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.
First of all, let me say, I have been reading all of the discussions on here for the last couple of days and I am soooooo glad I found this site and this support group! It is totally amazing at how many discussions I can relate to on here.
I was going to work at 4:30 in the morning and walking down my deck stairs and I missed a step and ended up falling the rest of the way down the stairs. I broke my right leg (fibula) and severely sprained my left ankle on 4/15/2010. I was completely bed/chair ridden.
On 5/1/2010 I had severe chest pains and went to the ER. I was diagnosed with a very large Saddle Pulminary Embolism. They found I had 3 clots in my broken leg and 1 of the clots had traveled to my lungs where it was completely lodged. I was told by several doctors and nurses that I was VERY lucky to be alive. They also could not believe that noone had ever mentioned the possibilty of clots forming or suggested me wearing support hose to prevent against clots.
I was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit and immediately put on heparin and coumedin and numerous pain meds. My blood level finally made it to 2.1 and I was discharged from the hospital on the night of 5/11/2010.
I am taking hydromorphone (dialaudid), 2 mg every 4 hours, I have a 100mg fentanyl pain patch, coumadin, some other pain patch and paxil. I am currently still having severe chest pains and breathing problems.
An x'ray of my broken leg was taken on 5/8, 3 weeks after originally breaking it, and at that point it had not healed at all. However, my left ankle is slowly getting better and I can atleast hobble around in the house on crutches with SOB just going to the bathroom.
I have two children, ages 4 and 5 and am a single parent. Thank God for my sister, who watched my kids while I was in the hospital for 11 days. I have been out of the hospital for 4 days now and my sister took the kids back to her house for today and tonight as it was just to much for me. I find myself having anxiety and depression since this diagnoses. To much commotion or noise really bothers me and seems to make my chest hurt worse and my breathing gets weird. The thought of how lucky I was to live thru this scares the hell outta me.
I have not had an appetite at all since first going into the hospital. The things I have tried to eat either taste BAD, sour or to sweet. I normally drink Diet Dr. Pepper and since going into the hospital, I can not drink it at all. I took one sip and it tastes like a cup of pure sugar.
The last cigarette I smoked was the one right before I went into the emergency room on 5/1/2010. Of course, the nurses put a patch on me after a few days, but I really don't even crave a cigarette. Thats a miracle for me since I have smoke 1 - 1 1/2 packs of cigarettes a day for about 30 years and have attempted to quit several times and always failed!!! My dad took me to have my blood drawn 2 days ago and he smoked in his car on the way and the smoke immediately affected my lungs and I had a coughing attack and he put his cigarrette out.
The doctors discharged me from the hospital with no instructions other than to follow up with my family doctor immediately. I saw her the next day. She informed me I will need to see a Pulmunary Specialist, a pychologist for the anxiety and a blood doctor. I had NO idea what the future may or may not hold for me until I found this support group. The hospital doctors told me I could probably go back to work in a week or so. My family doctor told me NO WAY!!! I am a supervisor, have a VERY stressful job at a prison in Michign and prior to me breaking my legs, was working no less than 60-70 hours a week and I commute 90 mintes ONE WAY to work.
I am sooooo frustrated with all this. breaking one leg and severely spraining the other ankle was alone, enough to drive me crazy!!! I am a go getter, very energetic and not one to just lay around. Now not only do I have my legs to deal with, but also a PE. So to say I am going out of my mind, well.....thats putting it mildly!!!!
Any support, comments, suggestions or advice anyone can give me would be greatly appreciated. I look forward to reading more discussions, being part of this wonderful group and making new friends on here for what looks like a very long time to come.
Thank you,
Kristie
I was going to work at 4:30 in the morning and walking down my deck stairs and I missed a step and ended up falling the rest of the way down the stairs. I broke my right leg (fibula) and severely sprained my left ankle on 4/15/2010. I was completely bed/chair ridden.
On 5/1/2010 I had severe chest pains and went to the ER. I was diagnosed with a very large Saddle Pulminary Embolism. They found I had 3 clots in my broken leg and 1 of the clots had traveled to my lungs where it was completely lodged. I was told by several doctors and nurses that I was VERY lucky to be alive. They also could not believe that noone had ever mentioned the possibilty of clots forming or suggested me wearing support hose to prevent against clots.
I was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit and immediately put on heparin and coumedin and numerous pain meds. My blood level finally made it to 2.1 and I was discharged from the hospital on the night of 5/11/2010.
I am taking hydromorphone (dialaudid), 2 mg every 4 hours, I have a 100mg fentanyl pain patch, coumadin, some other pain patch and paxil. I am currently still having severe chest pains and breathing problems.
An x'ray of my broken leg was taken on 5/8, 3 weeks after originally breaking it, and at that point it had not healed at all. However, my left ankle is slowly getting better and I can atleast hobble around in the house on crutches with SOB just going to the bathroom.
I have two children, ages 4 and 5 and am a single parent. Thank God for my sister, who watched my kids while I was in the hospital for 11 days. I have been out of the hospital for 4 days now and my sister took the kids back to her house for today and tonight as it was just to much for me. I find myself having anxiety and depression since this diagnoses. To much commotion or noise really bothers me and seems to make my chest hurt worse and my breathing gets weird. The thought of how lucky I was to live thru this scares the hell outta me.
I have not had an appetite at all since first going into the hospital. The things I have tried to eat either taste BAD, sour or to sweet. I normally drink Diet Dr. Pepper and since going into the hospital, I can not drink it at all. I took one sip and it tastes like a cup of pure sugar.
The last cigarette I smoked was the one right before I went into the emergency room on 5/1/2010. Of course, the nurses put a patch on me after a few days, but I really don't even crave a cigarette. Thats a miracle for me since I have smoke 1 - 1 1/2 packs of cigarettes a day for about 30 years and have attempted to quit several times and always failed!!! My dad took me to have my blood drawn 2 days ago and he smoked in his car on the way and the smoke immediately affected my lungs and I had a coughing attack and he put his cigarrette out.
The doctors discharged me from the hospital with no instructions other than to follow up with my family doctor immediately. I saw her the next day. She informed me I will need to see a Pulmunary Specialist, a pychologist for the anxiety and a blood doctor. I had NO idea what the future may or may not hold for me until I found this support group. The hospital doctors told me I could probably go back to work in a week or so. My family doctor told me NO WAY!!! I am a supervisor, have a VERY stressful job at a prison in Michign and prior to me breaking my legs, was working no less than 60-70 hours a week and I commute 90 mintes ONE WAY to work.
I am sooooo frustrated with all this. breaking one leg and severely spraining the other ankle was alone, enough to drive me crazy!!! I am a go getter, very energetic and not one to just lay around. Now not only do I have my legs to deal with, but also a PE. So to say I am going out of my mind, well.....thats putting it mildly!!!!
Any support, comments, suggestions or advice anyone can give me would be greatly appreciated. I look forward to reading more discussions, being part of this wonderful group and making new friends on here for what looks like a very long time to come.
Thank you,
Kristie
yes u have come to the right place. i had 11 clots in my sperior vena cave and my lung. i face the same anxiety as you. i was told the same thing that i was luck to be alive. and honey you are! don't rush recovery...and i know that is a hard thing to do. but you have to let your body heal. i take xanax for the anxiety...it helps. the good news is you will get better, but don't be impatient. :) just keep reading the forum here and you will do fine :)
I hope you've applied for FMLA leave from work so you don't get ding'd for missing work, you can't legally lose your job, and so your doctor can help you control how much you work and when you start back. I would advise taking it really easy for a while. Whatever you think you should try, dial it back a few notches and then give it a try. I relapsed seriously about four weeks out and it took another four weeks to recover from.
Hang in there! You've been through the wringer, but at least it sounds like you're on the road to recovery now.
I swiped this site from another post,
I found it useful to what is to know what is happening to me.http://hubpages.com/hub/Recovering-From-A-Pulmonary-Embolism
The doctor in the hopital also told me that I could go back to work in a week. My pcp,....told me to take over a month..
I think we have have to decide how long based on what we do for work. I teach sped. So I don't have to worry about the lifting etc..
I also have asthma, and have always been reactive to smoke, scents, etc.. I have found that I am now very very reactive, with the clots in my lungs. I'm guessing most of us here are the same,
good luck,
Carolyn
Good luck
Carolyn
Everyone's timetable for getting back to work is different. Some are ready in a week, some a month, and some need a good bit more. I took a somewhat average 12 days to finish out one week in the hospital and one at home. Once back, it was with both feet, the 24-hour pager and everything. One thing about stressful jobs is that it's easier to just keep working them than to get out of the groove and then get started again.
If flavored drinks still taste unappealing, perhaps try perrier, club soda, or sparkling water. As your system gets used to recovery mode maybe you will regain appetite.
Meanwhile, outdoors is generally a good place to be; whether it would be to take slow short walks when you heal or, with the injuries for now, just to have the light and the outdoor air while you sit. The four walls might only make you go further out of your mind.
Anyway, the clot is still in my leg, but my breathing has improved considerably since being discarged on 5/2/10. My INR levels are therapuetic, and am hoping the clot in my leg will dissolve itself over time ( am told this will most likely be the outcome).
I am not a smoker, and try to eat healthy. My appetite has improved since coming home. So you're not alone out there. Please try to stay off the cigs, as this obviously can impede your progress. Use this down time to heal medically, mentally ( from this condition) and nutritionally. My 2nd chance will be used to find my greater purpose in life, and to treat my body with as much care as possible. Your plate is full, but be patient, as your young children need you long term. Keep us posted.
Hugs, Jo
Was at home, thinking i had the bad flu or something, I received antibiotic treatment.
I did have a clot in one leg, that went away, so i thought.
Well, ER was fantastic and saved my life, I am still on oxygen for bed time only.
This occurred the end of March. I was told it will take 3 to 6 months or possibly a year to recover.
So right, the doctor stressed not to push yourself, takes patience.
My only big problem now is getting my coumadin adjusted, just had a very hi INR it was 6.1. So now on a reduced dosage.
So, as others have mentioned you have other things to overcome as well. Be patient!!
I tak a xanax, as needed.
I sure cant do what I used to do. I had to get a handicap tag, as it wears me out to walk too far.
I am 68 years old.
Swimming has been my best form of exercise so far.
I don;t know if anyone has gained weight. I know I sure have. Not used to being so inactive.
Listen to your body, it's a wonderful thing and tells you when you need a rest.
Again, I am so glad I have found this sight.
I just recently found this site as well and I am SOOO very thankful I did because I was getting to my wits end dealing with this. I was falling apart, had no one to talk to, lost a few friends and felt/still do feel like the friends I have left don't understand that it's not easy to just cowgirl up and stay strong.
My advice to you would be not to give up like I almost did. Keep reading here and you will find the strength to get through each day with or without your real life friends. Remember that we are all going through this together and we are here for each other because we know what it's like. Take care of yourself and don't worry about what others think. Hang in there. Hugs.