lovenox hope its not for life,good luck with yours!

Hi honey,
I'm not a lifer, but I have been on lmwh shots for almost a year now (was on them for a few months in 2009, too) and if all goes well (i.e. I have a successful pregnancy) I will be on them for quite a while longer.
It really makes a difference with the bruises being off the coumadin so give it a bit and see how you go.
I always pinch and inject perpendicular to the skin, very slowly (including the air bubble) and apart from the odd pale bruise or red spot I've been doing remarkably well recently (when on warfarin I had huge black fist-size bruises). I've travelled by air with the shots without any problems, and I actually feel a lot more reassured when I am on them as there is no worry about fluctuating INRs and I can eat and drink what I want.
If you aren't getting on with your specific shots, maybe try a different brand? I'm not exactly sure what is on offer in the States, I just know that when I was in hospital out there the doctor was impressed with my tinzaparin saying that it wasn't something that was offered in the States yet. So keep your eyes peeled on the market!
Take care and all the best.
Pip

i had to stretch my memory bank to the first time on lovonox and ask my friend that took care of me. she says i gave myself the injections for ten days and did not bruise and seems to be what i remember. that was almost 5 years ago. this time it has only been two day and one half dose Sunday of the coumadin and already the bruising on my arms is not increasing. no new ones. and on my stomach i show improvement on the ones there the next week will tell as they dissipate. but the last two day do not seem to be bruising as much but the true test will show after the third to fourth day of coumadin. if the bruising stops or is significantly less than that is what it was. i am so excited to see if i will no longer look like i have been doing ten rounds in the boxing ring. the stomach is bruised but also very swollen and i am not sure what it is from hopefully the coumadin which means it will go away but my legs are three times there normal size and of course when i tried to show the doc yesterday morning it was very early and they were not swollen yet, no proof to show it is really that bad. i am excited to see if the bruises go away.
good luck and my prayers for a good pregnancy. so much to consider for a pregnancy. i had so much other trouble with my pregnancies i a grateful i didn't even know the word clots at that time. i don't think i would have tried a second time after all the other complications. i am so glad that they have ways to see a woman through a successful pregnancy who have had clots. thank god for technology and knowledge availability.

Hey Chicago,
The pregnancy is something we are still working on. Until now baby aspirin and lmwh alone have not helped :( Hopefully my next try with a double dose of baby aspirin will do the trick!!!
As for your swollen legs, do you wear stockings?

For the person said about insulin and lovenox shots you learn to deal with it. It did help that I already was doing insulin before the clots so it was not as big of an issue to add two more shots per day. I just wish that the needles for lovenox came in the same size as insulin needle.
I heard about the new medication that is oral that might replace Lovenox but it isnt approved for PE yet and hemo said no he didnt want to try it on me. That is fine.
Coumadin necrosis is a break down and dying of your skin at fatty location cause by Coumadin. It is a 1 and million risk is what I was told. They think it is related to a missing protein in my blood to break down Coumadin.

i have not been consistent with the stockings in fact after my last trip to Chicago i found it very difficult to wear them with enough consistency to count. i did wear them on the planes and when traveling for long periods. but as soon as i put them on the adhesive used to hold them up gives me a rash and after a few days it starts to bleed. i try a little moving them up and down a bit but it takes to long for the sores and rash to heal to get true value out of them. i also found when i went to Chicago in the heat i could not keep them up for nothing. it is a shame. i hate them but when i wear them they really do make my legs feel a lot better. in fact on the days when i can wear them before the rash breaks out again i say over and over again my legs feel soooo good. it helps encourage me to wear them on the times when i can.
as for the new medication i was told at this time it is only approved for a fib diagnosis. even if it was approved since it is so new and i am sure even pricier than the lovonox the Va would not consider covering it. but i am patient and our time will come. 30 years ago we would have all died. we are very blessed to have what we do have no matter the inconveniences. it is worth it to be here to argue with my teenage daughter. did i say argue i meant admire. wink wink.
as for the coumadin necrosis i am sure glad they caught it in time before the outcome could have been even worse. when something is so far outside the box half the time the doctors forget to even look for that as a possibility. we adapt whether we want to or not.
i can't believe how bad the swelling has been the past few days at least three times the normal size along with the asthma. the cardiologist thinks it is all more heart related and is pushing for cardiac cath lab and expecting to have to do an ablation. i know tonight just sitting my heart rate was very high and i was having such a hard time breathing. i just could not catch my breath finally used the inhaler then resorted to the nebulizer and if it doesn't stop soon i will go visit my least favorite place on earth the e.r. but i am rooting for it settling down and talk to doc in the a.m. i think they need to push the dates up a little sooner or I'll just camp out at the e.r. that knows what they are doing. also i talked to the cardiologist about my filter being mal positioned and the cause of the last clot. it has always been the consenses that the filter is to dangerous to be removed. well the cardiologist and the vasular surgeon are talking since the circumstances have changes so dramatically and it may be nesesary to attempt a removal. i can't imagine jow. only thing i do know is i would now want any other surgeon on earth but this vascular surgeon doing it. i never asked for a second opinion because he is the best of the best. i hope he can figure out a safe way to remove it.

what is lmwh?

LMWH= Low molecular weight Heparin or better known as Lovenox

thanks i did not know what it meant.

Hi Ferr *wave*

Chicago, I am so sorry about your on-going problems, but I do have some ideas on how to help with your stockings. I take it that the silicon non-slip part at the top is what is irritating you? I get that, too, which is why I don't wear thigh-highs every day (especially not in Summer!).
There are two things you can try. First, you move to knee-highs and make sure you get measured correctly so that they don't slip down. Are you on class two stockings? Class ones are a bit flimsy so they don't hold up as well. If you are outside what they call normal measurements (many people are!), then push to get custom-made stockings!
Secondly, there are thigh-high stockings of the old-fashioned type! (your partner might like this hehe) The basic ones I got did not have any silicon on the thigh. Instead you need a garter belt and clip them on (ooh-er!)
In winter I can imagine that full-on tights are a good idea.

In general, though, if there is no indication against it, try pushing to go mainly on knee-highs!!! And then you can wear your stockings every day, which is what you are supposed to do anyway as it can prevent long-term damage and improves the blood flow. The 'active' part of the stocking is in the calf, btw, as that is where the muscles are that pump the blood back up the leg.
Good luck!

i have the calf ones that is what the cardiologist wanted. they are the fitted ones that are mid tightness. they have the silicone which does not seem to work which is why i started using the adhesive. you mentioned garters i must not be looking in the right places because i can't seem to find them. that to me would be a good solution. i would like the tights if i didn't know in advance it would promote UTI's and kidney infection of which i already have one without the tights and am very prone to them. it you have an idea you to find the garters that would probably work way better than everything else i have tried. i don't want to keep trying new tights at 75.00 a pair. something has to work. thanks for your help.

Hey Chicago, I don't know which brands are available in the US and can't remember what the garter-type here is called (they come without the garter belt - that is something you need to get seperately).

As for the knee-length ones, mine usually are more thickly elasticated at the top 1.5inch, which is quite comfortable, There is no silicone or adhesive such as the thigh-length ones have. The brands I use are Scholl and Activa. They are just like long socks which you don't need silicone for, either! Maybe someone from the US can advise? Ferr? What brands do you have in basic non-silicone/adhesive knee-highs?