In 2021, I was experiencing shortness of breath, blue lips, constant fatigue, and brain fog. I could barely walk up one flight of stairs to my apartment and would collapse at the door many times. My doctor kept saying it was bronchitis and would regularly test for Covid, which always came back negative.
I ultimately terminated my relationship with my primary care provider and switched to another who listened to me. She ordered blood tests and scans and called me one night after my third visit with her, saying: “Go to the ER right now, you have a DVT and PE, you have blood clots.” If I hadn’t kept advocating for my body, I truly believe I wouldn’t be here today.
The pulmonary embolism was putting extra pressure on the right side of my heart. The game plan was three months of blood thinners to fix the clots, but things didn’t seem to be getting better. I monitored my pulse/oxygen like a person waiting for their paycheck — my oxygen was consistently at 86%. Still, they believed this could be due to the high elevation in Colorado.
Typically, blood thinners can help break these clots up and stop new ones from forming. That was not my case. Six months after my clots were discovered, I was diagnosed with CTEPH (chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension), meaning they were now permanently in my tissue. Open heart surgery was the only way to save my heart from failing. The valve on the right side of my heart was clogged, and the clots in my lungs got to the point of being six inches in my right lung and eight inches in my left long, leaving the left one pretty much non-functioning.
In 2022, I got the news that I could receive open heart surgery in San Diego. I spent four days in intensive care and five more days in the hospital recovering. Thanks to the amazing team there, I was clot-free, with 18 wires holding my healing lungs together and my heart on its way to being happier than ever!
I want to bring awareness to this because of the impact it has had on my life, good and bad. Women need to know what they are putting in their bodies when it comes to a lot of things, specifically birth control. The doctors concluded that my clots had formed due to my taking birth control, which is jam-packed with estrogen.
Unfortunately, my experience with blood clots changed my mental health drastically. I was diagnosed with severe panic disorder and PTSD after my surgery and still deal with it now, in 2025. On a positive note, it changed my life because I found a purpose to be an advocate for spreading awareness!
I have learned a lot and have become part of a community that actively wants to spread awareness about blood clots and supports each other during the scary times and the healing process. Because of NBCA, I was able to save a friend who suffered a blood clot after working out because of a story that was shared.
My advice is to trust your gut. If something feels off, get help, and don’t be afraid to break up with a doctor who isn’t listening to you. Women, especially, should know that birth control can cause clotting.
