Hi, I am 24 and was recently diagnosed with a PE the day after easter of this year. For about a week and a half before I was diagnosed, I had been having calf pain in my left calf. At first I chalked it up to a pulled muscle, but when the pain got worse and I could barely walk I knew something was up. I was at work one day talking to a nurse (I work in a psych hospital) and I was telling her about my pain. She asked me if I was on birth control. I told her yes, I had been on it for 3 years. She told me it could possibly be DVT. I had no idea what it was so I looked it up. The only symptom I had was leg pain. No redness or bulging veins or warm to the touch spots. So the tuesday before easter weekend I had had enough. I went to the ER for a doppler. Everything came back normal. No clots were found, but they sent me home with the warning, if I feel short of breath or chest pains, go to the ER. So I spent easter with my family and about two AM monday morning I had a chest pain and i became short of breath. Something I had never experienced before. I debated with myself for a good half hour before I got dressed and drove myself to the ER. Once in the ER they did the routine stuff. Blood pressure, which was through the roof...180/101...I have massive white coat syndrome. They did an EKG and two chest xrays...all normal. They chalked it up to anxiety and gave me an ativan. They did blood tests and my d dimer was off. Turns out my INR was .9 and it should be 1. At the time I didn't think that was a huge deal, but now I know that it is considered low. They started an IV and did a CT w/contrast and found a, what they told me was, small clot in my lower right lobe. They told me I was extremely lucky. I was started on a heparin drip and admitted. I was in the hospital for 6 days. The doc they assigned me determined it was a combo of my birth control and the fact I had just taken a 4 and a 1/2 plane trip in the middle of march that most likely caused it. I don't get up and walk around on planes. I will never make that mistake again. At this current time they do not think it is any clotting disorders because I have had a couple major surgeries in my past. I have a VP shunt in my brain and I was told they test your blood for that kind of stuff before a major surgery. Any thoughts on this, or should I get a second opinion?

Today is actually 7 weeks since I have been diagnosed. I felt worse after leaving the hospital than I did while I was admitted. I am tired all the time. Every little pain in my chest or side I feel, I begin to freak out. Some days or good and then others are bad. I am currently on day 5 of bad days. I get winded just walking and have little twinges in my chest here or there and i'm nauseous. Does anyone know if nausea is a side affect of coumadin/warfarin. I am also on a blood pressure med...amlodipine basylate. The nausea is new. I have just been experiencing it the last 5 or so days. I don't know how to determine between anxiety and real PE symptoms. I had a repeat CT only 4 days after being discharged for the shortness of breath and it showed the clot was already gone, but I'm scared there is another one.

My doc prescribed me xanax, but all it does is puts me to sleep. I don't like that, so I am trying not to take it. I have had a few panic attacks, but I can usually recognize them and try to work through them on my own.

I think i'm going crazy...help!