I had a bad case of the flu last December. However, I am a primary school teacher and a workaholic, so I did very little about it and carried on going to work.
On the last Friday before Christmas, I woke up at 4 a.m. gasping for breath. My chest was extremely tight, and I couldn’t speak or breathe easily. I made myself go to work but spent the day lying down in the staff room as I was struggling to talk or move.
I was sent home and went immediately to the hospital with a high heart rate, temperature, and blood pressure. My blood tests came back positive for blood clots, which was later confirmed by a CT scan. They told me I had a double bilateral pulmonary embolism or four large clots across both lungs.
Estrogen-based birth control was my only risk factor. This was arguably one of the scariest days of my life and I’m still living with the fact that I very well could have died that day in the staff room at work.
It’s been a long road to recovery and a large mental weight, given that I’m a very healthy and active 22-year-old. I struggle with extreme fatigue and sharp pain when I breathe. This has limited the amount of work and exercise that I can do and has been hard to become accustomed to.
My advice is to always listen to your body. It’s always better to be wrong than dead.
Resources
Women and Blood Clots: Birth Control
Signs and Symptoms
Know Your Risk
