Not to be discouraging but I am 4 almost 5 months post PE and I still do not feel normal. Now I am doing better than I was when I was at your point but for me the recovery is proving very slow. I do have "good days" but even on my good days I don't feel like I use to. I still tire very easily and continue to have chest pain and SOB. I can only walk about a 1/4 mile before I get lightheaded and have trouble breathing and have to stop. BTW I am 39 and was in good enough health to have easily passed the US Army PT test right before my PE's

Now on the other hand, my mom who is 63 just had her 2nd PE and in a matter of weeks she is feeling almost normal and back to work.

So recovery time seems to vary greatly. I find this to be one of the very frustrating things about PE's. There seems to be so little information on recovery and even doctors seem fairly clueless when it comes to recovery. I am getting tired of hearing doctors say, "I would expect you to be doing better by now" and "The tests came back normal so you shouldn't be having all these problems."

Hang in there as tough and frustrating as the recovery is...it does get better, or so I have heard :/

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It does get better. I'm seven months post PE. I didn't really start having 'good days' energy-wise till more than 2 months out. Then gradually the good days got more frequent, and the bad days fewer and fewer. I still hit some bad days, but they aren't as rough as the bad days were at only 1 month out.

Recovery can be a long road, and everyone's journey is a little different. A PE is not something that the body can shrug off quickly. There are multiple systems that got damaged and/or stressed. Don't worry that something else is wrong just because you're not bouncing back quickly. It takes more time than anyone wants it to, but it does get better. Good luck and happy healing.

Welcome to the club!

I am 55 and 3.5 months post PE/DVT. Like someone else has already said the recovery varies from person to person so there doesn't seem to be any hard and fast rules.

I do pretty well most days but by the time the weekend hits, I just want to crash and burn. I only work 2 hours a day for the local school district but am raising a 6 yr old grand daughter and helping my son, his gf, and 4 month old baby try to get on their feet. My hubby was also laid off the middle of August and is looking at a total change of profession. So lots of stress in my house & life!

I do feel better then I did but there are still a few bad days here and there. It also seems to make some difference to a point depending on what medicines you are on all together.

Things do get better and that is what you need to keep in your mind. It can be slow and frustrating to be sure but hang in there. You are NOT alone by any means! Glad you found us!

For me by month 2, I felt my stamina returning, and by month 3, I was feeling pretty good. By the 6 months mark I was a-okay.

The thing is, you start doing more after a while, which actually makes you really tired. So there's some of that balance in the beginning of doing things, being active, but also taking care to find your limits and rest a bit. I was exhausted that first month after diagnosis. But I also went back to work soon after after getting out the hospital and that played a role in my fatigue. In fact, I blame a lot of my fatigue on being laid up in the hospital for 7 days. I barely slept at all while in the hospital since everyone was in my room every 5 freakin' minutes. You almost need to recovery from that experience and the PE.

Hang in there, and to echo edmie said, don't take it as a sign that something is wrong or that you're not getting better. It really is just part of the recovery.

PE recovery is so different for each one of us.

I went into the hospital on a Thursday, was sent home Friday and was back at work Monday.

I am a runner, and it took me about 4 months to even feel comfy running, but that was more out of fear, etc.

15 days?! I am nearly 7 MONTHS post PE and fatigue is still my main complaint. As my doctor explained to me "your body has taken a huge hit and it will take time to feel 'normal' again." Hang in there.

I was totally fine for the first month of recovery. Then, as I was pushing too hard to get back to "normal," I got really exhausted and had to spend some time on the couch recovering. I was even rescanned at that point and my clots were gone, it was just me pushing my healing lungs way too hard.

I had bouts like this--with increased pain, SOB, and exhaustion-- up until about 11 months out. I'd be fine for a while, then push too hard or be out in extreme weather or be exposed to fumes or something, and then I'd have to spend a couple days exhausted, with increased SOB and pain.

Nothing showed up on the CAT scan so we still have no answersbut glad they didnt find anything.
So origin of the blood clots is still a mystery....argh...