Honestly, I don't know what happens for everyone. For me, as far as I know, I don't have any permanent scar tissue in my lungs. No one has ever said anything to that end, at any rate, and I have had other CTs after my initial diagnosis.

I did have a DVT that was chronic. I got it in 2005 and it was still there in 2009. I figured I was pretty much stuck with it. But, I had another ultrasound a few years later and it was almost entirely gone. They said there was some scarring of the vein wall, but it was really very minor, considering how long the DVT was there. So, from my experience, even chronic clots can eventually heal.

Also, I'd say my lungs are pretty much back where they were before the PE, except that I'm in bad shape. That's my own fault, though, because I didn't exercise enough after my PEs and I'm playing catch-up now. But, I can do everything I did before my PEs and my lungs don't really bother me at all. I have more issues with my (very) mild asthma.

I had an infarction with my PEs, and my lungs function fine. I still have some sensitivity to super cold weather or super humid weather but I think many people have that even without an infarction.

Most people do not have ongoing lung issues and I think a lot of what feels like lung issues are either anxiety/stress related, or we're hyper vigilant about breathing which makes it feel like we can't quite get a full breath or that we're breathing shallow. I hyper focused a lot on each breath I was taking after my PE and it's like the more I thought about my breathing, the more I felt like I wasn't breathing right. Body scan meditation helped me sort that out and relax a bit. If you google body scan meditation a bunch of stuff comes up, but here's a link just as an FYI: http://life.gaiam.com/article/about-body-scan-meditation

I think if you feel like you aren't breathing well, it doesn't hurt to talk about it with your doctor. I know some people have seen a pulmonologist, although I'm not sure how helpful it ends up being ultimately.

I too had infarction. My lungs have been feeling better over time. As far as I have heard, the lungs have a pretty good capacity to heal from damage.

Yeah I think your right about that, ce1502. They seem like such delicate organs but I think they're fairly resilient. 16 years ago my brother had like a third of his lung removed due to a malignant tumor attached to his lung. Between the loss of part of his lung and the chemo, which can cause lung damage, he's not had any lung issues at all and breaths perfectly fine.

@rmb wow, that's scary and amazing. I'm glad he recovered.

It was scary and really sad for us because his prognosis was pretty bleak but he made it and he is cancer free, living life. Not to get all philosophical and dramatic but he was a great source of inspiration for lack of a better word to me when I was recovering from my PE back in 2007. I would think to myself when I just felt like complete crap and really down about things and so scared, wow, how did my brother, my youngest sibling who was around 20 when he was diagnosed physically, mentally and emotionally survive getting that diagnosis and all that came with it, the chemo, severe weight loss, two surgeries to remove the tumor and then to remove a rib and part of a lung, the loonnggg road to recovery, and honest to god, never feeling sorry for himself, which he certainly earned the right to do so. It was humbling and necessary, to think about him during my entire recovery.

Anyway...

Our bodies are amazing machinery.

@rmb That is amazing! I will look into the meditation.
Thanks for all the replies.