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.
Ok I don't mean to sound mean here but I just have to speak up, Especially since March is blood Clot Awareness month, and seeing some of the questions being asked. I sit here and grit my teeth when I read posts about should I go to the doctor or not?, Is this a sign of another DVT? For Pete's sake people if you have to ask then Yes of course you get your butt to the doctor. I don't care how much you hate going to the doctor. Who cares if it's a false alarm. You have been through the DVT or PE once and know what it feels like, you know as well as we do if it's another PE or DVT. I don't understand what part of the following fact you don't get. More than 600,000 people are diagnosed with DVT's & PE's every year. More than 300,000 people in the United States alone DIE from them. That's more than Breast Cancer and Aids combined. I know you have seen me post this before but obviously it hasn't sunk in for some people. PEOPLE DIE FROM CLOTS EVEN WHILE ON ANTI-COAGULANTS!!!! Are you afraid? You should very well be for crying out loud. Myself I have been fortunate enough to survive 4 episodes of Bi-lateral PE's, 2 of those events were while on anticoagulants. I have learned from my experiences to know when I need to get off my butt and get to a doctor. Many of the people who are regulars on this site have pretty much experienced the same things. They know when to get moving and get to the doctor.
I know this is a great place to ask for advice and read about others experiences however we are not qualified to diagnose, nor do any of us even try, so don't ask. Like I have said before if you have to ask if these are signs then go see your doctor, you can't be to careful or to vigilant. It's your life and you should not waste time by asking if you should go to the doctor, when you already know the answer
Like I have said many of us have survived several clotting events but thats because we are our own best advocates, it allows us to continue with our lives and do what we have always done. It hasn't made us disabled but has made us stronger and more determined to survive. Yes we get down, depressed and worn out but we continue to live.
I am sorry if my Rant has offended anyone but I feel it had to be said.
Ferr
I know this is a great place to ask for advice and read about others experiences however we are not qualified to diagnose, nor do any of us even try, so don't ask. Like I have said before if you have to ask if these are signs then go see your doctor, you can't be to careful or to vigilant. It's your life and you should not waste time by asking if you should go to the doctor, when you already know the answer
Like I have said many of us have survived several clotting events but thats because we are our own best advocates, it allows us to continue with our lives and do what we have always done. It hasn't made us disabled but has made us stronger and more determined to survive. Yes we get down, depressed and worn out but we continue to live.
I am sorry if my Rant has offended anyone but I feel it had to be said.
Ferr
And in case it wasn't clear from my last post, I don't know how you guys with kids do it. I took care of my nephews for 3 summers when they ranged from 6 months to 6 years old, and it was the hardest thing I ever did. I admire all of you parents, cause even thought you're sick you're still a parent. Wow.
I'm lucky in that I still live with my mom and brother and have no kids but I'm 23 now and when I go to the ER those bills are on me which makes me hesitant to go to the ER because if it's nothing then I'll owe even more bills that I can't pay. But there's also the thing that if I don't go it could be something and I could be dead.
And also, like someone else mentioned...I fell guilty for going and wasting the ER doctors time when it's nothing and also the time of whoever takes me to the ER. No matter what my life has changed and I don't think I'll ever stop analizing every chest pain, every back pain, every random odd leg pain and I guess I just have to get used to my new normal and figure it out so I'm not running to the ER all the time.
Karen, I do understand where you are coming from as far as an angry husband, I see it so much with families of my patients and I so want to stomp on them big time, however in my line of work I need to have some resemblance of tact. (I don't always have much Tact.)
Unfortunately we do see quite a few members on this site that don't have the support of family to help them through this weird roller coaster ride from Hell, And that too is another reason we have such a great group of people on here, is to give that support to each other.Don't ever think I haven't asked the same questions that many of you new folks here have asked, Even though I am older, and have been through the PE gambit several times, over several years I still get scared, anxious and yes Determined not to let any of this get the better of me. (I'm in denial) Thinks still freak me out, well just a little now. Another thing even though many of us have health insurance don't make it any cheaper for us. believe it or not hospitals and doctors charge a different rate for people with insurance than they do people without insurance. i think i will be paying medical bills for the rest of my life. Heres another little story I want to share with some of you.
Way back in 1991 my youngest daughter came home from the hospital after spending the first 18 months of her life in the PICU. My husband and I have pretty fair health insurance but 2 weeks after we brought her home we received a bill in the mail for our share of the $3 1/2 million dollar hospital bill. Our share was $320,000. That's quite a chunk of change and we sure are glad we didn't have to pay the full 3 1/2 million. I remember the bill came certified in 3 manila envelopes and when I opened it I sat down in the middle of our living room floor and laughed my butt off. At that moment a person for the local collection agency called demanding I pay a 28.00 bill that had been turned in for collection. I just laughed even harder and explained what I was holding in my hand and told her if she wanted to take me to court go ahead she would have to wait a long time in line. To this day I can remember it as vividly as if it happened yesterday. That's when I realized that when God gives you lemons you make lemonade because there really are some things you have no control over, I also learned not to sweat the small stuff because they can't take you to prison for having monster medical bills you can't pay. Whats that saying you can't get blood from a turnip, however i did offer my first born child who at the time was in his terrible teenage years but they respectfully declined the offer.
Hugs
ferr
Actual conversation, overheard at Pulmonary Rehab the other day:
Patient: "How long will I have to keep coming here?"
Therapist: "Usually it's 12 weeks, 36 sessions".
Patient: "That many????"
Therapist: "It takes a little while for your breathing to improve and your endurance to build. We are trying to improve your ability to breathe".
Patient: (Deadly serious!!!) "I can't possibly come here that long. My husband says he doesn't have time to keep bringing me. He has things to do".
When I read all of the "rants", I just want to say, that life is precious. If we need to take time to stay alive, then somebody is going to be inconvenienced. My heart went out to that lady, who was quite upset because of her husband's "busy schedule". (She appeared to be in her 70's....how busy is he really?? Probably missed a few golf rounds).
I've had the great ER debate with myself. I stayed awake all night with severe angina and pain shooting up into my jaw, so that my husband could get some sleep before I asked him to take me to the emergency room at 5:00 am. Now here's the kicker: I am an RN, I used (many years ago) work in the ER, and I knew that patients 'thinned out" about 4 AM so that if I could wait a little, there wouldn't be a long wait in the waiting room. Talk about stupidity!!!!!
I was admitted for 3 days, with a resultant cardiac cath, CT scan, etc.
I was worried that my husband was tired, I had things on my "to do list" for my job, and my work would be piling up if I got admitted, and my job would be upset that I wasn't keeping up (I'm an older worker with younger ones salivating to get my job). Not to mention the finances - every trip to the ED is at least $200 co-pay (with my halfway-decent hospitalization insurance) not to mention the doctor bills. I'm too old to start looking for a new job, and too young for Medicare. My husband is 72 years old, and very supportive; he's not the problem. But I am the major breadwinner in our house now. All of these things went through my mind during that very long night. Not to mention that I COULD HAVE DIED.
CowgirlUp, you said the big stuff: "I just have to get used to my new normal and figure it out"......
None of us want to have our tombstones say "I thought I would inconvenience everyone if I went to ER"......
JR