PE 1 month ago. Can this be another PE?

[bishop]

Hi guys,

I've been out of the hospital for a month now, since I had the PE.  I've been back to the ER a couple times because I get very anxious over any cramps or pains I feel in my chest.  I'm doing physio now, 3 times a week, and I'm also walking, which I wasn't doing when I got the first PE.

I get these little cramps in my chest that come and go and I find I'm always thinking about my breathing, trying to breathe as deeply as possible to see if there is any new pain.  My breathing doesn't increase the pain, but these little pains still do come and go through my chest.  The pain from the PE was probably a 9.5 or a 10 out of 10, and these little pains are only a 2 or 3, but they still worry me.  My INR is 2.6 right now, but is this enough to prevent a new clot?

I feel like I'm wasting the hospital's time now if I go to the ER for a 3rd time in a month, post-PE, just to find out after tests that I'm ok.  I've had 2 CT scans of my chest and been x-rayed at least 10 times in the past month!

[rivitsky]

Hello, bishop. I understand what you're going through....little bit of my background;
tore the meniscus in my left knee. Had arthroscopic surgery to repair tear.  Three days later I ended up with several pulmonary embolisms and I thank God that he gave me the sense to call the ambulance when I did or I wouldn't be here. After the initial hospital stay I spent the next few months going to the ER, either by ambulance or drove myself...I think at least 6 times!  As the doctors told me, better to be safe than dead. Every time I didn't feel right I would get a feeling of dread that became a panic. My heart started throwing many pvc's (extra beats that give you that fluttery feeling).

On top of that, my knee surgery did not have good results and my knee cap was moving all over the place, but it couldn't be fixed until my blood was stable...turns out I have a clotting factor. I had to have my leg in an immobilizer for almost 10 months and put on 80 pounds from total inactivity.  I had to have my knee operated on again last July and this time the arthroscopy was done in a hospital and only after I had a Greenfield filter placed in my vena cava. A year after that surgery and my knee is still screwed up. Anyway, my INR is never stable...my numbers always range from anywhere from 1.9 to 7.5...crazy. I'll be on Coumiden for life.   That was all a very scary time, since I had narrowly escaped death I thought that every little flutter in my chest was another PE. I take heart pills to keep the pvc's at bay. THe pain from the PEs was horrendous but it only lasted for a few days in the hospital.  But 7 months after the PEs I had chest pain and went once again to the ER and was checked out. Looks like it might be nothing more than a hiatel hernia, but I'll be darned if I'm having anymore surgery anytime soon.  It may take a long time to get to the "theraputic" stage with the blood thinner meds.  Hopefully you have a doctor who understands the fear that you feel inside and will help to reassure you.

[bishop]

rivitsky, thanks for the reply.  It really helps to hear from other people who are going through (or have gone through) the same experiences.  My doctor has been very helpful and relieved some of the anxiety I had been feeling by explaining how the clotting I had will change things for me in the future.  The only thing I can't get used to is the aches and pains I'm getting through my body and my leg.  They all worry me, still.