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.
I'm 6mo out from my PE and generally feeling pretty good. I get some chest pains now and then, but mostly just twinges. I had a ct scan in June that showed my clots had cleared.
We took a 2 hour flight for vacation, returning last weekend - my first time flying since the PE - and I was a little nervous even though the hematologist said it was fine. While on vacation I had a few chest pains and some shortness of breath. The SoB is odd because I didn't have that even when I was in the hospital. Well today it got worse. Bad enough that it felt like when I went to ER the first time.
But after an afternoon of bloodwork, EKG, chest xray, and yet another ct scan, they say I'm fine... the only thing that came back was my PT/INR is a smidge high at 3.4
I don't feel fine. My chest hurts. I'm scared of dying even thought that isn't logical based on all the tests they ran. I hate this.
We took a 2 hour flight for vacation, returning last weekend - my first time flying since the PE - and I was a little nervous even though the hematologist said it was fine. While on vacation I had a few chest pains and some shortness of breath. The SoB is odd because I didn't have that even when I was in the hospital. Well today it got worse. Bad enough that it felt like when I went to ER the first time.
But after an afternoon of bloodwork, EKG, chest xray, and yet another ct scan, they say I'm fine... the only thing that came back was my PT/INR is a smidge high at 3.4
I don't feel fine. My chest hurts. I'm scared of dying even thought that isn't logical based on all the tests they ran. I hate this.
It can be really frustrating during recovery to sort out what is just recovery/anxiety and what is a new problem. I did two repeat trips to the ER after my PEs and it wound up being anxiety both times. They told me to take it easy for a few days and try to relax... which, as we both know, is easier said than done.
Really pamper yourself for a couple of days and give yourself permission to freak out a bit, if you need to. But, then, regroup and tell yourself that you're OK until you start to believe it. But, you really ARE OK and you will be OK, even with this recent trip to the ER.
I feel like I could write your post describes where I am at minus the plane ride. I hate this crap too. I fight with myself daily over what is a normal pain or what is a serious issue. I am also at 6 mos., and it does get better each month out from PE/DVT. But I still have those anxiety/panic moments. I never had any symptoms with my PE, just a little anxious after reading things on the internet after an ankle surgery. So my anxiety lead me to go to doctors in the first place, which ended up saving my life. So it's hard not to trust your anxiety fears sometimes. TNT is spot on with her comments. I also talk to a shrink about managing my anxiety, and make sure I get some excercise in as much as possible. It always helps me manage my fears. I'm glad your tests came back clear. And if that's what it took to allow you to feel better, so be it. I feel for you and wish you the best of luck paving your own path to recovery.