Second, I'm going to list off the symptoms I had as they are kind of scattered throughout my last post. Remember that these were my specific symptoms and sometimes people don't have any symptoms at all.
Symptoms of a blood clot (deep vein thrombosis):
-localized pain (in my case in my left hip) that made walking painful. I would describe it as being similar to when you pull a muscle, expect that the pain doesn't subside over time.
-mild swelling in my thigh and feet
-my whole leg felt heavy and just funny in general
Besides the pain, my other symptoms were very general and mild. I honestly thought I had just pulled something while working out at the gym. It was when the pain didn't improve after a week that I had considered going to a doctor, but then I had the pulmonary embolism that day. Go figure.
Symptoms of pulmonary embolism:
-sudden cramp of my entire leg. It was unlike any other cramp I have had before as it encompassed my WHOLE leg. Very odd feeling.
-almost immediate shortness of breath and pleuritic chest and upper back pain (pain that worsens when taking a deep breath.)
-weakness
-anxiety
-tachycardia (fast pulse). This is what I found most disturbing. My normal resting pulse rate is around 60 bpm. My heart rate during and for around 5 days after the embolism was 140 bpm, sometimes going up to 160.
-abnormal heart beat
Remember that pulmonary embolism is a complication of deep vein thrombosis, so it doesn't occur without the presence of a clot. Also remember that these are the symptoms that I had, and others may present with different ones, though mine are pretty much textbook.
If you experience any of these symptoms, call an ambulance. Most people who do die of pulmonary embolism do so within the first hour, and a quick diagnosis cuts down the mortality rate substantially.
I want to stress that my case is very unusual. In fact, my family doctor has never seen a pulmonary embolism in a 19 year old in his 10 years of practice. Blood clots are way more likely to happen to elderly people who are sedentary, after surgery and to people with genetic predispositions to blood clots. There is a good chance that I have a genetic clotting disorder but that's another post altogether.
I will be meeting with a hematologist tomorrow morning so expect a new post tomorrow.
P.S The Mayo Clinic has great articles on DVT and PE: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/deep-vein-thrombosis/DS01005 and http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/pulmonary-embolism/DS00429
See how I didn't use Wikipedia? I'm a good university student.
Sihing Karissa Martin
Silent River Kung Fu
Stony Plain, AB
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