Yeah I too had infarction (actualy a lot the clot blocked 2/3 of my right lung). I wouldnt say from listening to everyone else that it is "normal". I am still having chest pain and I will be at 6 months on the 27th of feb. They are doing all kinds of test on me to make sure it is not my heart. (I had an abnormal EKG). Have they done an EKG on you to make sure everything is okay? I have not been able to workout like normal or anything since the clot. Are you seeing a GP or a specialist? if a specialist what kind is it?

Have you had a repeat CT scan to see if the clot is gone yet? Mine was still present the last time they checked me which was at 4 months. My doctor got concerned when my chest pain got worse and my EKG's became abnormal.

I don't know if this helped or not. I would just make sure you are being heard. If you continue to hurt keep telling someone.

Yeah I too had infarction (actualy a lot the clot blocked 2/3 of my right lung). I wouldnt say from listening to everyone else that it is "normal". I am still having chest pain and I will be at 6 months on the 27th of feb. They are doing all kinds of test on me to make sure it is not my heart. (I had an abnormal EKG). Have they done an EKG on you to make sure everything is okay? I have not been able to workout like normal or anything since the clot. Are you seeing a GP or a specialist? if a specialist what kind is it?

Have you had a repeat CT scan to see if the clot is gone yet? Mine was still present the last time they checked me which was at 4 months. My doctor got concerned when my chest pain got worse and my EKG's became abnormal.

I don't know if this helped or not. I would just make sure you are being heard. If you continue to hurt keep telling someone.

I, too, had an infarction on the right lung. I had pretty severe pain on that side for about 6 months. Now, it's been 10 months since my PE, and I've been pain-free for a while. I don't now how "normal" that pain is (my doctor said it wasn't common), but you are definitely not the only one who's experienced it.
The good news is that it goes away eventually. :)
Having said that, if you have any other symptoms (shortness of breath, etc.) along with the pain, call your doctor or go to an emergency room. It may turn out to be nothing to worry about, but if there is one thing I learned from this whole PE experience, it's not to ignore my symptoms.

hey there, hope you're well. ooo this all sounds quite familiar to my recovery too. like MSM said, there is no "normal" unfortunately, we all heal differently. but yeah, I had very similar experience to what you're writing, for about 4 months after my PE. Am 6 months on nearly now, and finially feel like me again.

My haematologist explained this sensation to me in a great way that really made sense to me. he explained that as the damage tissue in the lung rebuilds itself, it can cause pain as the tissue is regenerating itself inside the lung (for me, this was probably as painful as the actual first incidence of PE!!)

but what clicked for me, he explained that it is similar to when someone quits smoking. If you image how damaged the cilia cells in your throat become from smoking, then when smokers stop smoking a lot of them suffer from a really bad saw painful throat. This is because all the damaged cilia cells that were killed off from smoking are starting to regenerate and heal, and it is painful.

the same thing is going on in your lungs right now. your cells are healing and trying to repair them selves, and it will be a bit painful where your lung was scarred. Kinda like growing pains I guess.

anyway, this explaination that I was given really made logical sense to me, and i hope it does for oyu too. I'm not great at explaining things! but hope that helps a bit!! take care x

Thanks for everyone's input. It is just very frustrating to have more pain now then when this first happened. My doctor is actually going to do a follow up CT scan on monday just to make sure it is the infarction causing the pain and nothing to do with the clot. I am nervous about getting the results for this but I can't imagine the clot getting bigger if I have been on the coumadin for 4 months and haven't been in too much pain during that time. It is just so scary having any pain after going through what we all did the first time around. Hopefully this is just the case of my lung healing and getting better.

On top of this all I have to get LEEP surgery next week and will be put in the hospital so they can take me off the coumadin and and on heparin for the sugery. I am also nervous about this but my doc doens't want to wait to give me this surgery. Next week should be a fun week! (right!). Thanks again for everyone's input and have a great weekend!

Hi, I had an infarction and pleural effusion in the right lung with my 1st PE last March/07. It took several months before the pain subsided, the pain felt very sharp and throbbed quite often..usually if I over exerted myself this would happen, but do not ignore your symptoms, your body is telling you that something is wrong. My respiratory doctor finally diagnosed my right lung with chronic pleuritis in early October, and he recommended that I just take the pain killers that he prescribed(which did nothing to help). After several weeks of pain I decided to try acupuncture and after just a few sessions the pain was gone.

I was told that I have the lungs of an 80 yr old man after everything my body went through and does not have me on any pain killers, so I sleep on the floor with heating pads.... A majority of my lung tissue is damaged and the pain is cause by the lungs healing them selves.... but after a week as a guinea pig I should have answers to anything!

I am in my third month following a Pulmonary Embolism. I still have quite a bit of pain. I have the additional curse of having become chemically dependent on opiates two years ago, with a completely different issue. The frustration is that the doctor believes that I am claiming I have pain in order to continue with the pain killers. I don't blame him. I just don't know how to deal with the pain. I was told that this far out, people rarely feel significant pain. The fact that there are many replies here at least gives me some solace.

I know that all of these answers occurred in 2008, but in 2010, it is very real to me. For anyone who may stumble on this bulletin board, be assured that you are not alone.

I'll admit that the pain I have now feels like an injury that is healing.
The worst of the pain is now gone, but the pain that I do have is of
a different nature. I've noticed this before with running injuries. or
crashing on my bike. To me it makes sense.

Confounded...

So I am diagnosed with PE on Sept 30th 2009. You would think by now mid-Jan 2010, the pain would have eased up by a lot.

I have had follow-up scnans and still continue on pain meds. I was on dilauted for the longest time. Now I take percocet when I get back from work. It is tough at work and can't take it coz it makes me very groggy.

Back to the pain, its been 4 mths now and I have constant pain down my right shoulder and right ribs, under my breast. Then there are sharp pains feel like I have been suddenly hit and I struggle to breathe. There are days when there is not much pain and I can remotely remember having undergone all of this. But those are the days when I am in bed and not doing much of anything.

The pain persists and I seem to have to pay a heavy price anytime I indulge in even a bit of activiites. I can't think abt starting to work out. Atleast not yet.

There are still times when I wake up, gasping. I personally think that the pain gets worse when I over indulge myself. I have kept a written journal...just a line of two before I turn in at night. I make a list before I see the doctor. He is understanding and has kept me on pain pills. He says it can go on for another 3-5 mths in some people.

So...hang in there...We'll get through this.

Reading this has been great. I'm four months out from multiple PE and while I am having great days there are days like today and yesterday. Yesterday I couldn't get out of bed and today left work just after lunch because of the back pain and fatigue.

I kept thinking that I should be over it by now when clearly there are lots of other people who aren't either. I feel rather lucky that I am back and work and generally having more good days than bad.

Thanks for the advice on this page. I hope that the pain is part of the healing process. I had pain in my side and was having difficulty sleeping until I found that hugging a pillow to my side really helped. I have used a teddy bear my family gave me in the hospital, small throw pillows, and once, in a hotel room, I tucked a regular pillow in on my side. Everything helped. I don't know why it works but it really seems to. A few weeks ago I stopped using the pillow at night and then I noticed I had more pain during the day, but when I went back to using the pillow I had less pain in the day. I think that the pillow also prevents me from rolling over on my side during the night. I hope this helps.