This past September, I had major abdominal surgery. After being discharged, I went to stay with my mom. Within a couple of days, I noticed a sharp cramping feeling in my right calf. I also began experiencing shortness of breath when I exerted myself.
My mom is a nurse and suspected it could be a DVT, so I booked a same-day appointment. However, I was told it likely wasn’t a blood clot because my vitals were normal and I had no redness, swelling, or warmth in my calf. The nurse thought my shortness of breath was likely a result of subconsciously breathing in a more shallow pattern to guard my abdominal area from pain. I wasn’t sent to the ER.
A week later, the calf pain went away, so I assumed I was in the clear. But the shortness of breath continued. I mentioned this to my surgeon at my 6 week follow up and so they ordered a chest x-ray, which showed a clear chest and heart. I thought maybe I had a virus.
Over the next week, my symptoms worsened. I developed a tight, achy feeling in my chest, and on October 27th, I realized I was short of breath even while sitting still. I went to a walk-in clinic, where a doctor recognized the severity of my symptoms and I was finally sent to the ER.
There they found elevated troponins (proteins found inside heart muscle cells), severe right heart enlargement, and multiple large blood clots in both of my lungs. I underwent an emergency thrombectomy and thrombolytic treatment.
I was also told I needed to stop taking the estrogen-based birth control I had been on.
Although it has only been a few months, this experience has changed me. I still have some shortness of breath and chest pain, but I am slowly returning to my normal self.
I’ve learned never to ignore symptoms that are out of the ordinary. I’m no longer afraid to ask for a second opinion, and I will never let a long wait at the ER stop me from seeking care.
Because my symptoms looked mild and I am young and healthy, doctors did not think I could be in such a life-threatening situation—but they were wrong.
My message is simple: we are not invincible. Blood clots are more common in young people than we think. Don’t stop advocating for yourself.
