I am a keen runner and I live in a national park in Wales, so I regularly run by myself in the hills. This is my happy place. Last year I ran for Wales for the first time, representing my country doing what I love, which was an incredible feeling.
In early January of this year, I did a 16-mile run in the local hills and found it quite tough, but I’d just completed an intense training block, so I was expecting to feel tired. That night, I woke up in excruciating pain, and my entire left leg throbbing and swollen. I struggled to get down the stairs to get some painkillers and could barely bend my knee. I thought it was a calf injury but was confused because I hadn’t felt any pain during the run.
Luckily, my older sister is an ER doctor, so when I shared a photo of my big fat calf, she suggested I get checked for DVT. The ER is an hour away, but the only option was to head there and wait. I was shocked when a scan revealed a blood clot in my thigh.
I was given oral anticoagulants and sent home. However, a few days later, my leg was still swollen, I felt exhausted, and I developed a cough with no other symptoms of a cold. It seemed to get slightly worse and I could feel some intermittent pain in my chest, especially when I coughed. I knew there was a risk of PE, but my symptoms weren’t alarming and my stats were all within normal ranges.
Despite that, I decided to trust my instincts and return to the ER. This time, a scan showed a large clot in my lung. The medics seemed quite surprised as I was walking around and chatting, but I knew that it wasn’t normal for me to feel so tired and short of breath whilst sitting still. I was hospitalized for three days and sent home with a very high dose of low molecular-weight heparin, which I am still injecting twice daily. Things are definitely improving, but I am trying to listen to my body so I can get back to running in the hills when it’s safe.
I found NBCA’s resources really helpful because I couldn’t find much information on returning to running, potential causes, or timelines for recovery so it was helpful to hear people’s stories (particularly younger people and athletes), find a timeline, and answers to FAQs.
My advice is to listen to your body — you know it better than anyone else. Symptoms and recovery will look different for everyone but try to focus on what you can do and not fixate on what you can’t.
Resources
Athletes and Blood Clots
New Patient Resource Guide
Questions to Ask Your Doctor
