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.
Hi,
I recently went to the hospital with discomfort and a tightness when inhaling - i eventually coughed up a little blood and thats when i rushed to the ER. I was told I had small blood clots in both of my lungs that was likely caused by my birth control pills which i started about 7 or 8 months prior. I was told by some doctors that its common and others that its not - i have never known anyone to have this and im shocked that it happened to me - im 26, i work out every day, diet is normal/healthy, im not sedentary, i weigh 118lbs - no clotting disorders that i know of. Still waiting on tests but so far all looks normal. Has anyone else had this happen that is a similar age/situation to me? I really dislike being on blood thinners and want to be off of them as soon as possible. Any insight helps - thanks!!
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We all have 24 hours in a day. How we spend these hours is important. Watching a little bit of a video about how sitting affects us made me aware of how much sitting and laying down I do. Gonna have to work on that.Your turn. Tell me another truth.
I was diagnosed with bilateral PEs 6 months ago when I was 26. My only contributing factor was birth control. I'm also very active. I'm currently taking Xarelto and have my follow-up appointment with my hematologist at the end of this month to see if I can discontinue use.
How have you been feeling?
It's just one of those potential side effects of a drug that no one thinks will happen to them.
Sometimes it's not just one thing that caused the clot but several factors happening at once.
It's a lot to get your mind around but you will be ok.
If you haven't been sent to a hematologist yet, I would request a consultation to run every test under the sun to rule out a genetic clotting disorder.
Most of the time, your body will dissolve the clots on its own but it takes a couple of years. Continue taking the blood thinner until they tell you to stop.
If the PEs are small, they should dissolve over time.
Good luck!
I felt really uncomfortable in the hospital - I was there for two days and they sent me home on Eloquis. The eloquis made me really dizzy and foggy feeling I couldn't stand it. And my anxiety was overwhelming. I switched to xarelto after about ten days and I'm feeling better on it. Still a little dizzy and tired but I'm able to work and go on with the normal day. It does give me headaches, but they are bearable.I really want to get back to exercising but it's hard to tell if that's a good or bad idea. I have a hematologist appointment this week, pulmonary appointment next month, and I'll probably catch up with my primary this month. Hoping to be in the clear soon. If I knew birth control would do this I would never have taken them. I really assumed that if you were overweight, smoking, or late 30's+ that it was common to have complications but I guess not. Really crazy.
My clots weren't caused directly by birth control, but prior to the clot, I was on birth control pills for over 20 years and new all the potential side effects, and still took the pills, because you just assume that stuff is not going to happen to you, especially if you're otherwise healthy, don't smoke, etc. I think that's human nature. I would never tell women not to take birth control, even after nearly dying from blood clots. What I would say is that people should educate themselves before taking any medication, so you can make an informed decision about what you put into your body.