“Pulmonary Embolism - Haematologist question ”
Hi,
I’m a 39 year old female. In 2016 I had two small PE’s after what was thought to be due to the combination of a short haul flight and being on a contraceptive pill. I believe it was mainly due to having a one year old baby and my toddler asleep on my lap so no movement at all for a couple of hours. I took Xarelto for three months and then had a lung scan which confirmed all was clear. I am now not taking any oral contraceptive and planning to take a long haul flight of nine hours plus in November. The haematologist does not believe that I’m at any risk in the future of having another PE but has advised me to take one tablet of Xarelto (20mg) before every flight for the rest of my life. I am a non smoker with no immediate family history of PE’s. I would like to know whether I need to wear flight socks as I’ve found in the past that my legs get less puffy without them, just wearing loose clothing and flip flops seems to cause much less swelling. I would also like to know if I’m able to have one or two alcoholic drinks on a flight (as it is a holiday) as long as I drink plenty of water which I always do?
I’m a 39 year old female. In 2016 I had two small PE’s after what was thought to be due to the combination of a short haul flight and being on a contraceptive pill. I believe it was mainly due to having a one year old baby and my toddler asleep on my lap so no movement at all for a couple of hours. I took Xarelto for three months and then had a lung scan which confirmed all was clear. I am now not taking any oral contraceptive and planning to take a long haul flight of nine hours plus in November. The haematologist does not believe that I’m at any risk in the future of having another PE but has advised me to take one tablet of Xarelto (20mg) before every flight for the rest of my life. I am a non smoker with no immediate family history of PE’s. I would like to know whether I need to wear flight socks as I’ve found in the past that my legs get less puffy without them, just wearing loose clothing and flip flops seems to cause much less swelling. I would also like to know if I’m able to have one or two alcoholic drinks on a flight (as it is a holiday) as long as I drink plenty of water which I always do?
Female | 39 years old
Medications: Rivaroxaban
2 Answers
Taking one Xarelto in this situation is not proven to help. I’m not totally against it; personally, I prefer taking one shot of lovenox 30-40 mg before and after the flight. Compression stockings are recommended. The best thing is exercise during the fight, to get up, walk and pump your calves. In your case, being on birth control pills and recent delivery is a much bigger factor.
Would probably recommend the same Xarelto.
