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.
I had a massive PE back in December and it has been a long, long road. I suffered huge gastro problems and still do which had to be investigated - endoscopy, blood tests, about to have colonoscopy. They think I have IBS related to anxiety caused by the PE. I have days where I feel like I have flu and am so debilatated and dizzy I can hardly move or concentrate (not good as I am a lecturer). I have lost loads of weight and have a lot of gastric pain (chest, back, nausea, diarrhea). Doc says there's nothing else he can do. Some days I am a bit better and I even managed a 12 mile walk a couple of weeks ago. I am wondering if anyone else had so many problems with recovery and how long it can take to feel "normal" again. The docs say there is no reason for me not to feel normal now but I obviously don't!
Combining a major physical/emotional hit like PEs with IBS has got to be taking a serious toll on your body. I was dating a guy once who went through a round with IBS. It was evil and unpleasant and an incredibly difficult way to live. He lost about 30 lbs in a month and became quite weak and sickly. That physical problem by itself can be hard to handle, nevermind combined with PEs.
The IBS that my old boyfriend suffered came on when I moved from another state into his apartment (an anxiety-producing situation for both of us). Obviously too soon and although the relationship lasted another couple years, it wasn't meant to be. A couple years after we broke up and his anxiety eased, the IBS disappeared as well and to my knowledge (we haven't spoken in a while now), never returned. I guess I'm trying to say, that the IBS may not be the life-sentence that a lot of docs will tell you it is. And neither are the PEs...
Take it easy on yourself, if you can. You have a lot going on and it sounds like it might be time to get a second opinion from another doc. (Not helpful when the doc says there is nothing else he can do ... or that you *should* be all better!) You deserve to live better than this.
All that said ... some of these things will ease with time. You might consider treating the anxiety as a medical issue and consider medicine and a specialist (therapist?) to help you cope with it.
Best wishes!