Back pain, doctors suspect blood clot

[TomorrowToday]

I'm 20 weeks pregnant. I went to the GP out of hours as right hand side upper back pain. Got sent to a ward in the hospital and doctors suspect a blood clot in my lung. X-ray is fine but they want to do another test and I have to inject myself daily until they do that test.

I was given 1000mg of paracetamol on a drip and the pain has come back within two hours.

AIBU to think this is muscle pain instead of a clot?

It’s given iv as it works quicker and it’s more effective. If your pain is still really bad op then call 111 for advice. That’s what they are there for and would save you sitting in A&E if you didn’t have to. I hope your feeling better soon.

Op don’t doubt yourself. You know you don’t feel right. Please go to A&E. I had PE 4 weeks after giving birth and I think I must have gone to the GP 4 times in a week. I knew there was something wrong. The final straw was the GP who told me to stop wasting his time. DP took me to A&E, the triage nurse took one look at me and I was rushed straight through. She saved my life.

They wouldn’t do one, it’s not accurate in pregnancy.

if the pain is there all the time/most of the time it’s unlikely to be muscular pain, muscular pain is likely to present only/mainly with movement.

you’re pregnant, so at risk of PE. No, your baby won’t die.

you’ve started treatment now you’ve started the injections and that’s the main thing. They normally aim to get the next scan done in 5 working days but it can be longer. The reason being is that there’s no urgency as you are having treatment.

hopefully it isn’t, but best to treat it as if it is until they know for sure.

Oh OP, you sound so worried and it's about your baby, isn't it. Not you.
Little one is fine in there, he simply needs mummy to get better. If you seriously can't sleep with the pain get somebody to drive you back to A&E.
Best if you can get some sleep though as you've already begun treatment 💐

I've googled it and he can get lack of blood flow etc :(

If you have a PE the clot will be in your lung and will remain in your lung. It won’t travel and won’t affect the blood flow to the placenta. I’m a midwife and have looked after quite a few women over the years with a PE and never once have we been concerned about the baby due to the clot.

Thank you @HaveYouHeardOfARoadAtlas

Thanks. I managed to sleep, I've slept a lot since Thursday..... tired and hungry that I put down to baby growing.

Part of me wants it to be a clot as than I can justifying myself being in pain and it has a reason..... but today I have no pain (so far) so I think everything is an overreaction. People get back pain all the time in pregnancy don't they, maybe it was that.

Pain has come back. Probably muscle pain not pain from a blood clot.

It might be, just keep taking the meds and painkillers and have the scan when you get the appt. Hopefully it isn’t as if it is you’ll have to take the injections for months and months.

D-dimer should not be used to assess blood clots in pregnancy, because it can often be falsely raised, so can lead to over-investigation.

Is the pain related to your respiration, ie. Hurts more with big inhale. Does it make you cough?

Pain comes and goes, is at its least pain when I'm on my left hand side laying down. I've had issues breathing which is due to stomach acid. So to answer your question - probably no. I wouldn't say I'm taking a deep breath.

@HaveYouHeardOfARoadAtlas they have only given me paracetamol :( won't give anything else.

I had a pain like this in my chest/ upper right back while pregnant and turned out to be gall stones. I got a blocked bile duct shortly after giving birth which was unbareable. Ask them to check if this could be the issue. As I kept saying the pain was in my chest they just were checking my lungs heart etc not interested in anything else but the Pain was actually radiating from my gall bladder

They said i had a tiny bit of blood in urine.
Will see how it goes later in the week.

They’re very reluctant to give stronger painkillers in pregnancy. Really moving away from codine these days. To be honest once you start with the injections the pain from a PE is normally much improved in a couple of days. So if it lingers on maybe it isn’t a PE. I’d wonder about a kidney infection as well, though I’d expect the pain to be lower down and for you to feel more unwell and for them to have picked stuff up other than blood in your urine so probably not. Gall bladder a definite possibility.

@HaveYouHeardOfARoadAtlas they tested my urine and it was fine, just a little blood which wasn't a concern.

The paracetamol could be working.

Probably not a PE as I only have the back pain and shortness of breath is due to stomach acid reflux/pregnancy. But it's he test later this week will tell.