Blood clot on lung?

[Mum2bx]

Have been hovering but this is my first message for a while, on fri night i was taken to hospital because i was having severe chest pains, the doctors think that i have got a blood clot on my right lung, they took some blood tests which would suggest that i have because they are high but apparently pregnancy can cause this to be high, they also detected a small ammount of infection in my body but sent me home the next morning with nothing more than paraceptamol, they would usually give an xray if they suspected a blood clot but obv they cant because im pregnant, my chest is tight and painful and i keep getting (almost constantly) a fluttery heart with leaves me breathless, has anybody else experianced this? and if so what happened? i went to bed last night worried that i wasnt going to wake up - i hope somebody can help

[katybump]

please go back to the doctors.this happened to me and i ended up being admitted for a week on clexyn[sp?]injections for a suspected p.e ,turns out i had pneumonia , i had an xray ,they gave me avery fetching apron to wear.if you are at all worried go back and get checked out again. hope you feel better soon x

[LadyVictoriaOfCake]

i would risk the x-ray tbh. go back, please.

[harleyd]

how far on are you? i would go back to the hospital

[Mum2bx]

suspected p.e? was you pregnant when you had your xray? or would i have to wait until baby was born? and what would be the effects on the baby if i had to have an xray?

[Mum2bx]

am due mid dec, the doctor actually said they couldnt do an xray on me if i was pregnant. i would have to go to a different hospital but havent got a clue how it could effect my baby?

[katybump]

i was 30 weeks pregnant.risk to the baby was very tiny compared to risk to my health.p.e pulmonary embelism (sorry can't spell).i had antibiotics for a week and the pain in the back of my ribs and chest didn't completely go until about 6 weeks later.i had a healthy baby girl at 38 weeks so no lasting damage x

[Pollyanna]

i have had an xray for a blood clot while I was pregnant. You wear a lead apron. I think that they must think that it isn't a blood clot, because you would be admitted straight away (I was). I think I have had a few xrays in subsequent pregnancies too. They also do a bloot test from your artery to test for this - it is more painful than a normal blood test.

however, because you are concerned, you could go to a&e and mention these chest pains. They would probably x-ray you.

as far as I know, the symptoms of a p.e are a very sharp chest pain and a cough with bloody sputum.

[TheOriginalXENA]

GO NOW BACK TO THE HOSPITAL

[katybump]

they also do a test wher you are injected with glow in the dark stuff and made to breath in through a large mask while they scan you to check lung blockages.again was reassured this was safe.please go back.DEMAND to be seen x

[TheOriginalXENA]

ITS THE BIGGEST MATERNAL KILLER. THERE IS NO WAY THEY SHOULD HAVE LET YOU HOME. CLEXAINE INJECTIONS STRAIGHT AWAY. AS SOON AS THEY SUSPECT IT, BEFORE BLOOD TEST AND THE REST

[katybump]

oh yes blood from your arteries is awful sorry x don't want to scare you.

[TheOriginalXENA]

NO I DON'T WANT YOU TO BE SCARED I WANT YOU TO CALL AN AMBULANCE. THAT IS WHAT NHS DIRECT WOULD BE SAYING

[TheOriginalXENA]

please answer and tell me you are going back.

[katybump]

totally agree call an ambulance do not take any chances with this

[Mum2bx]

i did see the consultant who was very nice, he told me to go back if it got much worse, it hasnt, i still have the energy of a dead ant and with my heart jumping about and the baby kicking i just feel all pushed about inside, i think im def going to go back, i think the only reason they got rid of me so quickly is they needed my bed, which they actually gave to somebody else before they had even discharged me

[TheOriginalXENA]

and yes an aterial blood test is the worst physical pain I have ever experienced

[harleyd]

go back now. good luck

[LadyVictoriaOfCake]

please go back.

if they suspect a blood clot then you should be on blood thinners.

[Mum2bx]

ok im going to go to the local welldoc, because they cam refer me to hosp and will get seen quicker, on fri was waiting for hours and started turning into a right bitch because i was in so much pain, thanks for the advice guys x

[katybump]

thank goodness,take care and let us know how you are xx

[lisad123]

They thought I had a blood clot at 16 weeks, was admitted, drugged up and was hooked up to monitors ect. It did make my heart run a lot faster too.
Please let us know how you got on. And yes blood from artirty really hurts

L

[tissy]

an Xray won't kill you or your baby, but all the ways to detect PE involve radiation of some sort- they have to balance the risks of radiation against the risk to you and baby of having a PE. The blood test can be high in pregnancy, but if they seriously don't know whether you have a PE or not, you should be treated as if you have.

I would go back, and say that you feel no better. mention the fluttering heartbeat. They can repeat the blood tests- if there is infection, and they haven't given you antibiotics, then it should show on the blood tests. they may repeat the arterial bloods- painful, but necessary.

[alicet]

Not read whole thread... I am a doc so hope what I have to say will help you....

Sure though that they wouldn't have sent you home if they seriously thought you had a blood clot on the lung (called a PE). If this was suspected then they would have treated you for it regardless even before investigating you to confirm / rule out this. This would be with daily injections of heparin (also called clexane / tinzaparin).

Secondly an x-ray would not help in telling you whether you have a pe or not but would help in diagnosing other conditions that can mimic it like a severe chest infection. However the tests that can tell you more accurately than the blood test all involve more radiation than an x-ray. Try not to worry too much about the blood test on its own. Like you say loads and loads of things can make this come back high. Its really only useful if its normal as this makes it virtually impossible that you have a blood clot rather than it saying you have got one if that makes sense.

I would go back to the hospital and ask to be seen again and also ask why you have not been treated for / investigated for a pe when you were told this is what they were suspicious of. Hopefully you will see someone who can reassure you that they think this is very very unlikely - or if not who can arrange the appropriate treatment or investigations. Good luck!