I can't offer advice as far as work goes... been a stay at home mom. And my kids are a bit older, 17 and 12, so I can't even say I am running around having to take care of little ones. I just wanted to say I am sorry you are feeling so bad, that part I can relate to!

It would indeed be nice if there was a definite time frame for all of this. Actually anything about this that could be considered definite would be nice. You will go through this this and this, and then be done by this time. But, as you said, it doesn't work that way. :o(

Tomorrow is a new day. Might be a good one, maybe a bad one, but it is still a new day!

Wishing you well!

I went back to work within a week of my PEs, but I wasn't full time. I worked short days (started at four hours and slowly increased) and took about four months to get back to full-time. I also had to take occasional days off because I was just too tired.

But seriously, everyone is really different in their recovery. You do what you can ... don't punish yourself for it.

I went back to work 2 weeks after I was home from the hospital. And no it was not easy at all. It was very taxing actually. I just rested a lot and tried to find ways to rejuvenate.

I almost think you need to have a little breakdown to sort of just take the pressure off. It's good to set goals but don't be so rigid with the number of days and what not. All it will do is make you feel bad about yourself if you don't meet that.

So, relax, do what you can do and be kind to yourself. I found reminding myself of the old adage, "one day at a time" to be very helpful in working through the recovery process

you can't really judge how fast you should feel good it depends on so many factor .how many clots, lung damage ,age .every case is different if you can find someone that had about the same pe and symptoms you'll get a closer answer .i had 13 clots didn't go in for two weeks to the doctors and had a lot of lung damage .that was 7 years ago and i still have shortness of breath .i just started to really work all day last year but i trim trees for a living so it was harder to get back in good enough shape so i could work all day .

Hi jmac, I know how u feel I'm 4 months post dx of extensive bilateral PE's (12). I still feel like rubbish and it's so frustrating, I'm still not back at work. I've only just started driving short distances - my judgement still isn't good (brain fog and reaction time slow) so I don't feel safe driving.

Had am ok day at home on Tuesday so did a little, then had to go out Wednesday morning back about early arvo then slept from 3-7pm then had dinner and slept again till 8 this am and still feel rubbish today. My whole body feels heavy and exhausted, brain won't work. Trying not to have a sleep today as I want to make sure I sleep properly tonight. it's just so frustrating isn't it.

I've given up trying to put a date on going back to work- there is just absolutely no way I could do it and I'm usually a very committed person who loves my job.

Hate to say it but u might have to be prepared to not go back to work for quite sometime still.

Minnessota - has it taken you years to get back to being able to do physical things? Is that directly as a result of ur PE's? Do u still suffer the fatigue? I have a very physical pastime and I'm wondering if I'm ever going to b back to what I could do before.

It'd b ok if u were a person who didn't want to do things but it just does ur head in otherwise doesn't it.

thanks everyone! yesterday was just one of those down days! im just back to accepting that its one day at a time at the moment, do a little, rest a lot seems to be what i deal with best. I hope to go back to work on 20th feb but i wont force myself, will just wait and see how i feel next week and decide from there. i dont think this horrible cold weather helps me much either! bring on the sunshine.....

I've been out of the hosp. since Dec 29th and I find if I do a lot one day I have to take it easy the next day. But I feel I am getting better slowly.

I still have some trouble sleeping at night. the Doc gave me a script for sleeping pills but I find if I'm to tired they don't work.. So I try to pace myself.

We are retired so that does help.

Dee

I totally get what you're saying about the sleeping pills not working if you're too tired. I thought it was just me since I've never been on them prior to my PE.
Thanks to everyone on here, I learn something new and feel so supported.
Today was my first full day back at work and I'm exhausted. I guess I'll see how tomorrow goes lol Sounds like it might be a wipe out ;)

surivior79
i had to work i'm self employed so i had no choice .the first year i didn't go into trees because i couldn't lift my body weight .the next year i could only work a few hours at a time every other day .but i did really push my self .i found out if i felt lite headed i would just take really deep breaths and that would help .but you do have to push your self .you just have to watch out .you could end up with hypertension if you had a lot of lung damage . and your heart has to pump harder to get the blood thru your lungs .so check with your doctor .i work my normal hours now i'm not 100% and i won't ever be .but i lost 2 brothers and my dad to this so i'm not going to complain

Minnesota,

You stated you were on coumandin for life.

I had my PE in Jan 2012 and my blood tested positive for Antiphospholipid syndrome. I will get retested in the next 12 weeks.

I have find your comments very encouraging and I saw that you have been on coumadin/warfin for 42 years. Was your diaganosis
heart related?

Am I Minnesota?

If not, sorry I'm jumping in. I'll answer to anything, apparently!

If so, I've been on warfarin for 4 years, and I'm in Wisconsin, ha!

My PE did cause heart damage at the time, but it was monitored by my Cardiologist, and within 6 months, the damage resolved itself, and my heart is fine. He did not restrict my exercise except to do light exercise in the beginning (walking, stationary bike, swimming)

Survivor, I felt basically back to normal, physically-wise, by the 6 month mark, post PE. But even before then I felt half way decent. So I'd say for me, I was back to my normal exercise and activities by the 6 month mark. But it's different for everyone. I really do believe the hurdles we face are often more of a mental hurdle. There were many stretches where I simply did not feel like doing anything physical, not because I couldn't but I just mentally just didn't feel like it.

But now, yeah, I feel really good. I really do. Like I said in another post, my lungs ache when it's really cold our or really humid out, but it's tolerable for me. My DVT leg bothers me somewhat because I have PTS, but even that I find I can manage. I do have a hard time with exercise that involves jumping because there's just to much impact on my DVT leg, so I don't do that, but otherwise, I'm good.

People don't want to feel discomfort. I get that, but I think feeling discomfort and fatigue is ok. It's not going to kill you so why not just work with it. Ultimately though, you kind of have to figure out for yourself what you can do. But I don't think surviving a PEs means you have to resign yourself to knitting circles and Bingo for the rest of your life. No offense to knitters and folks who play Bingo out there, but you know what I mean.

I'm just saying the future is bright.

rmb, I went right back to walking two miles a day, yoga twice a week and some light weight lifting at home. that was 2 days after i came out of the hospital. I do have to pace myself and rest when I have too, but I won't sit around and not push at least a little bit. Doc did not limit my exercise.

Dee

I think that's awesome Dee. I personally think the longer we sort of convalesce, the longer it ultimately takes to get our muscle strength back, our lung capacity back etc. I always feel like I have to preface that by saying that everyone is different depending on their situation, and their health or fitness prior to the PE, of course.

My doc was adamant that I start walking several times a day once I was out of the ICU, and in the cardiac unit. So every hour I'd walk the hall way, back and forth. And he was adamant that I walk several times a day once home, even if for just a couple of minutes. By the 3rd day I was home, I was able to walk around the neighborhood. My issue was the DVT pain, not so much my lungs. But I do believe movement helped me gain my strength back quicker and recovery faster. Of course, I was completely exhausted. I mean, if you just had a PE, and just got out of the hospital, your going to be tired and you are going to feel crappy some days. But for me, it just helped me psychologically to be doing stuff.

I think we have to expect bad days mixed in with the good days. I mean, regardless of the PE, that's how life kind of goes anyway.

I gotta say, for me, the emotional recovery was far more taxing than the physical recovery. Far more.

You guys, just hang in there. It really does get better. The veil starts lifting a bit as you recover, and you start seeing your situation differently