I am six months out from my PE and I still get those from time to time. The thing that none of the doctors tell you when you are in the hospital is that you will most likely have anxiety for a while after diagnosis. Sometimes a lot of it, and it can cause those symptoms too. Just make sure you are keeping up with your medicine and getting your INR checked when you should be but if you keep feeling bad go back to the hospital.

BTW, 3 weeks out was the worst time for me recovery wise. I wasn't taking as much pain medicine and I had been home for a bit and trying to readjust to life while being a little bit weaker and everything just got a but overwhelming. Good luck.

Thank you so much Meg, it helps a lot. Yes, I am a bit overwhelmed by it all. I need to go back to work, but not sure if I'm up to it :(

Not getting a whole lot of help at home: kids help (21 and 16) a bit and MIL, who is recovering from pacemaker surgery, not much help anymore. DH died 4 years ago, so have a lot on my plate!!

Yeah, Meg is spot-on with her comments. I felt worse at four weeks out than I did when diagnosed. I had basically just been pushing too hard to get back to normal and got hit with a wall of exhaustion that I just couldn't push through. My doc slapped me gently on the wrist and told me to take it easy and cut back my work hours for a while... which I did.

Is there any way you can go back to work part-time for a while? Work a four-hour day and then head home? Maybe start small and work your way up?

The SOB and dizziness that you describe sound like they could be related to anxiety or just be part of healing. Make sure you are staying well-hydrated and try babying yourself a little bit. I know you're not getting much help at home so maybe just try to focus on what is really required? If you have the money, maybe hire someone to come clean the house (or get the kids to do it)? You really can't do it all when you're healing, so give yourself permission to cut back in some areas.

Hang in there! It really does get better!

Thanks for the info, TossNTurn.

I have to go for blood work tomorrow morning and will head to work afterwards and see how it goes. I think it will do me good to talk to others and be in a familiar surroundings. We'll see.

I have a doctor's appointment on Thursday and, depending on how it goes with work, will see what she will recommend. I'm lucky: I have a very, very supportive team :)

Where the housework is concerned: I do get the kids to help and MIL does way too much. Plus, she doesn't understand that I do have to work and that it's ok if I have to rest and recuperate when I get home. She thinks I just let myself go: she is a very strong woman who tends to recover very fast and it's hard for her to understand that I tend to have slow recoveries.