22 year old with back pain. On ibuprofen. Do I have pulmonary embolism?
Patient: Hi, I m a 22 year old female. I m having some back pain that started a little over a week ago. At first I thought it was a knot in my muscle, then it didn t go away. I ve been taking 4 ibeproferin every six hours and still the pain wont go away. It was really bad when I woke up this morning and could barely get up. I woke up several times coughing and that caused and even more sharp pain. I looked up on Web MD and put my symptoms in and it pointed most likely to pulmonary embolism . I m scared. Doctor: Hello,          in this question you have not mentioned which area of your back is hurting, is it upper or lower back. PE can mimic back ache (in the upper part of spine), but the pain is more on the front than on the back, there is cough with sputum and often blood can also accompany. The embolus usually arises from the lower limb vessels and after a period of immobilization or major surgery. also your age dosent fit into the risk factors for PE. But other than that there are several other causes of back ache with cough.  you should consult a doctor and get your tests done. It can be disc disease or acute spasm also. do not worry. take care.