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.

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passengercreek2 01/18/2017

I'm so glad to have found this group. I'm military, on a school assignment, and finally went to the ER on 14 JAN after I could no longer put my socks on without being severely winded. CT revealed several large PE's. Frightening image. I was deemed stable, so they put me on Xarelto and sent me home. I am now experiencing the fear, frustration, fatigue, etc. that I see expressed by others. How I went from passing fitness tests at military standards, to not being able to climb a few steps without stopping, is demoralizing. How do you cope with the paranoia of clots breaking loose? I find myself being hyper-sensitive to all senses: "What was that pain in my side just now?" "If I cough one more time it's going to jar something loose", and do on.

Thanks for all the posts. Good to know I'm not alone.

LandmanMichael 01/19/2017

Passenger,

You came to the right place.

You have to trust in the cutting edge medication that is Xarelto.

I suffered from a Pulmonary Embolism back on 1/1/2017 and it scared me very much. It's a very serious matter but what I've come to realize it the following:

-Trust the analysis made by your doctor.

-Trust in your medication Xarelto to protect and prevent.

-Know that you will be fine, know that you are not alone and be POSITIVE.

-It is my understanding that 30% of people who suffer from PE'S aren't too lucky so find positivity in the fact that you are here to help doctors figure out more. Find positivity in the fact that most of us on here are getting better and you will too.

-Walk. Walk and concentrate on your breathing. Don't push yourself over the edge but get your cardio going.

I cried for several days out of fear but I said...."Michael, you are here, let's get busy living".

Passenger holler at us any time and I'm here for you as others have been here for me.

Thanks,

MLGB

passengercreek2 01/19/2017

Thanks, MLGB. I really appreciate that.

soola 01/20/2017

If you read through these posts, we're ALL crazed by what happened to us, and we all get nervous every time there's a little cramp here, a zap of something there. A few weeks ago I fell really hard on my knee (don't wear Crocs on a wet driveway) I went for an xray and my knee replacement held. Yay for that. But the bruising and swelling was painful. I happened to have an appointment with my hematologist the next day. I wasn't sure whether I should take my Lovenox shot. Would it make my blood too thin that I started bleeding internally? Or could I now form NEW clots from the bruise that was there? See? paranoia!!! The doctor said clearly I had stopped the bleeding and bruising within a short period of time, the day before. But yes, I needed to take my shot because new clots could form. Crud. I thought for sure she'd say you CAN'T get new clots while on blood thinners. Learn something new every day. I had a syringe with me in the car, so after the appointment, I went into the car and "shot up". I started laughing at what I was doing. You just have to roll with the punches, as as MLGB said above, rejoice that you are able to worry still. Beats the alternative

passengercreek2 01/21/2017

Thanks, soola. Yeah, I can just imagine you explaining to the police about shooting up in the car!

notsopatient 01/23/2017

In terms of the anxiety - I had multiple episodes of clotting before I was diagnosed. I like to tell myself that living through multiple episodes proves my body is designed to be impervious to death by PE.

Undoubtedly completely wrong, but still mentally reassuring!

And who knows, maybe it is partially right.

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