In July 2022, I gave birth to my second child via C-section. In October, I was doing physical therapy for my back. I woke up one morning and my left leg felt off, like a bad muscle cramp.
Within a few days, it progressed to the point where I could not walk without extreme pain and couldn’t go up any steps. I shrugged it off because it was my oldest child’s birthday party day and I refused to miss it.
Immediately after her party that evening, I took myself into the hospital, explained what was happening, and underwent a bunch of tests. I had X-rays (to rule out anything there), labs, CT with contrast, ECG, etc.
Come to find I was having tachycardia alongside a high D-dimer test. I also had some chest pain. They said I had bilateral pneumonia, which was the oddest thing. I had zero cough (I always get a cough with it; I’ve had it before multiple times).
The doctor comes in and offers to have me get further testing with nuclear medicine or I can be transferred out to another hospital. I chose the transfer, never truly knowing if I had a PE, but having some signs I wonder to this day.
I got to the second hospital and it was confirmed that I had a clot in my leg. I ended up being admitted and stayed for almost three days with a constant heparin IV. I was discharged on apixaban and still take it to this day.
Resources
Living Your Best Life on Blood Thinners
Blood Clots and Pregnancy
Signs and Symptoms
