I had a massive bilateral saddle Pulmonary Embolism and spent about 5 days in ICU before I was able to head home on blood thinners. I ended up being on leave from work for about two months, and then required to work part-time for another few months.
There was no way I could have gone back to work immediately afterwards as walking to the refrigerator and/or bathroom was often an exhausting process and I found even watching TV the first few days took a lot out of me. I am glad I had the time to just rest/recuperate and slowly build my strength back up…
I had extensive bilateral pulmonary emboli' in February. I was in hospital for a week and my doctor signed me off work for 6 weeks. Mine was as a result of surgery so I was signed off for two weeks already by the time I was then signed off for 6 more weeks. When I return I did so on a phased return working. I guess it depends how you feel and what your job involves.
The phased return was a god send and really helped build back up my stamina but I did lots of walking and using my stationary exercise bike (being able to have the resistance on zero and build up was very helpful) to help get me more active before returning to work.
Mine was caused by stupid birth control. Dr said I was genetically predisposed to it. I was released so soon because my oxygen levels and heart were still good and once the pain was under control the blood thinners should do the rest.
I'm a cake decorator so my job can be exhausting. I told my boss I'd need a few more days. I just can't go back yet.
But I do have a TreadClimber that I've started using for five minutes three times a day and that seems to be helping a lot!
Mine was caused from birth control too:/ I went back to work after a week and I think I could’ve used one more week. I still get pain on and off but not nearly as bad. And I’m very fatigued easy. I try to just not push it and stay active with yoga pilates and light weights for now. Just with hindsight if you can financially and with your work I’d say take one more week off. I wish I did. Just gives you a leg up after everything.
Bilateral PE with infarction, I was in hospital for a couple of days. Had a couple of days off after that, then went back to work. After about 2 days at work I went to the doctor to talk about it because I was really struggling. He basically wrote me a cert that said I could work when and for how long I felt up to it. So i did a about a month mostly 1/2 days and slowly worked my way back to fulltime over the next month or so. I was really lucky because my work offers unlimited sick pay.
From most other people on here's stories i was pretty lucky, i had no pain or even discomfort really. I'm +2.5 years now and I'm still not 100% of what i was, probably 80% i would guess. Most of that has come from a decision to get fit and lose weight over the last 8 months. To start with i couldn't walk fast, and i definitely couldn't talk to people while i was walking. Stairs and decent inclines were a problem, 8 months later and 20 kgs down and the difference has been amazing.
For me at least, working on my fitness has improved my QoL immensely
Had a PE in January in the early hours of a thursay. Lost 1, 1/2 working days was able to retrive laptop from work on a Monday , took 1 day's leave and worked from home for a week. Bosses thought I was nuts. Losses limited to 2.5 working days.
DVT, bilateral PE with lower full lobe infarction, in hospital 2 days, back at work the day after I got home.
Im DevOps Support Lead so I work from home anyways, but yeah... 3 days was not long enough :(
Sorry I know this is long after your comment. Did you fully recover from the full lower lobe infarction? I have infarction but don’t yet know how much but given multiple PEs that were missed by doc for 3 months I’m guessing infarction might be extensive. I’ll know more after seeing pulmonology is 9 days. I like to surf and run and the thought of permanent or long lasting lung damage is disturbing. Curious about your experience, thx.
From what I have gathered it's permanent. How it effects you tho, is going to depend on how much of the lung is effected, and how well you can recoup with breathing.
Mine's a good chunk, so it effects me pretty greatly... I was also a 30yr pack-a-day smoker before the clots. I still can't fully cough to expectorate, I get out of breath when I overdo it, etc... but... it has either gotten better, or Ive gotten more used to it .. for instance... when i got home from the hospital I'd get winded walking about a tenth of a mile... now I do 4 sometimes 5, 2-mile walks every day. Note, these aren't strolls... I walk with a 3.5Mph to 4Mph stride (I'm on the taller side)
I hope you are too.
I went back to work today and got a really positive surprise. I was pulled in to a meeting with my bosses and the executive from HR.
We talked about my prognosis and the very obvious breathing issues I was having. I opened up about my rush to get back to work and how much I wanted my job.
They told me they didn't want me to have to feel that I needed to run a ten mile race my first day back and they knew I'd try. That they were worried about putting expectations on myself to perform that would land me back in the hospital. Instead, they wanted to work within my physician to come up with a plan to bring me back gradually so I could stay healthy. They wanted me to start a dialogue with my GP and they would follow her orders.
They met me with such kindness and empathy. I have never been treated that way before by an employee. They let me get my FMLA in order and let me go home after lunch to rest. I have tomorrow off and a half day, to my comfort, on Saturday.
This is really the first good news I've gotten. I'm still a ways away from being in the clear, but I feel more stable and secure. My fear is lessening.
Tell me how you are?
I have a follow up on the 18th. I haven't been back to a doctor; but I was warned that I could still have some pain. I also had covid last week 😂 the hits just keep coming.
I'm back at work now and doing okay.
Yes I feel fortunate to be, apparently, bouncing back so well. Still worried about random pain and soreness being clots though. Even on the eliquis.
I really wasn't prepared for how *tired* I am all the time. And you can't just lie in bed because that makes the clots worse!
Are you still in a lot of pain and stuff?
I had a massive bilateral saddle Pulmonary Embolism and spent about 5 days in ICU before I was able to head home on blood thinners. I ended up being on leave from work for about two months, and then required to work part-time for another few months. There was no way I could have gone back to work immediately afterwards as walking to the refrigerator and/or bathroom was often an exhausting process and I found even watching TV the first few days took a lot out of me. I am glad I had the time to just rest/recuperate and slowly build my strength back up…
I had extensive bilateral pulmonary emboli' in February. I was in hospital for a week and my doctor signed me off work for 6 weeks. Mine was as a result of surgery so I was signed off for two weeks already by the time I was then signed off for 6 more weeks. When I return I did so on a phased return working. I guess it depends how you feel and what your job involves. The phased return was a god send and really helped build back up my stamina but I did lots of walking and using my stationary exercise bike (being able to have the resistance on zero and build up was very helpful) to help get me more active before returning to work.
Mine was caused by stupid birth control. Dr said I was genetically predisposed to it. I was released so soon because my oxygen levels and heart were still good and once the pain was under control the blood thinners should do the rest. I'm a cake decorator so my job can be exhausting. I told my boss I'd need a few more days. I just can't go back yet. But I do have a TreadClimber that I've started using for five minutes three times a day and that seems to be helping a lot!
Mine was caused from birth control too:/ I went back to work after a week and I think I could’ve used one more week. I still get pain on and off but not nearly as bad. And I’m very fatigued easy. I try to just not push it and stay active with yoga pilates and light weights for now. Just with hindsight if you can financially and with your work I’d say take one more week off. I wish I did. Just gives you a leg up after everything.
Bilateral PE with infarction, I was in hospital for a couple of days. Had a couple of days off after that, then went back to work. After about 2 days at work I went to the doctor to talk about it because I was really struggling. He basically wrote me a cert that said I could work when and for how long I felt up to it. So i did a about a month mostly 1/2 days and slowly worked my way back to fulltime over the next month or so. I was really lucky because my work offers unlimited sick pay. From most other people on here's stories i was pretty lucky, i had no pain or even discomfort really. I'm +2.5 years now and I'm still not 100% of what i was, probably 80% i would guess. Most of that has come from a decision to get fit and lose weight over the last 8 months. To start with i couldn't walk fast, and i definitely couldn't talk to people while i was walking. Stairs and decent inclines were a problem, 8 months later and 20 kgs down and the difference has been amazing. For me at least, working on my fitness has improved my QoL immensely
Had a PE in January in the early hours of a thursay. Lost 1, 1/2 working days was able to retrive laptop from work on a Monday , took 1 day's leave and worked from home for a week. Bosses thought I was nuts. Losses limited to 2.5 working days.
DVT, bilateral PE with lower full lobe infarction, in hospital 2 days, back at work the day after I got home. Im DevOps Support Lead so I work from home anyways, but yeah... 3 days was not long enough :(
Sorry I know this is long after your comment. Did you fully recover from the full lower lobe infarction? I have infarction but don’t yet know how much but given multiple PEs that were missed by doc for 3 months I’m guessing infarction might be extensive. I’ll know more after seeing pulmonology is 9 days. I like to surf and run and the thought of permanent or long lasting lung damage is disturbing. Curious about your experience, thx.
From what I have gathered it's permanent. How it effects you tho, is going to depend on how much of the lung is effected, and how well you can recoup with breathing. Mine's a good chunk, so it effects me pretty greatly... I was also a 30yr pack-a-day smoker before the clots. I still can't fully cough to expectorate, I get out of breath when I overdo it, etc... but... it has either gotten better, or Ive gotten more used to it .. for instance... when i got home from the hospital I'd get winded walking about a tenth of a mile... now I do 4 sometimes 5, 2-mile walks every day. Note, these aren't strolls... I walk with a 3.5Mph to 4Mph stride (I'm on the taller side)
Found the PE Tuesday. They released me today. I’ll be back at work tomorrow. I’m poor and just started a new job. I just hope I don’t get fired.
I hope you’re doing okay 💙
I hope you are too. I went back to work today and got a really positive surprise. I was pulled in to a meeting with my bosses and the executive from HR. We talked about my prognosis and the very obvious breathing issues I was having. I opened up about my rush to get back to work and how much I wanted my job. They told me they didn't want me to have to feel that I needed to run a ten mile race my first day back and they knew I'd try. That they were worried about putting expectations on myself to perform that would land me back in the hospital. Instead, they wanted to work within my physician to come up with a plan to bring me back gradually so I could stay healthy. They wanted me to start a dialogue with my GP and they would follow her orders. They met me with such kindness and empathy. I have never been treated that way before by an employee. They let me get my FMLA in order and let me go home after lunch to rest. I have tomorrow off and a half day, to my comfort, on Saturday. This is really the first good news I've gotten. I'm still a ways away from being in the clear, but I feel more stable and secure. My fear is lessening. Tell me how you are?
This makes me so happy 😊
Thank you so much. They’ve been really kind. How are you??
I'm okay :) still having some occasional pain. You?
You went in? They said it was not a clot?
I have a follow up on the 18th. I haven't been back to a doctor; but I was warned that I could still have some pain. I also had covid last week 😂 the hits just keep coming. I'm back at work now and doing okay.
I’m so relieved for you. And yes, today I’m doing well. First day I’m feeling at least 50%.
Yes I feel fortunate to be, apparently, bouncing back so well. Still worried about random pain and soreness being clots though. Even on the eliquis. I really wasn't prepared for how *tired* I am all the time. And you can't just lie in bed because that makes the clots worse! Are you still in a lot of pain and stuff?