On Day 10 of a mild case of Covid and after running five miles that morning, I developed pain under my collarbone right before bedtime.
I thought it might be a coronary vasospasm, which I get, so I took nitroglycerin. It didn’t help, so I decided to measure my oxygen, which was in the mid-80s.
I was home alone so I called my internist and told him I thought I had pleurisy or bronchitis because it hurt to take a deep breath. He told me I needed to go to the ER to make sure I didn’t have a blood clot. I was tired and I absolutely hated going to the ER or hospital so I went to bed.
I couldn’t sleep on one side because the pain was so bad. I got up the next morning and agreed to have an outpatient CT scan done. When I left, I was extremely tired and in some pain, but thought it was a waste of time.
About an hour later, my physician called and told me to go immediately to the nearest ER because I had multiple pulmonary emboli and pneumonia. He said I was lucky to be alive.
I was in the hospital for about a week with blood clots and severe GI bleeding. I was clotting and bleeding at the same time. They put in an IVC filter because of GI bleeding, which made me not a good candidate for blood thinners.
Six months later they removed the filter which had tilted and migrated into the left renal vein and was full of blood clots. It was a very difficult IVC removal. I am now on enoxaparin injections twice a day for life. I have GI absorption issues so I can’t take oral anticoagulants and I now have acquired protein S deficiency.
About a year after the first clots, I had another pulmonary embolism. My current diagnosis is chronic thromboembolic disease and I’m watched carefully for pulmonary hypertension.
Unfortunately, I am now left with residual small permanent clots in the peripheral parts of all the lobes of my lungs. My humble advice is don’t wait to go to the hospital if you have symptoms of a blood clot.
Resources
Protein S Deficiency
Signs and Symptoms
How is a PE Diagnosed?
