Short of breath still...

[Willow7733]

I had several PEs in December and I wonder if it is normal to be still so short of breath? I am having a hard time having any kind of conversation because I can’t seem to get enough air. Is this a part of the recovery??

[Hidden]

Definitely - the clots will have damaged your lung tissue and it takes its own sweet time to repair! My PEs were 3.5 years ago, and I still get very breathless on occasion, not helped by having had Covid-19 a year ago! But they do heal. The secret, I find, is to push yourself gently, but not to overdo it!

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

Looking back I think lots of us had covid back in autumn 2019 but it had masqueraded as a heavy cold and we had thought that we had had bad colds as covid hadn't been officially christened back then.

[Jomomo in reply to Hidden]

Yes Yes Yes! I did! I didn't think of covid until suddenly we had mandatory lockdowns.

[Hidden in reply to Jomomo]

I had heard the stories about it on the tv and radio and I wasn't totally ignorant but still when everything shut down back in March 2020 it was still a shock though like something off a horror movie!

[Jomomo]

What doctors don't discuss with you is recovery time. It can take years to recover. I had surgery to remove 3 blood clots in my lungs. I thought I was going to bounce right back and have no problems. Doctors don't discuss recovery with you. It can take a very long time. I have an oxygen machine now and my tubes are long enough for me to go anywhere in my home, I'm trying to get a portable backpack oxygen machine for leaving the house. If I walked or exerted myself any little bit I was breathless. I didn't realize my oxygen saturation plummeted every time I did anything physical. Now I can get up and do things because my oxygen is enriching my blood, I keep my oxygen on 24-7. It has made a huge difference in my life. HUGE!