I recall it took me about a year before I didn't have any issues. Today (3 years out from 2d episode) I don't even notice it. I mean, unless I'm trying to go uphill fast or something :)

I'm not much of a runner, but I have been known to hike and bike. From my perspective, you're only four months out and so you have tons of time for improvement.

I had my PEs in January of 2010 and the next two winters had a hard time in cold weather and at altitude. (I live in Colorado and go up to the mountains regularly.) It was better the second winter than the first, but still not perfect.

But this last winter in 2012-2013, while hiking in snow at high altitude in below-freezing temperatures, I did fine and had no issues at all other than just feeling a little out of shape. Didn't feel like my lungs were holding me back at all.

I mean, no guarantees that you'll get back to exactly where you were, but I wouldn't say that this is as good as it will get at this point, either.

Great, thanks. Good to know things should improve. I just need to be patient.

I didn't start trying to run until the 5 month mark. I had very little lung capacity starting out. I was able to make consistent improvement over 3 months but then I seemed like I hit a wall and couldn't improve any further. Pushing myself hard just resulted in some lung pain or starting to wheeze. It scared me a little and I've been set back by going to the doctor to ask about it (they were very unhelpful).

Since I wasn't an athlete before hand, I think it will just take me longer to get to the next level, so I'm trying to be patient. It's just a little frustrating at times. I'm at 13 months now. I'm hoping that if I can keep working at it, I'll start to see slow improvement again.

FGtri, there are many factors, prominent among them are: the extent of lung tissue damage, your age, your fitness level and overall health prior to this incident, and the extent to which your current running plan challenges your current lung capacity. I do not know the answers to any of these. I was 54 when I had a very serious incident. I had been a competitive runner, still running sub-3 hour marathons at 53 years old. It took a lot of work, and some disappointments, but eventually I was able to run a 2:58 at Boston in 2012. If you want to know a little about my running recovery, and share some more about your situation, I'd be happy to help.

Hey there!

I wasn't much of a runner but a big weight lifter and bball player. I'm about 3 months out too and still can't feel like I get that full breath feeling though I started to play bball again and I'm back to lifting. I had a ton of anxiety associated with my pe and I think it makes my breathing worse. I just this week started on celexa to help ease that so maybe it'll help a bit more.

My chest didn't stop hurting for 4 months. It was over a year before I could ride my bike with my friends on anything but their recovery rides. I thought that was going to be my new normal. It wasn't. On good days, I'm out front now.

I'm 49- had bilateral P.e. And lung infarct. Just started running consistently a month ago ( about 7 months post- diagnosis) . My breathing settles and I can go longer but any speed effort causes pain in my lungs - especially on the right. It is worrying me somewhat- keep thinking I must be damaging my lungs. Hope it eases eventually- trying to pull back again :-(

Hi,

I had a bilateral PE with lung infarction in May 2014 and a second PE in November 2015 (much less full on).

I resumed running (on a treadmill) 4 months after my PE, but I could not do much. However, by March2015 I was able to run my pre-PE distances. After my second PE in November I took a one month break from running.

Even nowadays, if I do really intense tempo runs or run in the winter, I still experience quite a good deal of pain even after almost two years. However, I have to say that it decreased in intensity over time.

I alked about this with my pulmonologist. He said that I have this pain is probably due to the fact that part of my infarcted area was close to the pleura, the membrane that conntains the lungs, and because I have developed adhesions (a type of scar tissue).
This kind of pain is not dangerous and we are not damaging our lungs, however we have to take into account that it is much easier to irritate them. When it happens to me, I just make sure to take it a bit easier on the following runs.

If you are really concerned about it, I would suggest you to speak with your pulmonologist so that he/she can give you some peace of mind, but if everything is fine with you heart rate and breathing, I think you should not be overly worried.

Good luck!

Thank you for that ! Wearing my heart rate monitor around the house today because I have become so paranoid about the pain. Prior to this I hardly noticed aches and pains- now I am obsessed :-(. The adhesion theory makes total sense. Apparently it was a sizeable infarct so not surprising. I am scheduled to run today but might go with the slow pack :-)