Blood Clots High D-Dimer and Chest CT High Anxiety Please Help

I am so sorry that you are going through so much - I do agree though to go through piece by piece to find out what is going on.  We all know when something isn't right with our bodies and I still feel that way, too.  Unfortunately it doesn't translate well to all these doctors.  I have have had two cat scans and nothing but a torn rotator cuff and a small hiatal hernia showed up.  Nothing that would cause my D-Dimer to be high.  I'm going to chalk it up that there really was something going on coming back from Africa but it's gone but my D-Dimer still stays high.  I was told that they would see anything they needed to see on the CT Scan.  I can't tell you to relax because I'm still anxious too but am going to move forward that there is nothing wrong.  You know they really haven't done a lot of testing with other diseases or just things that happen in your body to make your D-Dimer high - they only relate it to a DVT or a PE.  I think that any kind of inflammatory thing going on in your body can raise your D-dimer.  JMO.  Take care!

 

So I am going through this as well.  Been having bad back and stomach pains. Assumed it was gallbladder like it has been in past.  Woke up the other morning with terrible shoulder blade pain on left side.  Finally decided to go to ER.  They ran all sorts of cardiac tests, blood work and a Chest X-ray.  My D-Dimer, which I had never had run before or had ever heard about cane back slightly elevated at 340.  Their range was to 230.  So it wasn’t extremely high, but high enough to warrant a ct scan.  That came back negative for any clots or lung/heart issues and they sent me on my way.   Went to my PCP today and she didn’t seem too concerned. All my blood work was great except that D-Dimer.  Now all I can do is worry.  She is retesting me again in a week and sending me for gallbladder ultrasound. But I totally forgot to ask for leg ultrasounds.  Did any of you ever go back to get more tests?  How are you all feeling now?  I can’t get this test result out of mind no matter how hard I try.   

 Yes, I think I finally got an answer!  I talked to the cancer doctor yesterday (he's a friend also) and told him I was having a HIDA Scan next Thursday.  He asked me if I had had any kind of severe pain and that might be gallbladder and I said no - just burping, gas, constipation and back pain.  He said those are classic symptoms of a gallbladder that is either inflamed or going bad.  He said that definitely would explain my D-Dimer going up and down and when the symptoms get worse, that was why my D-Dimer was at 783.  So if the gallbladder is functioning low, I will have it taken out. If not, next a colonscopy.  If nothing there then I will do an endoscopy and see about the hiatal hernia I have that is pretty small.  I won't stop until I get to the bottom of it but I think my cancer doctor is on to something.  He said since the gallbladder involves the liver and it's by-products (bile) that he's not surprised to hear I could have a bad gallbladder.  Here's a quote from an article - However, an elevated D-dimer does not always indicate the presence of a clot because a number of other factors can cause an increased level. Elevated levels may be seen in conditions in which fibrin is formed and then broken down, such as recent surgery, trauma, infection, heart disease, and some cancers or conditions in which fibrin is not cleared normally such as liver disease.

My son has these same symptoms and we have had 3 Er visits in the past 8 months all with high D-dimer level pain in his thigh and anxiety ! Have you found out anything? His doctor says there is no explanation for a high D-dimer and everything I read says different . I am really curious if your symptoms continued or if you figured anything out?

Hello all,

Glad I’m not alone here! I was recently quite ill, headaches, nausea, fatigue, shortness of breath etc. All symptoms subsided now (all I got from doc was paracetamol and gaviscon) but shortness of breath continues. Went docs to test for asthma and she didn’t think this was the case but took bloods. Later that night I get a call to go a&e as my d-dimer level was 1826!! Ct scan &xray clear so no clots. But I’ve had no further  blood tests or any explanation for why it could have been so high. Should they have tested me again? Is this high level a concern? The doc at the hospital wasn’t concerned as I’m only young (26). But I’m not sure if this could be a sign of something worse and I’m concerned they’re not investigating such a high reading. Am I being crazy? 

I too have been to ER with similar symptoms and results from  my blood clot testing and CT scan and X-ray. I am currently I’m just always feeling tired, sleepy and fatigued and have random headaches. I think I need to  have more blood work done. They ran all sorts of tests and a blood clot test that came back “not negative”, which would mean positive, right? They did a CT on my chest area to look further to see if there’s anything and she didn’t find anything. What I can’t seem to stop thinking about is that if they said “not negative” to me means positive which has me wondering if I do have a blood clot elsewhere why wouldn’t they do further testing? 

I finally had my HIDA scan and it was normal.  So that's an ultrasound, two cat scans and the HIDA scan and nothing.  I'm not going to worry about it as I've been tested for everything.  All of us could have high d-dimers and that's just our base number.  

So today I got told my D-Dimer was high and I'm nervous, I have bad anxiety and my fluttering heart my chest is in pain she didn't tell me the levels but she is worried so I see another doctor tomorrow for more test they did two CT scan no blood clot...

Old post but I just got put of ER with the same exact story. Been short of breath,minor chest ache,light head tired and of course anxious. X-ray clear. D-dimer elevated. Ct scan with dye and no sign of clot. Sent me home with nothing to ease my anxiety and he said lungs are clear. Meanwhile I feel short of breath and a wreck. Oh well.

I don't know if this will be extremely helpful, but I wanted to let you all know that you aren't alone. I also wanted you to know that you need to do your own research and be your own advocates. I have had 3 elevated d-dimer tests since November. I was initially with a dr I have had for over 10 years who did the d-dimer when he had no idea why I was short of breathe, a laundry list of symptoms and just not feeling myself. They did the CT, put me through all kinds of tests that ended up costing me $2k. When 3 mths went by and there was no explanation, I changed to my childrens family practitioner. He found I had an iron deficiency, b12 deficiency and sent me to a hematologist. The deficiencies helped a ton but didn't resolve everything. I have since been ruled out for Carpal Tunnel, MS, Lupus, Leukemia, Lyme Disease, Diabetes, Thyroid issues, etc etc etc and nothing. This past week the Hematologist told me that maybe I needed to speak to someone about a lifestyle change until I told him what I eat daily and what I do regularly (healthy eating, not sedentary but have issues still working out, etc). He then told me that it's possible I am "going through a bad patch" or quite possible that I have Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. Yet neither of these things explains the d-dimer. He had no explanation to offer. 

Unfortunately this doesn't give me answers (and now $4k of bills) and didn't give me what I was looking for (something to do to help myself feel better) but my point here was to tell you that you must take control to advocate for yourself. If I hadn't decided to do this for myself, I wouldn't have found that I have vitamin deficiencies. Simple things my dr should have tested for, especially with the prior history I had with Vit D deficiency and previous thyroid issues with similar symptoms. Fight for yourself-who cares if they get upset. They don't have to deal with what you do daily! <3