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 all,
I haven't posted since 2011 and that's primarily due to just trying to get on with living. I had a a massive (stomach to left ankle) blood clot at 21 with no PE. I had another massive (stomach to left ankle) blood clot in February of 2011. It broke off in the hospital, stopped my heart (I was on a monitor which flat-lined) and settled in both lungs. I was 38 and both mentally and physically devastated! I was on oxygen and had two surgeries in the hospital. It took me five months to get back to work. We all know life can turn on a dime and literally knock the wind out of our sails.
One day (about 3 months post PE) I was having a bad day and I made a list of some of the things I liked doing but could not do. The list included talking for a sustained time, singing, climbing stairs, and hiking. I then devised a plan to train like an athlete. I started talking to my self out loud when nobody was home. I would try to sing little songs like the alphabet song and row, row, row your boat. I made myself go to the basement just to turn around and climb back up. Progress was excruciatingly slow. Recovery time (at the beginning) from climbing a set of stairs was 45 minutes of profuse sweating and gasping for air while lying in a heap on the floor at the top. No, I never asked my doctor or posted here for fear that everyone would think I was crazy. I was crazily determined to overcome this terrible debilitating condition.
In the summer of the following year, I hiked 1 mile into the Grand Canyon. I asked my husband and son to give me a 1 hour head start out. They did and still caught me before I reached the top. But...I DID IT!
I still have shortness of breath, my good friends lovingly call me WEESEY sometimes. Last year I finished my doctorate and celebrated by backpacking 43 miles across Isle Royal with my husband and children. (It was a year later than planned due to health issues but I did it!)
I say all of this to say there is life after PE! It isn't easy. I am a lifetime Xarelto user. I had knee surgery after that grueling 43 mile hike last year and developed another massive blood clot and suffered another (much smaller) PE. (If you are on Xarelto, don't let a surgeon take you off of it too long before surgery like mine did. Insist on Lovenox between Xarelto and surgery if need be.) I have been set back again but have decided to push on.
Good luck to all of you right now! The struggle is real. Feeling like you are breathing through a straw is exhausting. The anxiety of a possible relapse can feel overwhelming. However, we all lived for a reason. God is not through with us yet! God Bless You All!
I haven't posted since 2011 and that's primarily due to just trying to get on with living. I had a a massive (stomach to left ankle) blood clot at 21 with no PE. I had another massive (stomach to left ankle) blood clot in February of 2011. It broke off in the hospital, stopped my heart (I was on a monitor which flat-lined) and settled in both lungs. I was 38 and both mentally and physically devastated! I was on oxygen and had two surgeries in the hospital. It took me five months to get back to work. We all know life can turn on a dime and literally knock the wind out of our sails.
One day (about 3 months post PE) I was having a bad day and I made a list of some of the things I liked doing but could not do. The list included talking for a sustained time, singing, climbing stairs, and hiking. I then devised a plan to train like an athlete. I started talking to my self out loud when nobody was home. I would try to sing little songs like the alphabet song and row, row, row your boat. I made myself go to the basement just to turn around and climb back up. Progress was excruciatingly slow. Recovery time (at the beginning) from climbing a set of stairs was 45 minutes of profuse sweating and gasping for air while lying in a heap on the floor at the top. No, I never asked my doctor or posted here for fear that everyone would think I was crazy. I was crazily determined to overcome this terrible debilitating condition.
In the summer of the following year, I hiked 1 mile into the Grand Canyon. I asked my husband and son to give me a 1 hour head start out. They did and still caught me before I reached the top. But...I DID IT!
I still have shortness of breath, my good friends lovingly call me WEESEY sometimes. Last year I finished my doctorate and celebrated by backpacking 43 miles across Isle Royal with my husband and children. (It was a year later than planned due to health issues but I did it!)
I say all of this to say there is life after PE! It isn't easy. I am a lifetime Xarelto user. I had knee surgery after that grueling 43 mile hike last year and developed another massive blood clot and suffered another (much smaller) PE. (If you are on Xarelto, don't let a surgeon take you off of it too long before surgery like mine did. Insist on Lovenox between Xarelto and surgery if need be.) I have been set back again but have decided to push on.
Good luck to all of you right now! The struggle is real. Feeling like you are breathing through a straw is exhausting. The anxiety of a possible relapse can feel overwhelming. However, we all lived for a reason. God is not through with us yet! God Bless You All!
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Look at what my best friend did with my picture!
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We all have 24 hours in a day. How we spend these hours is important. Watching a little bit of a video about how sitting affects us made me aware of how much sitting and laying down I do. Gonna have to work on that.Your turn. Tell me another truth.
Stephanie
Thanks for sharing this and keep kicking butt!
Ferr