Hello!

I am 21 years old (just turned in September) and recently suffered a Pulmonary Embolism, originated from Deep Vein Trombosis. I live in Portugal, where healthcare is "free" but in some ways lacking in quality of treatment and resources.

Here's my story:

First I felt a pain in my left leg. It started on my hip and got worse if I moved it. I didn't pay any attention to it, thinking it was Sciatica. After 10 days, it went away... and I forgot about it.
For weeks I felt strangely tired. With each day my tiredness grew. Small efforts left me exhausted, panting and with my heart beating wildly.
I went to my GP. Those are the worst kind of doctors out here. He didn't hesitate to brush me off and blame it on anxiety, sending me away.

My symptoms got worse. A week later I woke up one morning with excruciating pain on the right side of my upper back. I went to the hospital's Emergency Department.

The first doctor that saw me was skeptic, asking if I didn't have a flu (dumb question!). He finally asked for a chest X-ray. After seeing it he became worried and told me it was something complicated. He also forbid me to walk any more and use the wheelchair instead.

After a long wait of 3 hours, I had another exam... a CAT scan. They had to inject some fluid before it, and the clumsy doctor ended up bursting 4 of my veins before getting it right. The whole stress of the situation led me to break down in tears.

The CAT scan determined I had a Pulmonary Embolism. They rushed me to do a echocardiogram. The doctors were amazed at the extent of damage in my heart. I only perceived that the pulmonary artery was really enlarged, but there was more.

I left that room in a hospital bed, rushed to the Intensive Care Unit. Immediately I had a bunch of doctors and nurses asking questions and connecting me to machines, starting me on thrombolytic therapy.
While there, my "forgotten" leg pain came back and I told the doctors about it. My blood pressure was through the roof, my pulse was quick and I had a low fever, causing the machines to constantly beep. They made me wear anti-thrombolic stockings.

24 hours later I was transferred to another unit, not much different. I was still constantly monitored and couldn't move. There I had another breakdown and cried one night. I spent 4 days there, bedridden. Finally my BP stabilized and they allowed me to sit on a chair. I was tranferred to a normal hospital room.

My recovery finally started showing. I could finally sit on the armchair by myself. Gradually my shortness of breath improved. 2 days later they allowed me to walk to the bathroom. My legs were wobbly.

On the 7th day of my hospital stay I finally reached a reasonable O2 saturation and stopped the oxigen. That day my INR also finally reached the therapeutic level (2,8). I was discharged.

I couldn't believe I was outside. Actually, I was really scared. Was I discharged too soon, I thought? The first few days I felt weak and scared, but gradually improved. Often I slept 12 hours a day. One week after being discharged I returned to my classes, just for one day. I felt fine during the day but exhausted at night and it was difficult for me to wake up really early the next morning.

A day later I caught the flu, and it hit me hard. In fact, 4 days later it's still bad. Let's hope it doesn't last much longer.

In short:
- 7 days in the hospital
- 2 weeks since release

My indications when leaving the hospital were simple: wear compression stockings (knee length) class 3, take Warfarin (one pill, 5mg a day), do INR tests every week and call if the level isn't between 2 and 3, do a few exams (Doppler, echocardiogram, echography, ...) -- come back for a follow-up 1 month after my discharge.

The doctor said I could re-start activities as soon as I felt capable to. She recommended moving around a bit, because it would help blood flow and speed recovery. I just needed to pay attention to my body and rest when needed.

I should also watch my diet, since vitamin K would interfere with Warfarin... I shouldn't change my usual diet and insert too many vegetables. Plus (and this was stressed from day 1), I would never take the birthcontrol Pill again.


This was a really scary experience for me. After my diagnosis I was scared of falling asleep each night... even more after my discharge. I received a lot of support from friends and family, but I think they often understate my condition and brush it off now as something of the past.

Before all this happened, I was the healthiest person ever. I ate healthy, exercised every week, didn't smoke or do drugs. I'd never had a serious disease nor had anyone in my family. My blood sugar and my cholesterol levels were always perfectly normal. Every year I had regular check-ups and tests. I was a blood donor!

It was a very unexpected experience. One I won't forget as long as I live.