Positive d dimer clot test, scan showed no clot in leg, feeling very breathless+dizzy

[Eevie]

I am in my early 20s and had a positive d dimer blood clot test a couple of weeks ago so was sent for a scan of my leg which showed no clot. I had recently started birth control again which can cause blood clots.

I was told by the hospital that it was unusual for someone my age to have a high d dimer so should have another test to check if it was a false positive or if something else is going on.

My dr said it was just a routine check so can't have the re test until a few weeks into January. But over the last couple of weeks I have felt myself getting more and more breathless and dizzy, I feel like there is also a weight on my chest and have been getting chest pains.

It's annoying because I don't know if this is just my anxiety or not and I have worried myself that it is a pulmonary embolism. I am trying to breathe slowly and properly but am no doubt making it worse.

I have been doing a lot better with my anxiety recently so i am incredibly frustrated if this is my anxiety. I was housebound with agoraphobia for many years and have worked very hard to start going out again and thought i was starting to do better overall with my anxiety.

If it was a pulmonary embolism would it be constant pain and breathlessness? I have been feeling really breathless and dizzy most of the time to be honest, my chest is currently hurting and I am trying to calm myself down.

Any help would be greatly appreciated

[NervUs]

I am older than you (46) but had a similar thing happen last Feb- chest pains with inhalation and elevated d dimer. At the time, I also had strep throat. They ordered a CT which was clear for clots and anything else.

I can't completely remember what my symptoms were like after the CT, but I do remember wondering if they had missed something. It is entirely possible your symptoms are anxiety, but you should probably call the doctor and tell him/her what's going on, esp if anything worsens.

ETA: JUst saw they scanned your leg and not lungs?

[Careful1]

From the research i did years ago when I thought I had one, it said the pain would be consistent and you would feel it every time you took a breath and you would also be short of breath. I think if the doctor was concerned that you could possibly have one he/she would have ordered a cat scan of your chest.

D-dimer can positive for a number of reasons and sometimes you can get a false positive but i think the doctor is the best person to answer these questions. There is a birth control out there that carries a lesser risk of blood clots, I believe its progestin only pills. When I went for my yearly exam my doctor was trying to get me started on those and was explaining to me it was the only one he could offer me since I am 35 and at the time was smoking. I had to remind him though that my tubes were tied and so I didn't need any birth control. Maybe if you are concerned about being on the pill but need it, you can speak with your doctor about the one that supposedly carries less risk?

I hope everything works out with your follow up testing. In the mean time try and remain calm and positive.

[Tonjarayn]

How did your teats go? Whatever happened to your elevated d-dimer? How elevated was it?