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.

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doing too much

jmac67
jmac67
how come i can never seem to know what is too much? doing too much causes pain and discomfort - to the extent that i am currently lying on the sofa with a hot water bottle on my back as the pain from my lungs is really not nice. I try to do a little every day but it just makes me feel rubbish, if i stay around the house and just potter about and take plenty rest then i seem to be great - its as soon as i start to do more that i suffer - i am nearly 5 months out from my pe's and am hoping to be going back to work soon. when i get up in the morning i feel great, just doing normal house work is ok, taking kids to school, making beds etc but by lunch time i am done in. If i go out to the shops i really struggle - infact if i go to the mall i really dont bother going into the actual shops anymore unless i know what i am going in for. thats just not me!. I worry that i wont be able to work for some time yet - i work in a call centre and talk on the phone constantly - only 4 hour shifts x5 days a week but talking tires me out greatly. my dr is happy for me to still be off as she reckons i will know when im ready to go back????? will i ever know? will i ever be ready????
i know no one can tell me anything definite as we are all different but has anyone else experienced the same?
lnycrts
lnycrts
Gee, personally, I think you're doing an awful lot before noon! I totally understand your worry and frustration, but be kind to yourself and give things time. I agree about how talking on the phone can be very tiring! I was doing better in the "shortness of breath" department until one day a couple of weeks ago when I was on the phone awhile and kind of slowly pacing a short distance from one room to another. All the sudden I was hit with shortness of breath all over again and it's been a problem ever since.

Maybe you're doing just enough when you putter around and do
things while resting a lot!?! Maybe your body is telling you that that's enough for right now at the point you are now at in your recovery!
deleted_user
deleted_user
it just takes time it really does .i was out of work for a year and it felt like i would never be able to go back but all of a sudden i just started getting better .lungs don't heal over night
Lynnedz56
Lynnedz56
I never realized how taxing it is to do "normal" housework. Changing the bed, is one whole day activity for me. I'm 3-1/2 months out and trying to work (in a call center) and it's not going well. My doctor would make me stay home if I still could get paid. I make it one day and then take a day off, 2 days and then crash..etc. I saw both of my doctors this week (cardio and pulmonary) and they both said.."listen to your body". I takes a LONG time. They don't see me being able to do cardiac rehab until at least May or June. She told me when I have a good day, don't bust my butt, but do something I enjoy and have fun. My exercise consists of walking to the mailbox at the front of my complex and the doctor is allowing me 2x a week to walk around Walmart. Oh, and I am beginning to feel a little better day by day.
missd12932
missd12932
I need to add to this for myself.......Seems like I have one good day and two tired ones. I thought yesterday would never end. I hope someday I get back to per PE energy. I'm 4 1/2 weeks out of the hospital. I am getting discouraged. I did my lightest weight lifting DVD and was pooped then had to do a lot of running aound the rest of the day. I made myselt stay up until 9:00 then fell into bed slept like a log. Still a little tired today. But wil do some light things. Walk the dogs, run to store. come back and take nap, thanks for listening.

Dee
jmac67
jmac67
i have decided to go back to work on monday providing all is well over the next few days - im going to give it a try - only for 3 days next week - mon wed fri and just for 2 1/2 hrs each time - i dont know if i will ever feel 100% so i figure i might as well give it a try - sitting around at home isnt working for me so hopefully this will - i kind of wonder if all the sitting around is making me weaker. i will let you all know how it goes! if nothing else it will be good to catch up with my colleagues for a wee chat!
Lynnedz56
Lynnedz56
That sounds like a good plan. It would have been good for me to start gradually. My heart doctor agrees that talking 8 hours a day is very hard on us. But like you said, have to start sometime. I came home the other day after 8 hours and didn't fall asleep until later. That was a first in a long time. See...it does get better.