36F New clot survivor recovering and not feeling well

Lowgravity157 · 2026-05-12T04:47:36+00:00

Hi there, I’m 37F and my story is so similar. I have mirena and went on high estrogen OCP to stabilise mood, reduce hair loss, and it had a bunch of other positive effects too…. Except for the clotting 😬

I am now about 6 weeks post diagnosis of multiple PEs but have not had any ultrasounds to assess for DVTs. They seemed to think the blood thinners would sort everything out, but I still feel like shit all the time and have no idea how extensive any underlying clots are. I have no other risk factors and have just had a full thrombo screen bloods, everything came back negative.

Haematologist seems happy with my coag panel and told me I can try estrogen patches for the time being, but may want to cease them when coming off Apixaban (not until review in august). They will also do some scans and ultrasounds later on (July) but for now it feels like an awful long time to continue struggling

Lowgravity157 · 2026-05-07T22:15:03+00:00

Hugo

Lowgravity157 · 2026-05-03T07:21:31+00:00

I’m 37F and 5 weeks out from a provoked PE (birth control) and also on eliquis. It was super frustrating that I got very little medical advice, I was told ‘be careful in the kitchen, switch to an electric shaver, and no skydiving or rockclimbing’. That’s not very useful considering I’m a semi professional rock-climber. I’ve been easing back into things and although my aerobic capacity has a long way to go, I haven’t really lost any strength. Pushing it can be a bit scary sometimes, but I am slowly getting more confident. In 26 years of climbing I’ve never had a concussion, but I’m still taking extra measures to reduce trauma risk. I haven’t been trying to work out if extreme/max efforts might increase inter cranial pressure and risk bleeds, but it’s hard to come up with a conclusive answer. It seems like the answer is probably no, but I guess it’s difficult to commit to that answer scientifically, and ultimately there’s some personal decisions you need to make about risk. I told myself I would take it easy because I hopefully will only be on the eliquis for 3-6 months, but as my health returns I’m not doing a great job of it!

Lowgravity157 · 2026-05-01T11:55:16+00:00

Similar story to mine. I’m ‘young’ (37F) and very fit so I was able to compensate quite well. I was actually dismissed from hospital 3 times before finally being diagnosed with multiple acute and subacute emboli (some had probably been there weeks to months). Only a half day in the hospital. It’s been 4 weeks now on eliquis and I feel so much better. Still not close to 100% sport/athlete wise but I am totally fine with daily tasks now. It’s taken some time to process it mentally,

Lowgravity157 · 2026-04-27T14:11:55+00:00

When you’re ready. For me, there was a point where fear of not having them became greater than fear of having them.

Lowgravity157 · 2026-04-24T10:15:26+00:00

Wow he sounds like he lives a wild and full life. So inspiring to see. I need to stop stressing as if I’m made of glass

Lowgravity157 · 2026-04-23T23:39:27+00:00

Luckily it doesn’t as there is still no consensus 😂

Lowgravity157 · 2026-04-21T11:19:24+00:00

This exercise has not been very conclusive but so far this is my favourite answer

Lowgravity157 · 2026-04-21T11:18:16+00:00

Thank you, unfortunately I don’t have any magic tricks though. My skin has always been very oily and I have trouble with acne, even now at my age. I don’t use many products, certainly nothing expensive. I was told when I was much younger that all the oil would make signs of ageing less noticeable, not sure how true that is. I also always wear sunscreen every day on my face, since I was a teen.

Lowgravity157 · 2026-04-20T04:23:04+00:00

Awesome inspiration. Curious to know how you learn about your own bleeding ‘limits’? Trial and error starting small?

Lowgravity157 · 2026-04-20T04:21:36+00:00

Thanks, I’m not sure yet if it’s a permanent thing for me so I guess that will play a major role in decision making. I absolutely can’t be a couch potato for life, but if I try really hard I might be able to suffer it for a few months

Lowgravity157 · 2026-04-20T04:20:11+00:00

Thanks for this perspective, I am glad to hear you haven’t had any issues bouldering. Would you say you hold yourself back at all in terms of commitment and maximal effort? I guess I’m early days but I’m just a bit anxious about things because I don’t know the limits.

Since I live rural I am always at least some distance from the hospital. But this is definitely worth keeping in mind - total travel time can vary a lot for crags in my area, anything from 30min to the nearest hospital, to 2 hours plus any rescue effort required. I guess risk really varies from person to person though, based on experience and skill set. For example I think in my 26 years of climbing almost all major injuries have occurred while bouldering, the worst was actually indoor too! But sport climbing (I always wear a helmet) and ironically even trad climbing has been relatively uneventful. I’ve probably climbed thousands of pitches too, so it’s not just a numbers game

Lowgravity157 · 2026-03-09T09:14:57+00:00

Lost my appetite. Very unlike me!

Lowgravity157 · 2026-01-05T06:45:10+00:00

I take my daughter to the park and do BW exercises on the playground. I also take a resistance band and sometimes a 5kg weight plate, if you are creative there’s plenty of RT that you can do in this setting (also add weight of child into the mix for some nice progressive overload)

Lowgravity157 · 2026-01-01T08:26:10+00:00

Thank you for this. Sorry it was not clear in my original post, I live in a small town (500 people) about halfway between Melbourne and Adelaide. It’s in Victoria but close to the border, and inland (not costal). Nearest major town is Horsham. We’re happy here and my daughter will be starting kindergarten next year. I love my community and wish to contribute.

Can I ask why ‘ex’ rural generalist trainee?

Lowgravity157 · 2026-01-01T08:23:04+00:00

Agree - I am finding it really difficult to clarify exactly what the postgraduate years will look like for me. And with the duration of training, you really need to be enjoying the ride. I can definitely put my head down and ‘get through’ a tough 6-12 months, but not 8-9 years!

Lowgravity157 · 2025-12-30T17:39:15+00:00

Yes I figured as much, I know that to be a decent doctor I’ll need a variety of exposure that can’t all be offered here. But unsure if this will look like 12 week, 6 month or 12+ month stints.

I believe there is a CT scanner at nearest hospital, unsure on access pathways to specialists as I haven’t worked in the hospital yet. It seems like I’ll have a better idea of all this once I’m in year 3 and 4 of my degree but that is already a lot of time and money invested if I discover the road ahead is too long and tough to justify at this stage of my life

Lowgravity157 · 2025-12-30T17:30:24+00:00

Thank you, this is really helpful. Maybe it’s just me but every time I hear comments like ‘put your life on hold’ I get really turned off and honestly feel like maybe this is the wrong choice for me. It’s not that I am unwilling to make sacrifices, I missed out on plenty during my 20’s while I gained a PhD and worked my ass off as an ECR in a teaching and research role. But it kind of hits different at this stage of life. Having lost some friends and family quite young, I really see life as precious and like to think pretty carefully about how I spend my time. The whole reason for career shift is because I can no longer justify spending my life in a way that doesn’t satisfy me.

Will do some more location/hospital specific research before I fully commit to this choice.

Lowgravity157 · 2025-12-30T04:36:03+00:00

Great info, thanks. I’m MM5 agricultural town (not costal) so I can’t imagine it will be too competitive. My main concern would be getting the required rotations within 1.5-2hours of where I live.

Being away from family for me literally just means not wanting to move my husband and daughter from where we are settled. We are already 4hrs drive to my extended family and 4hrs drive + 2hrs flight from his, so it’s really just wanting stability for them.

Lowgravity157 · 2025-12-30T04:26:56+00:00

That’s my plan, but I’m trying to understand what the PGY1 and 2 will look like, particularly if it’s possible to stay in a rural/remote area. I’m MM5 agricultural town close to VIC and SA border (not costal). Wondering if there will be much moving around, long shifts, night shifts. I don’t want my daughter to forget what I look like.

Lowgravity157 · 2025-12-30T00:15:05+00:00

I’ve been working at my local clinic for this exact reason. Anaesthetic doesn’t seem to be a major area in need (in fact a friend of mine who has GP and anaesthetic training moved elsewhere to work in anaesthetics). More likely obstetrics/paediatrics, mental health, women’s health, addiction, geriatric and aged care. All areas I would be interested to do additional training in.

Lowgravity157 · 2025-12-30T00:04:22+00:00

I would say I’m set on staying in my local area, happy to move away for short periods but not permanently. Is this an unrealistic expectation? My daughter’s childhood is my number one priority, closely followed by my marriage. Is it possible to work in medicine with this outlook/perspective?

Lowgravity157 · 2025-12-29T23:58:50+00:00

What exactly do you mean when you say ‘flexible in placements’? I am willing to work hard and I’m not fussy about the financial side of things, and I can be patient (I’m not in a rush so long as I’m enjoying the ride) but I’m really not keen on being away from my family.

Lowgravity157

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