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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Pain in Shoulders / Back / Neck

rytheguy71
rytheguy71
It has now been about 10 months since my clotting episode, and I continue on Warfarin until February. It really seemed like things were getting a lot better, as I had a lot of anxiety and panic attack type episodes when I got out of the hospital, but haven't had them in a while. Recently, in the past month or 6 weeks, I have a stiffness in my neck, and my neck will pop when I twist it side to side. This from time to time will cause me to have a headache that seems to start in the back of the neck where it connects to my head. I also have a feeling of pain in my shoulders- it feels to me like the rotator cuff (I had hurt my shoulders long ago playing football), but I don't recall doing anything to tweak them- I haven't been working out or anything. Now, today, I have a pain that seems to be in my mid back on the right side... Add to this the continued GI strangeness ( it seems I have loose stool at least once a week, and urgency)....Also I have pain in my jaws that I think may be from TMJ, and my wife tells me I am grinding my teeth at night

Does any of this sound normal to have these types of pains this far out from the episode?

Also, I read that Rheumatoid Arthritis may cause blood clots.. I have never been diagnosed as such, but my grandfather did have this back in the 60's. Does anyone on here know about RA and clotting?

Ryan
rmb
rmb
I don't know that any of it is necessarily related to your PE. If you're grinding your teeth, you could have TMJ and that can totally mess with your head, neck and shoulder. I had similar issues a couple of years ago. My neck and along my throat hurt. The right side of my neck was very rigid and tight. It was visibly noticeable. Also, my shoulder and whole right side would get very stiff. My doc referred me to an ENT who said it was TMJ. I don't know if that's your situation but I'd not automatically assume it's part of your PE recovery.
rmb
rmb
Also, some autoimmune diseases can increase the risk of clotting so yeah RA may be one of them. Do you have symptoms of RA? I mean, I know you have some neck and shoulder pain but I don't know that I'd go to RA right off the bat.
rytheguy71
rytheguy71
Well, I looked up the symptoms of RA and they say that it normally starts in the smaller joints ie fingers, toes... So the shoulder thing would be a bit abnormal.. The thing is, I haven't really done anything to hurt my shoulder or use it to lift, push, pull, etc.and it is in both shoulders. Couple that with the fact that my grandfather had it, it got me to thinking.....I don't have the warm, red swollen joints or fever or weight loss (that might be nice:)), but I do have fatigue

What did they do for your TMJ?
rmb
rmb
They didn't do anything. I just had to be mindful of teeth clenching and anything like gum chewing or eating really hard food. I don't think I clench my teeth at night, at least I'm not aware of it. I think it's more that I clench when I'm tense plus my bite isn't aligned. So for me, the symptoms sort of went away on their own once I relaxed. I did a lot of stretches and stuff and tried to not be so focused on it because I think that just amped everything up. Sometimes, they'll prescribe a mouth guard.

I do know that sometimes when people have RA it can cause TMJ but you're right. Usually, RA affects the small joints first. I think if it continues get checked for it. It's hard to diagnose RA sometimes. There's not one definitive test.
corvid100
corvid100
I have very similar symptoms. My neck, midback, and shoulders tend to spasm up rather easily, and I get headaches stemming from the back of the neck. Years ago, when all the symptoms started I went to a doc, and he figured it was probably a disc problem.No imaging was done, but the diagnosis makes sense to me I also had frozen shoulders, so that didn't help either.. It comes and goes, but I've found having the the right kind of pillow helps, otherwise, I'll wake up with a headache. I try to be aware of what I'm doing with my body. Sometimes I'll realize my shoulders are all tensed up and are hunched up towards my ears.

I'm also a clencher/grinder. I should use a mouth guard, but I have a mighty gag reflex and can't stand anything like that in my mouth.The first couple of month out from my PE, I cracked two teeth, from clenching. Oh well, they needed to be crowned eventually anyway.

Of course, the best thing is to see a doc and see what they can do for you.Hopefully, something can be done to prevent this from being a chronic problem.
rytheguy71
rytheguy71
Thanks Corvid, that pretty adequately describes what I am experiencing right now to a T. I guess the pain I am feeling in my back could be a muscle spasm. It isn't constant, it kind of comes and goes. The headache thing is spot on- back of the neck, is where it starts and if I rub and press on my neck in certain areas, it does offer some relief

I see my pulmonologist tomorrow for my final follow up visit before the 12 months is up. I am definitely going to bring all of this up and see what input he may have. I also snore rather loudly (according to everyone who rides me about it!), so I may have some sleep apnea. I have read that the clenching / grinding (bruxism) is also a side effect of apnea
rytheguy71
rytheguy71
Well, I saw my pulmonoligist and he has me set up for some x-rays on my shoulders. He doesn't think it is the frozen shoulder thing. As for the bruxism, they want to do a sleep study on me as well, with extra monitors on my jaw action
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