Age: 69.0
Sex: M
Vaccine: COVID19
Symptoms: Anticoagulant therapy, Arthralgia, Back pain, Blood pressure increased, Chest discomfort
Clinical narrative: Two sets of issues: 1) I had fatigued and sluggish; mild fever - flu-like symptoms; soreness in arm and then body soreness -  those followed the shot and lasted about four days. May have lost my appetite and I had a mild cough beginning of the second day of the four day period. These weren't severe but "under the weather" type. Then I felt really good for two days. 2) Then I started a progression where I went back sicker and sicker - they ended up with me in the hospital. The beginning  of this second time- fatigue returned again. I started having coughs again and they were dry and deeper. I had a little soreness - my chest felt a little heavy but not too heavy. Over the next two weeks, I started to get heavier breathing. Over the next month the breathing got worse. Also, I started having mild pains in the back - upper respiratory. Then I had "the incident" - I had made dinner and had dinner. Got up to go to the restroom and felt a little woozy. After I just didn't feel right and I went to lay down. I made it to stair case and it was a 25 walk from table. I took 2 steps up the stairs and collapsed. I literally went faint. My son said I blacked out. I knew I didn't feel right and I couldn't get myself up. I was helped to the couch. They called my doctor. We didn't go to ER. I started having deeper challenges breathing - short of breath a lot. I would have occasional pains when I changed positions laying down or when I got up. I had a meeting with doctor the very next morning after I passed out. We couldn't pin anything down - I wasn't coughing all the time -  just occasionally at that time. He sent me for a battery of tests. I was going to see him for another issue - a soreness in the knee (it had been scheduled before the incident). It was happening  more and more - with shortness of breath - five weeks in I couldn't walk outside to care without being short of breath and  was having pains in the back regularly.. It ended up being Pulmonary Embolism. None of these symptoms were there after the second shot. There was a steady progression of symptoms getting worse - it was incremental - every day had been getting more challenging. Would be waking up with coughing and needing to find a more comfortable position. I had no idea blood clots were developing. About 6 weeks out, Dr. referred me to cardiologist. My cardiologist made room in his schedule for me to see his assistant because of the symptoms I was having. The symptoms were getting really bad. Worse shortness of breath and more steady and the pains in the back were regular and not intermittent. I was getting so fatigued that I was taking afternoon naps and I don't do that. Went to get COVID test  - negative result - and then went to see the Cardiologist assistant. She interviewed me for about 5 minutes and she went to talk to the main Cardiologist and they sent me to ER immediately. Serious chest pains, shortness of breath and I was checked into Hospital ER (May 12th, 2021) and was a regiment for being treated for blood clots - had a whole bunch of them around heart and lungs and infarctions around the lungs. I asked my hematologist and my doctor and my cardiologist and they say it isn't related to COVID vaccine but none of this was going on before the second vaccine. There was no other big event in my life - no falls etc that could have made it become onset. I am now permanently on blood thinners. I got progressively better. Also to note:  my blood pressure was up - from the first doctor visit that I went to - it had never been that high before. Also, I had swelling on my left leg, and ankle and foot  during the course of the time my second set of symptoms after the vaccine and I had groin pain the day that I had passed out. Yes - I am mostly recovered but technically I am not fully yet.