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.
I'm so glad that I found your website, I have felt quite isolated sitting with my thoughts! Not wanting to worry my husband with my symptoms etc in case he worried, its good to identify with others in the boat so to speak.
Initially when I went to hospital,I felt they were quite dismissive of my symptoms, however after a CT scan I was diagnosed with a P.E.
I hadn't realized how exhausted I would feel, I guess I thought once I started on the warfarin I would feel well relatively quickly. It has been encouraging to read other members stories and realize the tiredness and chest discomfort is not all in the mind!!
How long do you think I might be off work?
How long does the exhaustion last?
How long does it take for the clot to break down?
When I went to see the GP she signed me off initially for four weeks and said I was lucky to be alive, I guess I had chosen not to think what could have happened.
Initially when I went to hospital,I felt they were quite dismissive of my symptoms, however after a CT scan I was diagnosed with a P.E.
I hadn't realized how exhausted I would feel, I guess I thought once I started on the warfarin I would feel well relatively quickly. It has been encouraging to read other members stories and realize the tiredness and chest discomfort is not all in the mind!!
How long do you think I might be off work?
How long does the exhaustion last?
How long does it take for the clot to break down?
When I went to see the GP she signed me off initially for four weeks and said I was lucky to be alive, I guess I had chosen not to think what could have happened.
I read your story - mine was quite similar - PEs after flights, although I am not sure if I was clotting inbetween as I have been quite poorly for a while.
I look forward to hearing more about you on here and will help you with any of your questions or worries, as I know all the others will too. Take Care x x x
thank you for your reply.
Like you, after the flight I was unwell for three weeks before having another "funny turn" (very scary) on a train and had to get off at the next station for a while. It was a few days after that I went to the GP who immediately sent me to the hospital.
As you say this site helps get a clearer picture of what to expect following a P.E. as the doctors don't warn you about the after effects so to speak.
Once again thanks and you take care too.
The short answer to your question is there is things will take as long as they take and you need to be able to give yourself time on this. I have two episodes of multiple PE's - first time around not too problematic and I was back to work quickly. The second time it floored me and I struggled to feel fully well for quite a while - I made it back to work 6 weeks after PE but had been off two weeks prior to that not at all well (build up I think). The exhaustion is a mix of the mental and physical + warfarin can add to it too, I think if you can try and give into it - you will benefit from being kind to yourself at this stage try not to do too much but I also found it useful to try and build up some stamina.... first walking round the garden (I had calf dvt and struggled) then short walk - then a little longer then twice a day etc etc... At the beginning I thought I would never be well again - was emotional, anxious, scared and it was not a good time. I came back to work but took a days leave each week for 5 weeks and eased my way back. It took I think 3 months + to start feeling more like my old self. My GP was helpful but also I think despairing slightly of me when I kept going back as I continued to feel ill for a while after. Keep in touch - ask any question nothing is silly - its the niggles and uncertainty that keep us up at night and you will get better... just give yourself time Sue x
Wow - I think we all have had that major sigh of relief when we each respectively came across this site. The discussion board is so helpful! I think I've been on here since the end of June/beginning of July (I had a PE on June 4), and I still am reading, going back farther and farther. Thank goodness everyone here is so willing to share info. I will say this ... everyone is different in their experiences, but I find that it gets easier and easier (I may have a few steps back here and there, but it's an overall upward trend, surely).
Some people (like me) were back to work within a week of being released from the hospital, and some are off work for months - it really just depends on how your body and mind heal. I was exhausted for a good month or more ... I'm still tired from time to time, but nowhere near the first few weeks. And I thought I read somewhere that most clots take at least 2-3 months of anticoagulation therapy to resolve, but again ... everyone is different.
Take care, and welcome! :o)
Hope you get to feeling better soon.