Hi Jill1109, Yes, the chest pain seems to be a normal symptom for me. It's been six months since my diagnosis. I had large PEs in both lungs. You're right about when you're sitting around, the chest pain will come in spurts. However, when I'm walking, I don't get the chest pains. Sometimes I will go for weeks without the chest pain and then all of a sudden, a quick sharp pain will occur. I really believe it's stress and anxiety that we're feeling and not so much a physical cause. I don't know, but I did get it checked out with my doctor and even went to the emergency room. My heart was fine and there didn't seem to be any other underlying conditions. To be safe, I'm going to visit a cardiologist next week to get checked out. It's crazy, but anxiety can really cause some major problems with our bodies. Be strong and have a great week.

Indwen

Thanks indwen123. I see my cardiologist every six months because he monitors my warfarin. He suggested that I see a therapist because after a traumatic medical diagnosis you can suffer from PTSD. I did talk to a therapist and she basically wanted to blame my being a control freak, getting easily distracted, bouts of sadness, anger, etc, on my childhood (you know the old your mother didn't love you enough), so needless to say that I didn't last long with that. I just want someone to listen to my concerns and understand that because I don't have any outward signs that I'm am still struggling with a medical condition. I really wish there were face to face support groups for PE survivors, but I have yet to find one in my state. This site is great because everyone is willing to share their experience, listen, and offer advice though. I'm sure this will pass, just really thought two years later I would feel better than what I do. Sometimes I think I felt better six months afterward. :)

My doctor told me that the hardest part for me would be that I would not look sick, even though my body knows I am sick. I am 1 month post PE. My heart rate at rest is still 20-25 beats per minute above my baseline, my resting respiratory rate is about 6 or 7 breaths per minute above my average, and I feel like I'm already working just sitting up and being conscious. But to the co-workers who came to see my mom in the ER last week, I look good. They have expectations that I can just pop right back into the old schedule and do just fine. Problem is, my job is on the feet, pushing wheelchairs and gurneys, sliding patients from gurney to imaging table and lifting lead-lined boxes, lead syringe shields, etc. to do nuclear medicine tests on patients. I get the sweats trying to get canned goods and cooking utensils from the pantry. Have to rest before I can cook. But I look good. And when you and I look in the mirror, we don't even look sick to ourselves. So it's sometimes hard for other people outside looking in (even therapists) to understand what it's like underneath your physical appearance.

I still get a lot of pain in my lungs and it's been 2 years since my DVT/PE. I even went back to the emergency room last year because of new pain in my lungs and it turned out to be a false alarm. I also wake up at night from time to time with bad chest pains. I'm not sure if it is stress, phantom pain from the PE'S, or merely anxiety. I do know that it seems to be the norm for us. I would look more for signs of breathing heavier, elevated heart rate in order to determine if the pain you have is due to a new clot. Also, do you have any particular clotting disorder, or was your clot idiopathic? If you have APS, they might keep you on a higher INR level like they do with me. I hope you feel better!

I think it can be normal to sometimes have periodic chest pain after 2 years but I wouldn't just chalk up any chest pain to having had a PE. I think there are lots of reasons, lots of mostly benign reasons for chest pain: indigestion, costochondritis, pleurisy, allergies, anemia, dehydration, etc. I do agree with indwen123 though. We can't underestimate the power of anxiety and stress, how sneaky it is, and the kinds of physical symptoms that manifest from those things.

I think therapy is awesome, and honestly, most stuff relating to how we feel and cope and deal with things happening in are life are likely from our past. I went to therapy shortly after my PE because I was struggling with panic attacks and anxiety and during the first session, we did talk about my family and upbringing. That informs EVERYTHING going forward in our life. In fact we talked about my parents a lot during the six sessions I saw this person, and I walked away feeling completely well and whole. The panic attacks stopped, my anxiety lessened dramatically. So I guess what I'm saying is therapy is a tool and talking about all aspects of yourself, not just the PE event, helps you understand why you may approach things the way you do and how to overcome those things that may trigger anxiety and stress, and that would include having had a PE and all that fear and worry that comes with that.

Most therapists don't randomly or automatically blame things on one's upbringing; that assessment is based on what you share and how you react during the session. So it may be a matter of just finding a therapist you're comfortable with, but be open to different ideas and approaches.

Just to add one more thing that can cause chest pain as well is iron deficiency. Sometimes after PE we overlook somewhat simple reasons. I dont know if this will be very pertinent to anyone else here, but my hematologist said that most regular, healthy women even need iron supplements, and pre-menopausal women on long-term anticoagulation need it even more and in higher doses (I currently have to take three pills daily). I know that I had a reduction in my chest pain after I started taking iron, not to mention I felt better overall. And I wasn't even technically iron deficient, but I had no iron deserve so my body struggled a lot each month after my period. And guess what? I had noticed for a long time that I had an increase in chest pain after my period. I thought it was hormonal, but I think now it was tied at least partially to what was going on with my blood, because I no longer have extra pain specifically at that time. So it might be something to consider, talk to your doctor about. Too much iron can be bad for you, so it's best to know how your doctor feels that iron supplementation will affect you or how much you should take.