What is Pulmonary Embolism
By far the most common form of pulmonary embolism is a thromboembolism, which occurs when a blood clot, generally a venous thrombus, becomes dislodged from its site of formation an...
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Does anyone still have difficulty breathing?
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Hi everyone. I hope you are doing well. I am new to this site and find it comforting that there are groups like this out there. My question was if anyone still has some trouble breathing? I was diagnosed with a pulmonary embolism about two weeks after I had foot surgery. I spent 5 days in the hospital. While on Heparin, I don't recall having difficulty breathing (which is what prompted me to go to the ER in the first place-I was gasping for air). Now that I'm home and on Coumadin, I find that I get out of breath easily. I can sleep through the night but as soon as I get up and start moving around I have difficulty breathing and sometimes a little pain right where my heart is. This is quite a concern. My doctor said my lungs are clear, my oxygen is at 99 and my levels are where they should be (I forget what this refers to-sorry!). Is this just part of the healing process? I expected to be breathing normally once on Coumadin. It's nothing like the morning I went to the hospital but it is definetly compromised. The doc said he could only recommend going back to the ER if I wanted. This is a constant worry. Any insight would be greatly appreciated! Thank you for listening!
Posted on 06/14/09, 01:06 pm |
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I wish to acknowledge our post, though ER or no ER can be a hot-potato subject.
With the chest pain and SOB, if it does not feel right for you then go. No one else can make that judgment except yourself. Many of the people in this group (myself included) have had a return trip to the ER if only to be safe. It is almost a rite of passage. 
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I still have SOB and took over a year to get a diagnosis of activity induced asthma. I would call my doctor. even though at times I feel very sob and breath really really hard and my oxygen never gets bellow 97.
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I had my PE six months ago and I still get very breathless with pain around the heart. As More2be said though, if it feels wrong then don't be afraid to go and get it checked out.
Karen xx
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Hi.
I'm 7 months post PE and up until just recently was still experiencing shortness of breath. Every once in a while I still get pains as you're describing too (I call them "ghost pains" because nothing's actually there). There's a very long healing process, and in the beginning it's hard to not be ultra paranoid. Strangely enough, when my SOB started to get better, it got better very quickly. I started off being SOB while talking too fast or holding my breath in the shower just to rinse my hair, and literally a week later it was all but completely gone. So I won't tell you not to go to the ER, but just be aware that you may be experiencing the symptoms you're describing for months following your PE. Good luck:-)
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I'll jump in here too - my PE was in February and I still have SOB, pain on inhalation and exhalation, and "heart" pain. I put heart in quotation because a cardiologist has looked me over (echo and a cardiac angiogram) and everything is fine but it feels like my heart hearts.
Currently I am working a restricted schedule at the office and that is helping me. I find that if I talk a lot (which I have to do at the office) I get really winded and exhausted. It is like my stamina has been zapped even though I've been back at the office on this reduced schedule since April.
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I am now 8 months post-PE. I still get SOB from time to time. I had a 2nd ER visit a month after my PE visit where they did another CT scan because I was complaining of chest pain and a headache. The scan came back that all was clear - the PEs were gone - but they did leave a fairly large scar in my lung. Not sure if this a cause for the SOB or just a result of the PEs to where they were sitting.
I really don't get to the point that it is anywhere close to the pain or SOB I was feeling back in October. I understand the worry - I don't think that goes away, at least I haven't "lost" it yet.
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My PCP explained to me that PE can and does cause some lung damage in a lot of people, the shortness of breath may to some degree always be there. More2be is right, if you dont feel right go get it checked out.
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Hello,
I have a great deal of trouble breathing, and it is very scarey. If you feel you need to go to the ER than go. Good luck. mnmmom
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Hi calabrisella, I was diagnosed end January and I think I've been back to the hospital about four times :-S Each time, though, they agree that it was best to come. I had a second CT scan last month that showed filling defects which is not uncommon until about six months after starting treatment they tell me. They're just not sure whether they are the same filling defects as I had before!
I tend to be ok now but it's up and down. This week has been exhausting and I am SOB again. I have the odd pains around the heart area and towards my armpit. The medication you are taking is stopping new clots from forming, but any existing clots are broken down by your body in its own (sometimes slow) time. If anything feels worse than normal, though, go to hospital. The good news is that you will be fast-tracked in due to your history :-)
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I just want to say thank you to each and every one of you for your responses. I hope you are all doing well and know that you'll be in my thoughts. Thank you again!
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