clot in lungs during preg?

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ON CHRistmas eve, i went to hospital into A&E, because i couldnt breathe, my chest felt tight and i literally felt like i was dying. this was around 5am, went into hosp and was there for 2 days, they couldnt do many tests because im 36 weeks preg, but thought i had either a blod clot in lungs or asthma attack, although am not asthmatic. they gave me injction for clot, to prevent any more and some inhalers too. they also asked me if i was abroad recently, i said yes i spent 9 months in pak.

now i dnt know what happened, and how it happened, im better now but the fact that i didnt have any check up in pakistan, they dont have the ante natal check ups for the mother unless you go and book urself. and i remmeber unless your feeling very poorly its not common for mother to be to go for a checkup. no one told me to go either. could i have suffered through not going and not being checked out in pakistan. i remember even for my daughters injections,immunisatons, they knew noting, werent sure of certain things and unless the parents are educated, no one knows what immunisation is compulsory there. i had to keep reminding my husband aboutnthe hepatits injection.

im fed up of the system there, no one knows anything, u need to go out of ur way to find out anything and my husband who probably thinks im bad mouthing pakistan again for no reason, just said well why didnt u tell me, u shud know these things…i mean,its ur country, isnt it HIS job to atleast tell ME the foreigner, what maternal check ups i need, what i should do, how we are not immune to certain things there that people who live there are immune to.

bas all i got was yaha pe bi bachey peda hote hai…

i dnt know if i suffered due to lack of facilties or check ups, what do you guys think?
ALSO here when i had gestational diabetes in my 1st preg, they used to check the baby heart beat with a monitor, no scan. in pak, theres no such facility, so everytime i wanted baby heart beat checked, she had to scan me…i mustve had 4 scans before 25 weeks…and i heard thats not good either all the scanning.

:teary1:

helpful adivce needed

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Re: clot in lungs during preg?

Glad you are better but honestly I am shocked to read tat you didn't have any pre natal checks..my sister, cousins, etc, gave birth in Pakistan and they had routine checks just like we do here, every month and at the end every week..and yes more scans happen inakistan than here but it's only because here insurance doesn't cover scans if not necessary, such isn't the case inpakistan, you pay out of pocket so no problems!

Don't know about gd, since I heard that's not a common practice to check fir thar in Pakistan!

Ps!they do have dopplers there..what hospital were you going to? My sis just returned from Peshawar and she said it was mini us, everything was available there n I thought about you n how you had such hard time.. I guess you just didn't go to the right places be it fir shopping or check ups..you should have tried to find the best!

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Re: clot in lungs during preg?

I agree with GTG, i dont know where you went but medical system of Pakistan is also very updated and top notch (ofcourse depends on your choice of hospital too). They have the same routine checkups as anywhere abroad. I am glad you are better though! and I have lived 4 years of my life in Peshawar, its not that bad. There are nice restaurants, shopping centers and even good hospitals. Ofcourse the life style would be different from UK but we lived there and had good social life too. You just need to adapt and adjust. Now when you will go back and inshAllah will be free from pregnancy, just browse around, you will like it too, you just have to find the right places for you. You can also drive over there, Peshawar has become quite modern now, i dont see why you have to just sit at home. Good luck :)

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Re: clot in lungs during preg?

nadz...I'm sorry...but unless you live in some interior village in Pakistan, I find it hard to believe how you could not be getting regular, pre natal checkups and care. i have plenty of relatives & cousins in pak, and NEVER have I heard that pre-natal care is not common. I'm not sure what the case is in your family/in laws, but even me, and American born Indo/Pak knows that Pakistan is not THAT backwards...

When I was 15 weeks along with my first son, I traveled to Karachi with my mom & sister cuz Ammi needed to have total hip replacement surgery and she did not have insurance here in the states (self employed), so it was cheaper to get it done there. While I was in Khi (about 6 weeks) I had a couple of checkups with a Ob/Gyn at Ziauddin Memorial, where my mom's surgery took place. Now remember, I had been through IVF, and had what they call "precious pregnancy" in Pak (!), so I had taken my ENTIRE file with me, just in case...the lady doc there was very professional, I did not have to "explain" ANYTHING to her, and frankly, I didn't notice anything much different than the way things are done here in the States. I'm not trying to be mean or facetious here, but being from UK, how can you be so complacent and ignorant yourself?? I get it that your inlaws may not know much, but YOU do! Was it really that hard for you to find yourself a experienced OB/GYN and book your own pre-natal care???

I think you SERIOUSLY need to give up this "Woe is me.." routine, put your big girl panties on and start taking care of yourself!!! How can you NOT know what was wrong with you on Christmas Eve??? You did get a diagnosis, right??? Shaking my head, girlfriend, shaking my head....

If you're REALLY that unhappy in Pakistan, put your foot down, and move you and your husband back to the UK!! He is your cousin, correct? Did you not know what it would be like living with your inlaws (phuppo!)? What their ghar ka mahol is like??

I'm glad you're feeling better, inshallah, the rest of your pregnancy will go smoothly...but PLEASE...grow up!!! And make Google your best friend!!! It's amazing what you can learn online....

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Re: clot in lungs during preg?

they are decent people, but uninformed. now here in the uk, i know how to do everything, but in pakistan the least they couldve done for me, is provide some sort of info, especially when its not easy to gain it there, where i went was all pushto speaking, and they wouldnt allow men in the centre, so husband couldnt go and mil was unwell, and sil at work etc. just harder there and whenever i asked questions no one knew, the doctor i went to even told me to go bk to london and get my check ups. yes mil did say theres one or two good hosp, but effort wasnt made to take me there. listen, i get it, i do need to do thingds myself, but i needed support there from people who actually live there, but they w ere uninformed and husband just said if u are unwell lets go docs, but u dnt need to be unwell to go docs for pre ntal check ups....

tbh just frustratring there i found, maybe bad exp for me. but i found them to have a lack of knowledge, and understanding, if i did feel unwell, mil would say oh ur stressing too much dnt wry kinda attitude.

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Re: clot in lungs during preg?

I think you guys should have chosen a facility with more Urdu and English specking doctors. It is hard for me to believe that their weren't any available. Anyhow, I suppose lesson learned. When you go back, take things in your control, instead of letting people run your show. If people are no supporting you, then get up and find ways to support yourself. Make yourself a stronger person for your own well being and for your children.

Having said that, I hope feel better.

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Re: clot in lungs during preg?

May be i wasnt born abroad and moved here from pak after college but i just hate it when ppl start complaining about life in paksitan. If you have money you can get almost everything you get here including the medical facilities and i never had felt that doctors in pak are incompetent or anything or that ppl there have no concept of monthly checkups in pregnancy. After my wedding i had to move from lahore to mianwali which is even smaller than peshawar and equally backward and i spent my first two trimesters there...and i still had monthly checkups and they even scanned me for downs syndrome. Infact when i moved here later in my pregnancy i brought all my reports from pak and they accepted them here.
and getting a proper check up is your job. You spent alot of time on gs when in peshawar, you could have easily asked ppl here for doctors info. or just went to some regular GP and asked for a good doctors referral.

Yeah most of the paksitanis dont have access to basic necessities of life but from no angel yous ound like one of those uneducated, male dominated female of interiors and rural areas of pakistan. yeha i agree you dont have to like living in pak as it is harder for you but that doesnt makes you a damsel in distress.

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Re: clot in lungs during preg?

Another thread to downplay Pakistan !

When I was pregnant I visited two different hospitals in first few weeks and both of them asked me if I would deliver the baby in hospital. This only means one thing that even if you don't book yourself they will do your checkup and everything and what u wrote is again another piece of lie to bad mouth Pakistan.

Second , even the smallest clinics in Pakistan now have immunisation schedules. It's because of the pharma companies marketing efforts even the poorest and illiterate people residing here know what immunisation is " Hifzatai Tikkay" and doctors guide them through it . Plus many schools now ask for immunisation proof before giving admission to child. I myself wrote so many times on your threads on immunisation and tried to guide you but still you are unaware God knows why

I have family living in various villages of Punjaab , even there now they get their babies delivered by a doctor and go for proper checkups.

I feel sorry for your mental state sometimes.

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Re: clot in lungs during preg?

I skimmed the OP, a clot in the lungs is not to do with poor antenatal checks.

They asked about travel abroad because long flights make you more prone to these clots as does being pregnant.

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Re: clot in lungs during preg?

Uninformed? didnt you say your MIL is a professor or at least working lady? I doubt she is doing charo pocha. How can you be uninformed when you live in the country and are active (working, studying) .. What about SIL? She is uninformed too?

Really its not their "job" to take care of you. You've to take care of yourself first. Then everyone else will follow! .. There is a saying "Jo apni gadar (pay importance to yourself) nahin karte, uski koi nahin karta" .. Imply it to your life, because thats what desi culture is all about.

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Re: clot in lungs during preg?

this should be a life1 thread :halo:

pulmonary embolism,if it was khuda nakhwasta is a life threatening emergency.nothing to do with pakistan or antenatal check-ups. waisay people develop embolus/clot for sitting/lying in bed for long periods or with air travel mostly :halo: nai jana wapis peshawer tau na jao yaar but pakistan itna bhi gya guzra nai hai !

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Re: clot in lungs during preg?

on a second thought, please be careful with your 'angraiz' daacters. drugs/injections for dissolving clots are absolutely contraindicated in pregnancy since they thin out the blood and can cause bleeding. did they test for d-dimers before giving the injection for the clot ? it is done on blood sample and is not limited to non-pregnant people only.

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Re: clot in lungs during preg?

Nadz, no sympathy for you this time out. Quite frankly, for a woman who's already HAD a child, you knew or should have known what your medical needs were. If you failed to avail yourself of the services, that's your responsibility.

Unless you tell us your in-laws forbade you or prevented you from seeking medical attention, it was your reponsibility to find a doctor/medical practice and to make appointments and ensure you received the care you needed.

Like everyone has said, Peshawar is not a teeny-tiny village where these resources don't exist. It was up to you to ask questions and seek these services for yourself - your responsibility as an educated pregnant woman.

I do wish you the best of health and a safe and healthy delivery, insh'Allah - but you need to take of yourself - no one can do that for you and that includes having a positive and happy attitude.

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Re: clot in lungs during preg?

I don't think you can blame the Pakistani system for your illness or for the fact that you didn't get checked up.

I also don't know why you would expect a guy to know about maternity checkups in Pakistan.

Glad to know you are better. You need to find a good and worthwhile place to fulfill your medical needs in Pakistan. There are plenty there.

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Re: clot in lungs during preg?

Nadz seriously u have some communication gap between u huby n ur in laws u seriously try 2 cross this barrier n all ur problems whether health or personal vl be resolved inshahallah :)
N like said above u r already a mum of baby so u must know which month which test u require 2 do n plz don't blame Pakistan my SIL had her 1st baby in pak now she shifted 2 Australia as she l be all alone there so she is coming 2 pak 4 delivery :) so Pakistani doctors arnt tht bad

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Re: clot in lungs during preg?

totally agree with your first post but this one I’d disagree with.
D-Dimers are elevated in pregnancy … leading to false positives, which is why we (in USA) do not test for d-dimer in pregnancy.
Heparin (a blood thinner) is the the treatment of choice during pregnancy in case of of PE … because it does not cross the placenta. Ofcourse coumadin is absolutely contraindicated.
some women suffering from genetic causes of hypercoagualble states (like factor five leiden deficiency) are placed on low dose aspirin (aspirin is also a blood thinner) throughout their pregnancy, along with heparin.

sorry i felt compelled to chime in :bummer: … I’d hate for non-medical readers of this forum/thread to get the idea that allll blood thinners were contraindicated during pregnancy.

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Re: clot in lungs during preg?

i also disagree ,i developed blood clots (dvt) during my first trimester as a complication of ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome n i took lovenox for almost 3 months n alhumdulilah didnt have any side effects on me or the baby

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Re: clot in lungs during preg?

^ I never said you dont get dvt's in pregnancy or nadz is lying about the disease. I listed the most common causes besides known cases of hypercoaguable disorders . I just said that ALL facilities, investigations and treatments are available in most parts of pakistan Alhamdulillah unlike she keeps portraying the situation here. If she thinks ghar baith kay angels should descend from above for antenatals and checkups without her even asking for them, I am sure that doesnt happen in our planet atleast. If not peshawer, islamabad is at max 2 hours drive from peshawer and has best medical centres. ghar baith kaykoi dekhnay nai ata though !

Ehl-e-chaman, i know d-dimers do show up in pregnancy but like she said they gave her an injection for the clot in the emeg so i think they should have carried out a basic test to differentiate PE or even giving heparin? It's not like an infection that they can blindly give any antibiotic without a culture! "clot in lung" is a serious matter and if she was in pakistan and they suspected it, they would have admitted her until delivery to keep under observation!

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Re: clot in lungs during preg?

Good hospitals and doctors do have monitors for baby's heartbeat..my doc only suggested one anomaly scan which was done in fifth month

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Re: clot in lungs during preg?

based on the little she wrote about her sx of difficulty breathing/chest tightness .... my best guess would be reactive airway ... and she got a shot of solumedrol (steroids) not lovenox .... if anyone one was suspecting PE ... one shot of lovenox would be clearly inadequate. she hasn't indicated more then one shot in her post nor any imaging study to help rule out PE.
anyhoo ... not to be repetitive ... but in pregnancy d-dimer test is not warranted (as per current US guidelines) to differentiate for PE. imaging is.

I agree with the spirit of your comment though ... I'm sure adequate pre-natal care is available in Pakistan as is evident from multiple responses here .... if OP had a different experience then some of it has to with her own lack of information or apathy or just a general determination to dislike everything Pakistan.