K
klynnc
Hi everyone,
I was exactly 1 month post-op AV repair on Tuesday and I had been doing great! I was off of all pain meds except for an occassional ibuprofen and was very active, just being careful not to lift anything too heavy. Then on tues I started getting chest pains which got to the point that I was in excruciating pain with every breath. I went to the ER and found out that I had bilateral PE's. They kept me for 2 nights and released me on coumadin, lovenox, and lortab for the pain. They did an echo of my heart, but no dopplers of my legs or clotting disorder tests because they said they would treat me the same anyway (coumadin, lovenox and wait for clots to dissolve). This really makes no sense to me, of course I want to know if this is a chronic thing since I had previous TIA's before my surgery. But there wasn't much I could do. This is a different hospital than where I had my aortic valve repair (the Cleveland Clinic) and I just don't trust their judgement. My surgeon at the CC called me as soon has he got my email and seemed very concerned and also asked if they did any dopplers on my legs. I'm just afraid there is another clot hiding somewhere. Will the coumadin and lovenox protect me for sure? Also seems to be a big mystery on why the PE's appeared so far out from the surgery...? And how long should this awful chest pain last? It's already been 5 days with no relief except with pain meds.
Any input?
Thanks!
I was exactly 1 month post-op AV repair on Tuesday and I had been doing great! I was off of all pain meds except for an occassional ibuprofen and was very active, just being careful not to lift anything too heavy. Then on tues I started getting chest pains which got to the point that I was in excruciating pain with every breath. I went to the ER and found out that I had bilateral PE's. They kept me for 2 nights and released me on coumadin, lovenox, and lortab for the pain. They did an echo of my heart, but no dopplers of my legs or clotting disorder tests because they said they would treat me the same anyway (coumadin, lovenox and wait for clots to dissolve). This really makes no sense to me, of course I want to know if this is a chronic thing since I had previous TIA's before my surgery. But there wasn't much I could do. This is a different hospital than where I had my aortic valve repair (the Cleveland Clinic) and I just don't trust their judgement. My surgeon at the CC called me as soon has he got my email and seemed very concerned and also asked if they did any dopplers on my legs. I'm just afraid there is another clot hiding somewhere. Will the coumadin and lovenox protect me for sure? Also seems to be a big mystery on why the PE's appeared so far out from the surgery...? And how long should this awful chest pain last? It's already been 5 days with no relief except with pain meds.
Any input?
Thanks!
