3 months isn't necessarily a long time and you can still be improving ~ a year after diagnosis, depends on the severity of the initial PEs, which is something that is difficult to assess. If you've noticed improvement on good days, focus on those rather than the bad times.

Personally, I felt pretty awful 3 months after diagnosis. There was some improvement after that although things recurred after 7-8 months so back to stage 1.

I didn't have infarction, but I will say that three months out is NOT representative of where you'll be at a year, or two years, or ten.

At three months, I was still very anxious, had aches and pains along my spine and breastbone, got SOB (short of breath) very easily, and had days where I had exhaustion so extreme that I really couldn't do anything. All that continued to improve. I saw drastic improvements up until about 11 months out and continued to see more minor improvements even beyond that. I'm at four and a half years out at this point and I've been back to normal for quite a while now.

It's hard to say exactly how your path will go, but I would definitely expect to continue to see improvement past three months.

I'm also about 3 months out from bilateral PE and infarct in both lungs. At this point I'm feeling pretty good, and my energy levels are much improved. My main issue has been with irregular heart beats, but that is finally calming down a bit. As far as the infarcts, the only symptom I have directly relates to them, is a "catch" or feeling of the muscle stretching, when I take a deep breath.

I think I understand what you mean about the lungs feeling heavy. The first 6 weeks out, I felt like my lungs were full of cotton. They just seemed like they were "full", and I would get SOB, just walking across the room.

Like rosiethecat said, focusing on the good days is so helpful. I've had some ups and downs, especially as I feel better, and start doing a lot, and then find myself exhausted, and needing a "rest" day. Reminding myself that I'm still healing, helps me accepting of those times. Thinking back to where I was a few months ago , and where I am now, I truly feel very grateful.

Thank you for your replies. Very helpful. I am indeed grateful; I realize things could have turned out differently. I admit that I do get frustrated. My get-up-and-go seems to have gotten up and gone. I know time is required... as is patience. Symptoms seem to come and go. I just can't put my finger on the patterns. Perhaps there aren't any patterns. Just part of the process that I have to accept (easier said than done). Thank you for sharing your experiences. I wish you good healing and good health.

I agree with the others, that even though 3 months seems like a long time, with PE, that is not so long. I am 8 months out and still feeling the "heaviness". Like you, I have trouble describing it. We have had very warm, humid weather the past few days and my chest has hurt the past 3 days. I don't know if it is weather-related or not, just feel like I can't get a good breath. Continue to take care of yourself and enjoy the "good" days!

For months afterward, I had some mild back pain where my RLL infarction is located. I am now 11 months out from PE and I dont notice the pain anymore. My infarction was about 3cm and it felt like someone was stabbing me in the back before I went to hospital. It was probably the worst pain I've ever had.

In terms of lung capacity, my pulmonologist said that you can take away a third of a lung and not know the difference. Accordingly, any infarcs are comparatively small and should not have any bearing on capacity.

Four months out and I think the only problems that remain for me are swelling (in the leg that had my DVT) and many coumadin side effect issues. Running is harder in high humidity and bitter cold but I think that has always been a problem.

I had a bilateral PE at the end of May with an infarction in my left lung. I still feel the "heaviness" you describe. Lately I also have a "burning" sensation from time to time, probably due to the fact that I have recently increased my activity levels.
Good luck!

I had multiple small PEs in my right lung 8 weeks ago. The scan did not show any infarction, but based on my pain, the doctors think it was likely. The first four weeks I felt like I didn't improve at all, but during the next four weeks improvements in my pain and energy level have been consistent. Everyone recovers at a different pace, but infarcts heal. Hang in there!

I agree with most people here that three months is not very long as far as PE/Infarction are concerned. I had an infarction when I had my PE three years ago and at three months out my lungs were nowhere near healed. My doctors told me to give it a year, and I found this time frame to be pretty accurate (to my case at least). It took even longer than that to really feel normal when running hard (still not really sure I'm back to "normal" but I'm okay with where I am).

I'm very grateful for your replies. Thank you.

I was never told if I had an infarction or not, but I don't think I did. That being said, recovery at 3 months is still relatively early. I'm about 6 and a half months out, and I am so grateful for where I am now as compared to 3 months, I feel so much better and have more good days than bad (which was difficult in the beginning because nearly all of my days were bad, filled with fatigue and SOB). I am still having problems with the heat, meaning if I get too warm my chest will begin hurting and the only way I can feel better is when I put an ice pack directly over my chest to cool down. Some days I have worse SOB than others, but I generally feel better. Right now my system is out of whack from being on my period AND coming off of Warfarin, so I'm still adjusting to being off of my meds and being more normal than I have been since April.