NTHXC wrote:
I am a 23 year old college runner and cyclist. Two weeks ago I was hospitalized with bilateral pulmonary emboli. I was discharged from the hospital yesterday and now I'm wondering, when can I start training again?
When I asked my doctor, she said immediately. But she also said I have to "listen to my body." Really, what does that mean? I tried walking and jogging today, but when I jogged for more than 30s at a time my chest would hurt pretty bad.
So, I was wondering if anyone here has had experience with PE and could give me any advice.
Her point about listening to your body means don't overdo it. Without knowing the specifics of your illness, you have likely lost some function of your right heart whose job it is to pump blood to your lungs to pick up oxygen. Less pump = less oxygenated blood per unit of time. You might have residual hypoxemia. Not severe enough to require oxygen supplementation at rest (I assume you would have mentioned that) but still not normal when you body is placed under exercise stress. This would also equal less oxygenated blood. This would be the functional equivalence of being anemic. For lack of a better term, you are likely "detrained." That is, your cardiovascular status has taken a huge step backwards.
You won't be able to run as fast as far. How much less, I don't know; maybe a little, maybe a lot.
How long will it last? Maybe a short while, maybe the rest of your life.
I don't know the specifics of your case.
I have personally seen the spectrum. I have treated patients with PE's who leave the hospital and never have another problem. I have treated those who get short of breath when they walk to the bathroom.
If this sounds shitty, look at the glass as half full. An estimated half of all people with PE's die at the time of the acute event. You beat those odds. Many of those who do survive require home oxygen just to carry out activities of daily living. You beat those odds.
I suggest you readjust your thinking of training. Picture yourself as a 300lb obese person who just decided to get off the sofa and start exercising for the first time in his life. Take it that slow. I don't care if your PR was 14:30 which you ran 2 days before the PE. If you think of yourself as in that same shape and start training accordingly, you will just destroy yourself psychologically when your body fails to perform.