MTHFR and flying

I ran across an interesting discussion board post this weekend that gave me chills (not the good kind). It was a lady discussing a similar clotting condition to mine but hers is more severe.

Bear with me while I provide some background on this particular clotting disorder.

I had a DNS analysis performed on the MTHFR (methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase) gene a while back. When they perform the analysis, they are concerned with two different DNS sequence mutations - C677T and A1298C. It was determined that I am heterozygous for the A1298C mutation.

You receive chromosomes from both your mother and father when you are conceived, and both copies make up your genes. I received the mutation from either my mother or father, but only one faulty copy making me heterozygous as opposed to homozygous (two alike copies). You are not at increased risk for vascular diseases when you only have one of this particular copy, and I do not have the C677T mutation. Some individuals can be homozygous for both mutations, increasing their risk of vascular disease substantially.

From the research I've done online, this mutation can affect the amount of homocysteine in your body. It is the increase in homocysteine that can lead to an elevated risk for clots and vascular disease. But more applicable to pregnancy it can also interfere with B complex vitamin absorption and cause clots. Clots during pregnancy can interfere with how well the placenta works. As you may know the placenta is the baby's lifeline, and any interference can jepordize the baby's life unexpectedly and quickly.

Folic acid and the other B complex vitamins are important supplements to have before and during pregnancy to decrease risk of neural tube defects and other birth defects. Often times, women with elevated levels of homocysteine are prescribed blood thinners and special vitamins with huge amounts of the B complex vitamins to decrease homocysteine levels and increase the amount of the vitamins available in their bodies. This is to help reduce the risk of clots and birth defects.

I'm not sure why they don't screen for this with every woman who wants to be or is pregnant. It would seem like a simple way to reduce the risk of complications and fetal deaths. But I don't know enough about it to speculate on how common place or rare it may be, and it maybe a new field of study.

Another issue with clotting disorders (or thrombophilia) is that certain things can increase your risk for blood clots - birth control pills, sedentary activities, and flying in an airplane being the foremost on my mind.

The woman in the discussion board posted how she miscarried soon after flying. After I read this, my mind went back to how we had just come back from our trip to New Orleans in which we flew. We had arrived back home on Saturday, and Garrett was born the following Tuesday. I don't think this is coincidence considering I also started bleeding that Sunday following.

During my consult appointment with my perinatologist, I don't think I mentioned that we had just flew prior to the incident. I'm also thinking that my perinatologist did not check my homocysteine levels since this particular mutation is not supposed to affect that. But I am going to ask my doctor to check mine to make sure everything is kosher.

I also mentioned all this to my husband, and we were both in agreement that I will not be traveling next time I'm pregnant - no flying or road trips, period.