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.
Hi everyone,
I'm over from the DVT board but thought someone on the PE board might have an answer. I'm 2 weeks post dx of a DVT in my lower left calf. I was put on 60mg lovenox/2x day and had a ct scan to confirm there were no clots in my lungs. I went back to the ER last Monday due to chest pains and since my VO2 was good, they sent me on my way. According to the ER doctor,
during pregnancy, PE is treated the same as DVT unless life-dependent.
Has anyone else heard this? It's scary because my chest pains are still there, although my VO2 remains high (98-99 percent with my pulse oximeter) I'm hesitant to go back to the hospital because they have already told me they will not do another CT scan, nor will they do any x-rays, etc. because of the risk to the baby (I'll be 24 weeks Tuesday.)
Thanks! :)
I'm over from the DVT board but thought someone on the PE board might have an answer. I'm 2 weeks post dx of a DVT in my lower left calf. I was put on 60mg lovenox/2x day and had a ct scan to confirm there were no clots in my lungs. I went back to the ER last Monday due to chest pains and since my VO2 was good, they sent me on my way. According to the ER doctor,
during pregnancy, PE is treated the same as DVT unless life-dependent.
Has anyone else heard this? It's scary because my chest pains are still there, although my VO2 remains high (98-99 percent with my pulse oximeter) I'm hesitant to go back to the hospital because they have already told me they will not do another CT scan, nor will they do any x-rays, etc. because of the risk to the baby (I'll be 24 weeks Tuesday.)
Thanks! :)
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Look at what my best friend did with my picture!
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We all have 24 hours in a day. How we spend these hours is important. Watching a little bit of a video about how sitting affects us made me aware of how much sitting and laying down I do. Gonna have to work on that.Your turn. Tell me another truth.
I had a PE diagnosed when I was 8 weeks pregnant. I was on injections twice daily for the remainder of the pregnancy and then for 3 months after the birth. My daughter is 6 yrs old now.
(FYI, my husband was a submariner too, just recently retired. I'm getting care at the local Naval hospital.)
I had a physical therapist who did the shots all the way through both of her pregnancies. Had two healthy children!
Just as an FYI... the chest pains will probably come and go for a while. You're only two weeks out from diagnosis, so I'd still expect them to be pretty constant. They get less the further you go in recovery, but I'd still expect them to continue on and off for a while.
For me, I had aches and pains up until about 11 months after diagnosis. They got less severe and less frequent over time, to be sure, but they'd pop up again if I was out in hot/cold/humid weather, if I'd been exercising more than normal, if I was fighting off a cold, and etc.
Keep in mind that even if the clots disappeared five minutes after you were diagnosed, they leave a lot of damage behind and that takes time to heal. Having a repeat CT won't help with healing. Mostly, you'll just have to take your meds and be patient. It does get better, just not as quickly as we'd like!
Expect chest pain from a DVT though? That doesn't make sense to me. My calf is definitely hurting off and on. I'm actually resting it today it was bothering me so bad.
I just debate going to the hospital if there is nothing more they can really do. My HR has been just over 100 today with me sitting down. It's admittedly starting to concern me.
So, no, you are right, the chest pains aren't as normal with DVT as with PE, so I could see why you'd be concerned. However, you're already on anticoagulants, so the chance of clots forming is really, really, really small. And, even if you did have clots in your lungs, you'd still be treated in exactly the same way as you are now ... with shots of Lovenox/heparin. Nothing would change.
Have you been evaluated for anxiety at all? I'm not saying that to blow you off, but just because anxiety can cause these types of symptoms as well. For me, at least, anxiety after I clotted definitely caused all sorts of aches and pains, including trouble breathing, elevated heart rate, and chest pains. So, that is a possibility ... and you do have a lot going on between being pregnant and the recent clot. You might try some relaxing activities (warm baths, meditation, journaling) to see if that helps ... or you could check in with your doc to see if he/she has suggestions for dealing with anxiety as you progress through your pregnancy and recovery from the clot.
I guess the other thing I'd try to think about is whether there is anything besides clots that could be causing the chest pain? Maybe exposure to cleaning fumes (I had my carpet cleaned about a year ago that caused all sorts of symptoms I thought were PEs until my doc and I realized that the symptoms started right after the cleaning), changes in how you're sleeping (due to baby) or how you're walking (due to DVT), fighting off a cold, or anything else that could be affecting you?
Also, you might ask your doc if you can put light heat or cold on the clot area. I used light heat throughout my DVT recovery and it helped a lot. Some folks were told cold, though, so its best to check with your doc.
Again, sorry for my earlier confusion.
The only thing different is I've had horrible allergies. I'm taking Claritin during the day- I'm wondering if that's messing with my HR.
I've been trying so hard to relax. I understand there isn't any more they could do- but my HR going from the 80s-100 is alarming. I spoke with my OB on the phone tonight and she told me her concern is it's something heart related. I was told to stay hydrated and see if that helped. I don't know. I just feel off right now. I'm debating on going in.