problems breathing

[alishell]

hi my name is alicia,and im 21 years old.back in 2010 when i was 23 weeks pregnant on my son i developed blood clots on both lungs,which was a very scary experince,the thing is i was on the clexane up untill my son was 6 weeks,now im not on nothin,my son is now 17 months,but over the last few day,everytime i go out and walk,after about 5 minuites i got to stop because i cant breathe tidy and my chest stars to hurt,and its very worrying for me,im just wondering if anyone had any advise as to is this a sign of asthma or is it something to do with when i had the blood clots?im just scared really ,and keep thinking its come back or if its something different like asthma.

[alishell]

thank you so much for getting back to me,i have been to my doctor,and he checked my oxygen level and my chest and says he cant find anything wrong,and think its down to a cold or flu,as i had a  little bit of a sore throat a few days before.if it is still painful and hard to breathe then he said to go back in a week.its been nearly a week so far,and i can say it has got a bit better but not that much,so i will be booking another appointment today,as this is very concerning for me.

[David Tinkelman, M.D.]

The most worrisome possibility is that you are again having blood clots on both lungs.  Having had blood clots in the past, even with the only risk factor being pregnancy, you are at a slightly increased risk of having it again.  It is very possible that you could have asthma or some other cause of shortness of breath at this time but the diagnosis that you and your doctors cannot afford to miss is that of recurrent clots to the lung, because it is a very serious illness and can be life-threatening.

You have a reason to be scared but, remember, even if this proves to be a recurrence of clots to your lungs, this is a very treatable condition and treatment is most effective when started as soon as possible.  For that reason, I strongly encourage you to contact your doctor immediately and express your concern about clots.  You can tell him/her about my response in this E-mail.  If your doctor cannot see you to check you for clots, ask that he arrange for you to be seen by a lung specialist (pulmonologist) on an urgent basis.  If this is not possible, then have a family member take you to the nearest large hospital emergency room.  Do not delay!

Good luck