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Hi Alan, really sorry to hear what you're going through mate. I'll tell you my story in the hopes that it might help to round out your knowledge on the subject a little bit. I first had 5 clots in my lungs concurrently maybe 5 years ago. One was called a doozie by the specialist at the hospital. My lung scan was a shocker.
I was originally misdiagnosed by a GP and put up with them for a number of days until I couldn't get out of bed from the pain one night. I took 2 voltarin before the ambos came and it helped a lot. BTW don't take voltarin as it can promote internal bleeds. I didn't know that then.
I ended up getting a second opinion from another local GP the following morning who was onto it very quickly. She rushed me to be scanned - the scanning place was ready for my arrival. They then rushed me to hospital where they admitted me immediately but couldn't do anything until my heart rate went below 120. I spent about 5 days in hospital where they would only given me panadol for the pain. I refused the panadol as it was useless for the pain level and resorted to meditation for pain control which I had learned years before. They put me on oxycontin (I think) for the pain when I was discharged, which I didn't take as I was worried about dependency with those sorts of drugs.
Six months of warfarin put an end to that, and then it was on to low dose aspirin.
I asked if there would be lasting pain and they said maybe yes, maybe no. In my case, there was lasting pain for a number of years, but it finally faded. I could mostly feel where the clots had caused the damage when I was under stress. It was a good signal for me to relax.
About a year later I had an ache behind both knees. One of my brothers pushed me to get scanned and I had more clots there. The blood specialist discovered that I had Factor 5 Leiden which predisposes me to clotting for no reason. So, now it's thinners for life (Xaretlo). Those clots didn't leave any lasting issues as far as I can tell. At the time, I couldn't squat as it felt like I had something clogging the veins behind my knees. I think one of the clots was quite long too. That eventually went away after about 6 months. One side disappeared quite a while before the other. Probably that long clot took a while to disappear.
If they put you onto Warfarin, it's good and bad. You need to have your blood levels checked every 2-3 days (just a finger prick) and your warfarin dose modified accordingly to keep it at the right level. Foods with vitamin K will defeat warfarin, so green veggies are a problem unless you have them in the same quantities all the time. When I finally came off warfarin, I went straight out to grab a big salad lol. I kept a list of all foods that contained vitamin K and at what levels in my pocket at all times to help me to avoid certain foods if I was eating out.
So, the upside of warfarin is that they can turn it off very quickly with a vitamin K shot. This could save your life if you have a bad bleed from an accident or need an urgent operation. The downside is that it's a pain in the ass going to the doctor every 2-3 days to check levels and modify doses (and keep a diary of it all).
Xarelto, on the other hand, is one pill a day. However, there's no way to turn it off like you can with warfarin. It's convenient, but more dangerous.
Take it easy mate. I was told to keep active (not crazily so) and to not stay seated all day like one might for an office job. Get up regularly and go for a 2-5 minute walk if your doctor allows it. It's good maintenance for your condition - and into your future too once this is dealt with. Blood clots are very common, and it's good news if they stop in your legs or lungs. Much better that way than them traveling any further.
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