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.
Hello everyone:
Well, I had my first ER visit since my diagnosis on the 4th of November. It all started when I had some mild chest pain. Then, I checked my pulse and I noticed it was jumping a beat. So I went to the pharmacy where they do blood pressures and mine was 162/88. I got real scared so I went to the emergency room. When I got there I let them know that I had 2 PEs in my lungs and 2 DVTs in my left leg. My breathing was fine and my pulse was very high, 105. So, they wanted to do a Cat Scan and Chest X-Ray. I said, I would rather not get those tests because I recently had them in November. The nurse seemed to be annoyed by my decision, however, I did not budge. I really didn't think that I needed that (mild chest pain, which I have been having over the last three months, and very high blood pressure). Otherwise, I felt fine. The doctor finally saw me after four hours of waiting and agreed with me that I didn't need the CT or C-X-Ray. He did two EKGs which were normal and basically said that I had very high anxiety. So many of you have talked about this and you are so right about how powerful fear and anxiety is. I was totally scared mainly because I thought my heart was in danger from the clotting. Anyway, I will talk to my Dr. and see what he thinks about this.
Well, I had my first ER visit since my diagnosis on the 4th of November. It all started when I had some mild chest pain. Then, I checked my pulse and I noticed it was jumping a beat. So I went to the pharmacy where they do blood pressures and mine was 162/88. I got real scared so I went to the emergency room. When I got there I let them know that I had 2 PEs in my lungs and 2 DVTs in my left leg. My breathing was fine and my pulse was very high, 105. So, they wanted to do a Cat Scan and Chest X-Ray. I said, I would rather not get those tests because I recently had them in November. The nurse seemed to be annoyed by my decision, however, I did not budge. I really didn't think that I needed that (mild chest pain, which I have been having over the last three months, and very high blood pressure). Otherwise, I felt fine. The doctor finally saw me after four hours of waiting and agreed with me that I didn't need the CT or C-X-Ray. He did two EKGs which were normal and basically said that I had very high anxiety. So many of you have talked about this and you are so right about how powerful fear and anxiety is. I was totally scared mainly because I thought my heart was in danger from the clotting. Anyway, I will talk to my Dr. and see what he thinks about this.
Did they give you any anxiety meds or discuss ways to treat the anxiety? If not, you might want to consider adding that to your own to-do list. It really can take over your life if you let it.
Glad everything was OK!
I have a similar story. 10 days after the stomach bleed I sneezed and then spit lots of blood. I thought my lungs were bleeding and was so scared to have to go back to the ER for my 3rd time that month. I immediately took my blood pressure and it was 185/95 (normally 104/64). I looked at my mouth in the mirror and realized my tongue was bleeding (must have bit it accidentally when I sneezed and of course the Warfarin made it bleed more). I calmed down and retook my BP and it was normal again.
Yes we can really freak ourselves out. After a major heart attack by myself with heart damage, a huge clot through my leg, and knowing my grandfather died from the medicine I know have to take, I have a little bit of anxiety too.
I take anti-anxiety medicine at night so I can rest my mind and get some sleep. It helps a lot!