I'm also very worried about internal bleeding. I got the flu while in the hospital and I've been coughing a lot.

I had my first (of MANY) clot back in '98, when I was 19. I have never, ever had an issue with internal bleeding, and I can be pretty clumsy. That's not to say it can't happen. It obviously can, but it's not worth wasting your days worrying about the "what ifs." I still do everything I want to do. The only big change I had to make was to watch my vitamin K intake. Even with that, I have as much as I want, as long as I'm consistent. It's a different life, yes, but it's not a bad one. Just breathe. It's scary at first, but honestly, it does get better. Oh, and once you're on the Lovenox, you're pretty safe, as far as the fear of clots traveling. The Coumadin takes a while to kick in and become therapeutic, but the Lovenox takes effect immediately.

Hi and welcome! You might visit the PE group as well, since the conversations over there are more related to that particular healing process.

First of all, you should be in pretty good shape at this point. Clots are most dangerous BEFORE they're diagnosed. Once you're diagnosed and you get that first injection of Lovenox, your body switches over from making clots to dissolving them. At that point, there is less and less chance of them breaking off and traveling (assuming you even have any in your legs or arms). Also, once they're in your lungs, my understanding is that there isn't anywhere else for them to go as the blood vessels just get smaller and smaller from there.

Do they know why you had the clot in the first place? Sometimes that can shed light on any long-term issues. (Not everyone finds out why they clot, BTW... I don't know why I clot.)

I had my first DVT at age 30. I've had other clots (and I'll tell you that that is NOT the norm--most folks get one clot, recover, and go on with life) since then and will be taking warfarin (same as coumadin) for life, but it really hasn't affected my life that much. I've spent summers working in the mountains at summer camp, I've ridden horses, I hike and bike regularly, I travel several times a year, I swim, I use power tools, I got married, and I still eat pretty much whatever I want. I've never had internal bleeding or any other major bleed issues. The occasional bad bruise, but that's about it.

Really, the only long-term issues I've had is that it can be more complicated to take new meds or have surgery--but even those things are manageable.

Take a deep breath. You're already on the road to recovery at this point and you should be thinking about what things you want to get back to doing. Check with your doctor on what is "safe" if you need to, but nothing about clotting should stop you from living your life to the fullest. (I mean, recovery might slow you down for a while, but that is a temporary situation.)

Also, that anxiety can completely take you over if you're not careful. For me, the mental recovery from clots was a LOT harder than the physical recovery from clots. After my PEs, I couldn't even try to sleep if I was in a room by myself because I was convinced I wouldn't wake up. You need to figure out some techniques for dealing with that ASAP. Practice meditation or journaling, see a therapist who specializes in people who have survived traumatic events (I did this), or talk to your doc about anti-anxiety meds (I also did this, took them for two years after my PEs). Everyone is comfortable with a different approach to treating anxiety, but you really should look at it as a medical issue that should also be treated--not just something to wait out.

Hang in there! The first few months can be really tough both mentally and physically, but it gets better after that. Read around on this site and ask lots of questions. Now's not the time to take up naked hockey or sword-swallowing, but other than that you should be looking toward a normal future.

I really appreciate all the advice. Right now when I cough up glen, it's bloody and I'm really worried about that.

Coughing up blood can be one of the symptoms of PEs and to make it worse you've picked up the flu in hospital :-(. However, I'd speak to a doctor as soon as possible about it, unless they discharged you in this state (which would be unlikely). It is unlikely to be related to internal bleeding.

Likelihood is things will be fine, but it will take some time, probably months rather than days or weeks. Work/school may be difficult, but possibly due to fatigue/tiredness rather than producing more clots which is very unlikely.

Its good to do some reading on things like "Clot Connect" and "Stop the Clot" (web and facebook) and as mentioned above, have a look at the PE board on Daily Strength. Hang in there, things do get better ... slowly.

I've read several accounts over the years on the PE site about coughing up blood post PE diagnosis. It's not unusual but if you're concerned talk to your doc for reassurance.

I've been on warfarin for several years now and I've never had a serious bleeding incident, not even close. Of course it's something to be mindful of because you are more prone to bleeding when on warfarin, but most people don't have issues with that, and that's why we make sure we're testing our INR regularly to ensure our INRs aren't too high.

If your doc gave you the ok to go back to school or work, that's GOOD. He wouldn't have done that had he thought you were not well enough.

You are going to be ok. It's not an overnight thing. It takes time to heal, and to get your head on straight about things. Try to take time to relax, find some distractions to take your mind off things (that's one of the upsides to going back to school or work) and just take it a day at a time.

All of these comments have really helped. I went back to the we today for the blood in my phlem. Doctor wasn't too concerned. I'm definitely glad I found this site.