just thought i would ask the question, has anybody had experience of blood clots on the lungs, ive tried asking my doctor as im still in hospital, but hopeing to be home in three days, he seems to be very vague as to how long it would take to get back out on the bike, ive got clots on both lungs, ive never had this before, so dont really know how long and how much i should push things on the bike any info would be welcome cheers steve

He is probably thinking “**** the bike you’ve got blood clots on your lungs.”

Can you elaborate what your condition actually is? Ive never heard of a blot clot on the lungs. Is it blood in the lungs, or an excess of blood between the lungs and the sac they’re contained in?

I am not a doctor, so am going to shut up and advise you listen to a real doctor.

Pulmonary emboli?

I’m not a doctor either but when it comes to blood clots inside I’ve always assumed these are potentially fatal so listen to them and don’t do anything unless they say it’s okay to do so.

Do you have a follow up with a clinic or consultant that can advise better than the regular overworked doctor doing fleeting visits on the ward?

IMNAD

If you mean you have a pulmonary embolism, on both lungs, then your issues will be how much/any lung tissue has been damaged, and the kind of medications you will need to be on to stop them happening again (caused by blood clots from somewhere else, often legs, travelling through your system and lodging in the lungs).

Either way, take it easy and listen to the advice. Hope for a speedy recovery. My mate has had this a couple of times and it is not nice.

Yep, as above. You want the clots to break down so they then aren’t going to clog your veins or arteries and stop the flow of blood and oxygen to the rest of my our body.

He’ll have put you on warfarin, or comadin to thin your blood so that the blood doesnt coagulate as fast, which will help the clots to break away.

You want to be resting up for as long as you can, exercise will have the possibility of the clots moving and then getting stuck, and then youll die.

Listen to your doc, and ask him the more sensible question of what level of excercise should you be doing at the moment.

You’re looking at less than 3 months based on experience.

My expeRience is my wife having clots three times, plus other relatives.

Had Pneumonia and a clot on the lung at the start of November last year. Had antibiotics for the pneumonia and am on blood thinners for the clot. I started back slowly on the exercise bike in late December and was back out riding in early Jan. I’m still not fully back to 100% but getting there.

Only advice is listen to your doc and ask them the question, they can guide you better than someone on t’internet.

I’ve got a huge DVT in my thigh at the moment.
At home on 24 hourly injections of heparin and lots of sitting about with my leg up.
Never got chance to ask about when I can get back on a bike as they were keen just to kick me out to stop bed blocking.
May know more when I get to coagulation clinic this week.
It’s a leg ache but could be fatal if I don’t behave and a clot moves.
You have my sympathy.
Caz xx

It’s difficult to say. I’m assuming you have a pulmonary embolus from what you’ve said. Another assumption is that it needs to be fairly large, otherwise they might not routinely keep you in hospital (See: PESI), although I suspect this depends who you have seen.

As with most things like this, there is a huge spectrum. You can either have a small pulmonary embolus causing a tiny amount of lung damage and a bit of chest pain, or a massive one which can stop your heart and damage a lot of your lung tissue. Without knowing your case, it’d be wrong to advise further on expected outcome, but most people do well if they survive the initial insult. In the first few weeks, the emphasis is on dissolving the clot that’s in your lungs and hopefully your breathing becomes easier as that happens, though this is unpredictable. Your doctor is probably being vague because he doesn’t know / can’t predict the longer-term outcome.

I think the point above is well-made: A PE is a potentially life-threatening thing so getting back on your bike is not the priority at this stage. It’s a question for your follow up appointment.

P.S. Get well soon

P.P.S. The GMC says I have to disclose the fact that I am a doctor. My hidden identity is 7037729. Obviously nothing I have said supercedes anything you have been told by the people involved in your care.