Hi,

You're going to be ok. When you start researching stuff, it may bring on some anxiety, which can makes you feel short of breath, dizzy, and kind of hyper focused on how you feel.

Sounds like the PE could be from the birth control, and smoking is bad when you're on that kind of bc so that just makes the risk higher for clotting. So, assume you are no longer on that birth control right? Listen, it's never good to smoke, but you know that, and it's obvious you're trying to quit. I don't know if it will make your PE situation worse, but it may effect how well you feel you can breath over all. You're lungs have been through a really trying event. You may want to talk to your doc about if there's something you can take to help to quit smoking. I congratulate you on cutting your smoking by so much! Feel good about that. And just build from there. I hope folks who quit smoking after the PE can offer you some encouragement.

Don't try to make all these big life style changes at once, like quitting smoking, eating better etc. Diet didn't directly cause your PEs, although it's good to start eating healthier because that just makes you feel better overall, but trying to change your diet, plus quitting smoking at the same time is a LOT. It's easy to beat yourself up over both. Start trying to go for walks (if your doc says ok), relax, get your mind in a good place. Things will start to fall into place. Be kind to yourself. Recovery can take a while, so try not to worry too much.

Thank You, you've made me feel a lot better. It is all just so over- whelming. I mean I have an * year old daughter who needs me for a very long time still. It's hard not knowing what caused this, I mean what if it is something like breast cancer or something...

You're welcome.

It is likely not cancer. There are so many of us out here who either clotted from birth control, or it was just a fluke that we clotted and no one could determine why. The good thing is they caught it and you're going under treatment. And once you're under treatment, you really made it through the worst in terms of immediate danger.

It's all good. Keep telling yourself that. Focus on a moment at a time. And try not to research stuff too much. It'll make you crazy with worry and doubt. Spend that time you're doing research on resting and being with your family, instead. It's a much more positive and productive way to spend your time.

And come to this site, because there is lots of support here for you.

LuvAmy,

I also have a young child (she is 6). I'm also in the panic phase, but I just got on a dose of ativan and am doing AVE therapy (It's hokey, and I can explain it in a later post, but I was surprised at how relaxed I was). I have been back to the ER 7 times since my release from the hospital, most of which was due to anxiety attacks brought on by REAL dizziness (I have now been diagnosed with a case of labyrinthitis that makes the world spin when I read - lovely, a teacher who gets dizzy when she reads. I'll be glad when that clears up in 3-6weeks!!!).

I never smoked and have never used birth control. No DVT's, no clotting disorders.

Who knows why I clotted, except that I am a clotter. Maybe for you, it was the BC combined with smoking. Who knows.

I cannot tell you not to be scared, because I was, and I learned a lot from it. I will tell you what my PCP told me: We are mothers, and first and foremost, we worry about our children. However, we need to understand that if we don't take care of ourselves, we cannot take care of them.

So take care of yourself. Quit smoking (my mother credits me with helping her stop smoking when I was 5. I saw a public service announcement about what cigarettes could do to my lungs, and I destroyed every one I found. She said it was very effective, and too expensive to replace what I had destroyed.)

I'm doing what I can to take care of me. I'm trying to lose weight, and I have my 6-year-old helping me. I eat whenever she eats, and I eat what she eats and the amount she eats (she is NOT a chicken nuggets and french fry kid - yesterday, she requested sushi and a cuke and tomato salad, so she is not the norm) . If I'm thinking of going for a second helping, she says, "Mom, remember, are you really hungry?" Just as I coached her. Its gives me a minute to stop and think. I've lost 25 pounds since late February, so it is working.

I didn't want to take anti-anxiety meds, either. When my doc put me on ativan (I hate taking pills for anything), she said, "This is not a permanent thing. This is to help you get past this very stressful time. Think of it this way: If it were for your PE, would you take them? Anxiety is no less real."

So listen to your body. Ask your docs about anything that concerns you. Come to us for help when the rest of the world just doesn't understand what your body is going through. We're here to help.

Like RMB says, continue the fight to reduce the smoking and focus your energies on getting well. There are way to many things we can worry about happening, and frankly, most of them won't. Life is too short. Enjoy every sandwich! (right, rmb?)

We're here for you.

Damn right!

Ch1, you sound positive. I know you were struggling for a bit, so this really is soooo good to see. I'm really happy for you that it seems like you're turning a corner. And I love that your kid loves Sushi!

Hi,

I'm Pete and I was smoking 20 a day before I was admitted to hospital. When my Doctor told me that I clots in my lungs I thought that they would need all the help that I could give them to recover. As my body fought off the grim reaper I thought that the least I could do for it would be to quit smoking.

i am pleased that I did as I have found that now the blood clots have dissolved I am breathing much easier than before the clot. Also, I am happy with the freedom as cigerettes no longer control my life.

You have been through a lot and I appreciate that it is not easy however, trust me, it is well worth fully quitting.

I wish you a speedy recovery and good luck in quitting.

The day I had my accident was the last day I smoked and it has been 3 months. I went straight to the hospital and from there to my brother's house where there is no smoking allowed. Then back to the hospital when I had the PE. Most times I don't thing about smoking but other times I get the urge. I am too frightened to even have one.

Good luck!!

As my pulmologist said, quitting smokng is harder than quitting heroin!

I too, was/am a smoker. I was in the hospital for 8 days with PE's and told myself, that's it. I'm done. No more smoking for me. I turned down the nicotine patch while there b/c I just wanted to get through it and what better place than in the hospital! Well, that was great right up until I got home.

It didn't take me long to give in and have a cigarette. Then I felt so badly about myself, wondering how I could even think of smoking again after what had just happened. The worse I felt about myself, the more anxiety I gave myself, and the more I wanted to smoke.

The fact that you are down to 5 is fantastic! Good for you! Keep going and trying, you will get there. My mother was a smoker and tried quitting over and over again and one day she was sucessful! It has now been over ten years for her!

Best of luck to you!

Hi LuvAmy, Definitely do give yourself some time and be sure to focus on the small successes you achieve each day. In terms of smoking, use whatever tools & tricks you can. Once I was ready to really devote myself to quitting, I used a combination of 'em. First, I made myself see cigarettes for what they really were. They were NOT a friend I could rely on to calm me down, but an insidious enemy. I looked at each cig as a dose of poison that would shorten my life. Second, I focused on all the other benefits of quitting. Having more stamina; saving money; not stinking of smoke, being able to taste food; AND proving I was stronger than my addiction to nicotine! Third, I smoked menthols, so I used menthol eucalyptus cough drops the first 2 weeks or so. When I really craved a cig and just couldn't change my focus to some other activity, I popped a cough drop. You might want to stock up on mint life SAVERS and think of them in just that way. Gum works best for some people. The key is to find what works for you and use it! Finally, look at the times when you automatically reach for your cigs. Instead of smoking right after eating food or drinking coffee, brush your teeth. If you drink alcohol, you may need to avoid it completely at first. Do drink lots of water (I add a little lemon juice and try to drink it throughout the day). You'll find that once you actually stop smoking and the amount of nicotine in your system decreases, the physical craving lessens. You'll feel SO much better physically AND emotionally once you successfully take control and demonstrate that you love yourself enough to do everything in your power to be the best that you can be. You can do it, Girl! You are toatlly worth the effort!

Smoking after this sia death sentence , sorry to be so harsh but I see a child standing in front of you. If you want to see him grow up throw them out. and if you can afford it slap a patch on they help a ton, they really do. and then buck up and do it. Save your life and raise that child!!! your worth it.. Start eating healthy foods, start taking small walks, on flat ground, even if it's just a block for awhile then make it a block and half then two. Use that thing we think is stupid that they make you breath into, and just sit and do it for like 5 minutes several times a day. They don't give us physical therapy for this thing, but it is critical we do, and practice focusing on our breathing. One woman wrote in who I guess its' a breathing specialist breath in threw your mouth like you are through a straw focus on the breath and the sound and then slowly out. you have to fight for your life, just because your released doesn't mean the damage isn't there or that your ok, it's a process. Love and Hugs

Thank You everyone for all your comments, they really helped me. I am doing really good with not smoking. I ended up at the hospital last weekend and last night. But Im okay I think I was just scarred. Last night I had a lot of pain. The er doc said that it was pain on the outter wall of my lung. So like muscle pain, maybe it got sore or tender from all the pain from the pe. But I have a lump under my arm pit and I think that that is what is giving my the sharp stabbing pain, I don't know, now I am scarred that it is breast cancer, and I got scarred to say anything to my doc today and I know I should have, ahhh what to do....

If you have a lump, you must mention it to a doctor. Is this why you were saying you were worried you had cancer?

If your child had a lump, you'd be breaking down the door to see a doctor, so I'm not sure I get why you're not doing the same for yourself.

Fear sucks. It stops intelligent people from taking rational action.

I know what you're going through, I really, really do. My motivation to quit smoking was when I started having sharp pains under my shoulder blades and rib cage - my first thought was lung cancer, because I'd smoked a pack a day for 28 years. Paralyzed with fear and sure that this was the beginning of the end, I waited a week before finally going into the doc - and it wasn't lung cancer.

Smokers have it so drummed into them that they are going to get cancer, that every symptom you have is assumed to be THE BIG C. Women have so much awareness of breast cancer, that every lump is assumed to be THE BIG C. And we panic, and let the "what if's" take over. We go on the internet to research symptoms hoping ours will just go away in the meantime. Denial and fear are fed by procrastination though, and let me tell you, in the end it makes no difference how deep your head is buried in the sand - you can only wait so long before you HAVE TO brave up and go see the doc.

Thoughts to help you "grow a pair":

1). You are a mature, responsible adult woman who can take charge of her own health, for herself and her family's sake (repeat this over and over until you believe it).

2). Ignorance may be temporary bliss, but Knowledge is permanent power: Only when you know what's happening (if anything) can you take action to remedy the situation. Once you take the first step - going to the doc - you take the power to influence the outcome.

and my favorite, short and sweet:

3.) Fear is your enemy.

By the way - It's going on 3 years since I last smoked. If I can do it, anybody can. My advice? You need to know it's EASIER than people tell you, than doctors tell you, than the media tells you. It doesn't hurt to quit - you'll have moments of uneasiness that are either amplified by your thoughts or stomped out by diversions. My best trick is huffing your favorite scent. I bought a little bottle of Lavendar essential oil, and would put a few drops in my hand and cuff my hand over my nose and breath in deep.
(Halls cough drops are great too)

LL you are my hero today!

QUIT SMOKING NOW.

And yes, I am YELLING IT. I just came back from the hospital where my mother is in ICU hooked up to a ventilator because she cannot breathe. She has lung disease, heart disease, high blood pressure and diabetes. Yes, she smoked for 40 years.

I also had smoked of 16 years and quite COLD TURKEY 21 years ago. You can do it. I had my PE (double in both lungs) in January and was recently diagnosed with sleep apnea.

I am here to tell you that lungs and heart are not something to screw around with. You are young and most things at your age are reversible.

Stay strong, look forward and surround yourself with people that will support.

Good luck and god bless.