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.

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/ Pulmonary Embolism Support Group

New here & to PE

lapopessa
lapopessa
Hello,

I just wanted to introduce myself. I am back at home after being in ERs and hospital for 3 1/2 days. This started with shortness of breath that was diagnosed as pulmonary embolism caused by blood clots from my leg.

Long story short, I'm at home now on Lovenox and Coumadin, waiting for the 2nd to get my INR up before getting off the Lovenox. My INR is currently 1.3, up from 1.2 yesterday. So my coumadin has been increased since the INR number wasn't going up fast enough.

My legs never hurt, but I did have cramping through my right leg (foot and thigh). My leg is fine when I'm sitting or walking, but it has been odd during the night. Not quite cramping, but feeling like it's going to. Still foot / thigh.
Is that something that folks here have experienced in those days before the INR gets lowered? I'm just not quite sure what is going on there.

I go to see my regular doctor on Monday, but am trying to grab piece of mind (or at least understanding) before then.

I am home now, with oxygen (in apt & portable canister), so that I can recover my breathing better when moving. When I'm sitting down or laying down, no problem. But getting up or walking - problem.
deleted_user
deleted_user
So glad you are home, and recovering,,3 days is a relatively short hospital stay, so glad you got to recover at home so soon. I had bi-lateral clots, and never was told anything about my legs hurting afterwards. I even felt such pains in my legs that finally my doctor ordered another ultrasound of my right leg,,nothing there, but in a followup visit to the pulmonologist, I mentioned all of the leg pain,,and he said that it is VERY common for the vessels in your legs to ache for a considerable time after clots, due to the trauma the vessels have been through getting clots through them in the first place,,so I have just quit that worry,,so if you continue to feel much pain,,get another ultrasound on legs to rule out any residual clots,,but I do feel lot's more comfort in knowing it is a common complaint from clotters like us! Hope your INR gets stable quickly as that too helps to put your mind at an ease as it is very hard to have the same experience again once your inr is in therapeutic range!! Have a great day and weekend!
lapopessa
lapopessa
Thank you! It's amazing how much more (and better) info we can get from our peers than from the doctors. I appreciate your reply.
deleted_user
deleted_user
Anytime,,keep me updated with your progress,,we are in a large, but still unique group of people!! Hope your recovery is quick, and event free!!
donnajbridges
donnajbridges
I, too, had severe pain in my leg (left one) about a month out from diagnosis. Really worried me, but I read posts from several on this site, and finally went to my dr. and he told me it was common. I wonder why they don't tell us that before we leave the hospital????
This forum is invaluable! It has saved me many a trip to the ER. I'm almost 5 months out now and still have pain and SOB, but thanks to so many who take the time to care enough to post info and encouragement, I don't worry nearly as much as I did at the beginning. I am getting better, and I know you will, too! Hang in there.