About two weeks after a surgical procedure, I began having pain on my left side near my rib cage and towards my back. I assumed I had pulled a muscle due to overcompensating with my upper body post-surgery.
The pain became relentless and I began having shortness of breath that I assumed was musculoskeletal pain from a pulled muscle. I knew the risks of a potential pulmonary embolism post-surgery as an ER nurse and decided to get checked out just to be safe.
The ER physician did not want to do a CT and said I was young, healthy, and clinically looked great, but he ran a D-dimer at my insistence. The results were elevated, so a CT was ordered.
A large clot was found in my right pulmonary artery and I was admitted for three days and oxygen-dependent for two weeks. I stayed on apixaban for six months and my doctor recommended stopping due to the clot being provoked.
Four months later, I was driving a lot for a travel nursing contract and started recognizing all the same symptoms, despite taking every precaution while driving. Once again, I was found to have several clots in my lungs.
I’m lucky that I don’t have any cardiac issues resulting from this, and slowly but surely, I am getting back to normal life. I’m thankful that I trusted my gut in the beginning! Working with my hematologist, we now know that I have a clotting disorder and will forever be on apixaban. I’m thankful for many more trips around the sun with my family!
Resources
Living Your Best Life on Blood Thinners
Hospitalization and Surgery
How is a PE Diagnosed?
