Pulmonary Embolism Support Group
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 and embolizes to the arterial blood supply of one of the lungs. Symptoms may include difficulty breathing, pain during breathing, and more rarely circulatory instability and death.
For several weeks I had been having intermittent left calf cramps, and left side pelvic/butt/thigh pain. I chalked it up to possible sciatica, and the pelvic pain as residual from my surgery in Nov. My dr advised to go to the er. I was given an ultrasound on the left leg, which thankfully was clear.
It is thought that my pe came from my pelvis due to bc and hysterectomy, and I was concerned that the ultrasound wouldn't be sufficient to rule out a pelvic dvt. I mean, my whole pelvic area was so sore from my surgery that I wouldn't really know what pelvic clot pain feels like. The er dr advised that if I had a nonsurgical pelvic clot for a few weeks, it would have expanded down into the groin/thigh area. This sounds plausible to me, but I wanted to see if anyone else experienced something like this, etc.
I'm so tired of worrying and I feel like I can't gauge how to know if an er visit is really necessary.
Thanks.
It is thought that my pe came from my pelvis due to bc and hysterectomy, and I was concerned that the ultrasound wouldn't be sufficient to rule out a pelvic dvt. I mean, my whole pelvic area was so sore from my surgery that I wouldn't really know what pelvic clot pain feels like. The er dr advised that if I had a nonsurgical pelvic clot for a few weeks, it would have expanded down into the groin/thigh area. This sounds plausible to me, but I wanted to see if anyone else experienced something like this, etc.
I'm so tired of worrying and I feel like I can't gauge how to know if an er visit is really necessary.
Thanks.
I mean, you could go to the ER, spend the time and money, but nothing would change in the long run in terms of your treatment or recovery.
I do understand just wanting to *know*. I turned down a leg ultrasound after my PEs, since it wouldn't change anything, but even now I wonder if I did have additional clotting there (although it would have been asymptomatic). Even so, though, I still have to remind myself that it wouldn't change anything.
At this point, I think you just have to weigh your need to "know" against the time and money you'll spending finding out. You're not in any danger by NOT knowing, since a clot there is still being treated. It just depends on what you feel is critical for you personally.
I used to be really confident about my body, and I hope I can be again. It's been really hard for me to judge. I used to avoid drs and hospitals like the plague. I hate feeling scared like this.
I think most of us wind up doing at least a few repeat trips to the ER. I did two, myself, one of them via ambulance. Both times, it wound up being anxiety. We've all been there!
I hate it.