It was December 2020, and I was about four weeks pregnant. I spent a lot of time lounging on the sofa during the festive break. One day I noticed my arm began to feel tight and stiff, but I put it down to my lounging and holding my phone.
Around a week passed and my arm became so tight that I couldn’t straighten it, and I noticed it was swollen, red, and warm. I visited the doctor thinking it may be a bad bite. They did some blood tests, followed by a scan, and confirmed a blood clot in my arm.
I was treated with blood thinning injections for the remainder of my pregnancy and six weeks after. I didn’t have any further tests at this stage, and they never confirmed why I developed one, just that pregnancy was probably the cause.
Fast forward to June 2023, I started a new job that meant I was walking more. I noticed my calf was cramping and I was limping. I assumed it was from being active, but when I noticed how swollen and red my leg was, my gut sank, and I knew I had another clot.
As this clot was my second, the doctors ran tests and found out I have factor V Leiden (heterozygous) and said I would be on blood thinners for life.
I became pregnant again and sadly suffered a miscarriage, which provoked my doctors to do a test for antiphospholipid syndrome (APS), which came back positive.
I now live with both APS and factor V Leiden two things I had never heard of before, and my specialist put me on a trial of no blood thinning medication, which makes me nervous.
If I have any aches or swelling, I will always get checked out, as it’s best to be on the safe side with blood clots!
