Towards the end of my fourth pregnancy, I felt many random aches and pains. My loved ones would write it off, saying it was likely due to being pregnant with my first son.
The day after a wedding, I told my doctor I woke up with a terrible charley horse going down my leg. She said it was probably due to overdoing it and to take it easy.
Four days later, I was induced. Three days after that, I woke up with shortness of breath and shoulder pain. Again, I figured I overdid it the day before.
After two days, the symptoms continued, and I went to the ER. By the time I got there, I could barely speak. They brought me back immediately and told me they needed to rule out blood clots. They found none in my leg, so they told me they were going to take me for a CT scan.
Sure enough, it came back with a large clot in my lung (pulmonary embolism). They said I could go home on blood thinners or be admitted. I chose to go home on blood thinners so I could be with my children and husband, but by the time I got to the lobby, I passed out, so they admitted me.
The fear of not knowing what was happening to me and potentially leaving my kids motherless caused me to hyperventilate, and I was put on oxygen. I still deal with the PTSD of thinking I was going to die and leave my children without their mom two months later.
I go off my thinners in a month, and I’m scared this will happen again. My doctor said they didn’t want to do further testing as the clot was due to my pregnancy. It’s hard to trust doctors after my team failed me during my pregnancy, but I am going to demand genetic testing to make sure neither I nor my kids ever have to go through anything like this in the future.
Resources
Signs and Symptoms
Pregnancy
Psychological Impact of Blood Clots
