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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After going to 3 different hospitals complaining of severe chest pain, which I though was pneumothorax (had that happen 3 times before), I was diagnosed with multiple bilateral PE on Feb 14 2009, accompanied by a tumor on my left renal artery. 3 weeks after being treated and released for my PE, I had the tumor removed by way of hand assisted laparoscopy, only to find out it had over tripled in size. I was glad to hear it wasnt cancer, but only a hemangioma. The surgery recovery was further complicated by pneumonia.
i have been tested for everything the doctor could think of to find a reason for my PE, but to no avail. It still remains unexplained to this day. The main reason im here is because I have been off warfarin for about 2 months now, doc I was seeing couldnt find a reason I should be on it for life, and Im starting to have these really wierd pains and just want to see if anyone has had similar issues. For about the last 2 or 3 weeks I have had minor swelling and moderate to severe pain sporadically in several locations, lasting for minutes to sometimes hours. Mainly I get pain (rating anywhere from 4-9) in my hip or groin, shooting downward to my knee. It has happened in either leg, but mostly my left one. It has also happened in my calves and feet. Sometimes my feet even "fall alseep" when I am walking around, frequently when I am sitting. Occasionally I get the chest pains, but it seems more frequent lately and is lasting longer.. The thing that keeps me from running straight to the ER is that most of the time, there is very little to no pain when I wake up in the morning, and I dont have insurance, yet (yay for Dec 1st). Posted on 10/31/09, 02:10 am |
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I don't know any other details, and this is what frustrates about the American medical system. You have to weigh out the pros and cons of seeking emergency medical care if you don't have insurance.
If it was me, I would go straight to the ER if I had unfamiliar and consistent chest pain. But then again, I'm Canadian and health care is free, so I don't fully understand your predicament. :( I'm sorry for the difficult spot you are in right now. 
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I'd go to the ER if you have doubts. The hospital will reduce the bill by as much as 75% if you have no insurance and will not turn you away.
And in a response to bishop9..... You'd go to the Er and probably wait 6 hours or more and your "free health care" is why your taxes are almost 50%. I'd rather have our system thanks.
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jv,
I pay 22% tax and the longest I've had to wait in ER (on my fourth visit this year) was half an hour. Once in, the longest they are allowed to keep you in ER is for four hours. But this is the UK and everyone can go to the ER whenever they want to and not pay a thing. Doesn't mean we don't have private healthcare and even private hospitals (and I actually have private insurance so I'm the last one to diss it), but urgent care (and maternity) is only provided by the state and so everyone has the same access to it. Sorry for ranting back... Mat, my advice to you would be always to keep it on the safe side and have things checked out. Worst-case, I can imagine that if you did have a DVT it would be cheaper to treat it early than when it becomes a full-blown emergency PE. What I've been doing over the last few weeks since I stopped the Warfarin and had problems (chest pain, phlebitis etc) is that I've gone to my GP first and let him decide whether I need further check-ups or not. Hope you feel better soon, Pip
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Wow, jv, that is the first time I hear somebody say that, usually it's "How I wish our system was like your's...
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I lived in Canada for the first 30 years of my life and then moved to the US, the health system is night and day. You couldn't pay me to move back to the inadequate system that is in Canada. I could write a book on the differences and I feel sorry for anyone living under the so called "free health care" system. And on that note, I hope everyone has a great weekend.
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Jv, sorry but I didn't mean to diss the health care system with regards to the level of care! There is no doubt that in the US the hospitals, doctors, nurses etc. are fantastic and they have great technology to work with. This is certainly something that could be improved over here and which is why I also have private health insurance which works as a kind of top-up system to the basic care (though I didn't even get to use it with my clotting story).
It is just that there seem to be many people on here who for whatever reason don't have insurance and therefore are afraid of getting basic help for their serious medical conditions. That's where I see a problem. It's more apparent than ever to me now as a few of my US friends lost their jobs recently and were quoted impossible sums to continue with their insurance. I don't know what I would do in that situation? Especially now I'm 'prone to clotting'... I lived in Germany for a long time where they have a very interesting system. There are many insurance companies to choose from but everyone is required to be insured. For those with a salary above a certain threshhold a specific nationally-set percentage of salary is commited to health insurance. For those who don't earn enough, for children and students, unemployed etc. the government pays their insurance. So, basically everyone is insured and previous medical history is not a factor as everyone pays according to their salary. It is a government-regulated system but not a government-run one. It worked well for me and I had a number of knee operations on the German system ;-)
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You can try to talk to the original doctor and say you need advice on what you should do next. I am not sure what you were already tested for and where to turn next... I do hope you feel better soon. Pam
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Talking to the original doc is unfortunately not likely. As most of us already know, information is usually what the doctor doesnt have, but I can almost garuntee he would say "come in and lets check it out". Of course, I live almost 200 miles from him (i moved).
Still debating on the ER thing, as it seems the pains just come and go. Not sure its really worth it yet or not. the last thing i need is to add to the already heaping pile of doctor bills I already have. I think its somewhere in the neighborhood of 60k. Ive had a little help from the govt and a few charity organizations to cover some of the other 100K+ from various other treatments and surgery regarding the tumor they found during my CT. I do know the first doctor that I saw was actually pretty thorough on testing. The first night I was in the hospital the lab drew over 20 little vials of blood, and I have a practical book of lab results that all say it isnt genetic, or deficient or some way otherwise abnormal besides the clotting itself. I could rant for hours on the ignorance of the second doc I saw, at the ER the day after my release, for coughing up blood...but I wont go into that. I lived, and found a decent cardiologist that would take a charity case such as mine. Although, I did move away from the area and must find someone semi competent to see around here. the nearest big city to me is Houston Tx, which is about a 45 min drive to the outskirts. if anyone knows someone good around there, im all ears. My insurance from my job kicks in on Dec 1st. and having a doc lined up would be nice
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