Health
The deadly symptom Carolyn nearly ignored and why paying attention to your body matters
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In this article, Carolyn Tate reveals the "minor" symptoms she nearly ignored and the life-saving lesson she learned about why your body’s smallest signals matter most.
By Carolyn Tate
We all brush off minor aches and pains from time to time, don’t we? We tell ourselves we're too busy, too healthy, too sensible to overreact to something that's probably nothing. I was that person up until a few years ago, and that attitude could have killed me.
I'm 52 now, and a seasoned health journalist, which makes what I'm about to tell you either ironic or instructive – let’s go with both.
A few years ago, I was training for a half marathon, eating a plant-based diet, barely drinking, and quietly smug about my general vitality. I had four kids living at home, a full workload, and the kind of packed schedule that feels like evidence of a life well lived. I was not someone who got seriously ill.
Then I suddenly ended up in an emergency department having a very serious conversation about my own mortality, and everything I thought I knew about my health shifted.
The symptom I almost talked myself out of
It started with nothing much: a slightly sore shoulder. Then one evening while I was chopping vegetables, I noticed a pins-and-needles sensation in one hand. I noted it, filed it under "probably nothing," and got on with dinner.
A few days later, I headed out for an early morning run – 8km, a regular circuit – and felt sluggish from the first step. By the time I got home, my right arm had swollen to almost twice its normal size. Even then, my first thought wasn't "get to a doctor." It was "This is annoying; I've got things to do today."
My partner Jon didn't share my casual attitude. As a risk-averse sort of guy, he suggested, then gently insisted, then outright hassled me until I rang my GP that afternoon. At the time I thought he was incredibly annoying, but now I'm grateful that he did.
The moment my doctor looked at my arm, she knew. "That's deep vein thrombosis," she said. "You need to go to emergency right now." I suggested I might pop past the school first to collect my kids. She eyeballed me with the kind of look that does not invite negotiation.
I made a call and someone else collected my kids.
When 'probably nothing' turned out to be very much something
At the hospital, a CT scan and ultrasound revealed that I didn't just have a blood clot. I had a large mass of clots running from my neck, through my shoulder and into my upper arm – and, most alarming, parts of it had already broken away and lodged in both lungs as pulmonary emboli.
A pulmonary embolism occurs when a clot travels to and blocks an artery in the lungs, cutting off blood flow. In Australia, around 320 deaths per year are attributed to pulmonary embolism. Left untreated, the mortality risk is serious. I was very lucky – rapid treatment with clot-dissolving injections got me out of danger within hours.
What followed was weeks of investigation to work out why it had happened in the first place. I didn't fit the typical profile: no recent surgery, no long-haul flight, not pregnant, not a smoker. What I eventually had confirmed was a structural condition called thoracic outlet syndrome – my collarbone and my first rib were compressing the blood vessels in my shoulder whenever I moved my arms in certain ways. That repetitive motion, most likely doing overhead weights at the gym, had been enough to cause my blood to clot.
This form of the condition – sometimes called Paget-Schroetter syndrome – commonly affects people engaged in repetitive overhead movement, like swimming, weight lifting, car repairs and hanging a large amount of washing. I don’t do a lot of any of those things (especially the washing!), so it took a while for my specialist to figure this out.
My specialist also told me that getting treatment within the first 14 days of symptoms significantly increases the chances of a successful outcome (i.e. staying alive) – which makes the days I spent ignoring that numb hand quite confronting to reflect on.
What happened next
After the initial treatment got me out of danger, attention then turned to preventing this from happening again. I faced a choice: lifelong blood-thinning medication, or surgery to remove the first rib on the affected side and decompress that thoracic outlet area. I chose surgery, which I had about 18 months ago. The recovery was longer than I'd hoped, and my exercise life now looks different from what it did before – the condition exists on the other side too, so I've had to rethink how I move and what I ask of my body.
But I am well. I still run, and I also swim, hike and do yoga and pilates. I no longer do any overhead weights, just to be safe, and I pay a different kind of attention to how my body feels during exercise. And I am happy to report that I am no longer someone who files "probably nothing" symptoms away and forgets about them.
The lesson that took me by surprise
What strikes me most when I look back at this episode of my life is how clearly my body was signalling something. The sore shoulder. The numb hand. The fatigue during a run that should have felt easy. None of these symptoms were dramatic. None of them screamed "emergency." But together, and in context, they were trying to tell me something pretty important.
The question I ask myself now – and the one I'd encourage you to consider too – is not "is this bad enough to bother a doctor about?" It's "is this new, unexplained, or persistent?" If the answer is yes, that's worth a conversation with your GP. Not necessarily a frantic one. Just a conversation, and not one to put off until later.
My GP's response when I walked through her door was swift and certain because she was able to see the full picture. And I’m grateful she had the experience and knowledge to handle it as she did.
We're told not to catastrophise our health – not to be a hypochondriac – and that's reasonable advice. But there's a lot of ground between catastrophising and ignoring, and that middle ground involves noticing how our body is going and seeking answers when we need to. We take note, act promptly, and trust our instincts.
I thought I was too busy to be unwell, and I (and my loved ones) nearly paid a very high price for that attitude. These days, I'm never too busy to listen to what my body is telling me. I hope you aren't either.
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Are you at risk of deep vein thrombosis?
Common risk factors of deep vein thrombosis, or DVT, include prolonged immobility, recent surgery, injury, certain medications, hormone replacement therapy, recent plane travel, and underlying conditions such as lung or heart disease. Risk also increases with age. But as my own experience shows, clots don't only happen to people who tick these boxes – active, otherwise healthy people can develop them too. If something feels off, please get it checked.
Feature image: Carolyn Tate
If you experience unexplained swelling in an arm or leg, persistent numbness, pain when breathing, or sudden shortness of breath, seek medical attention immediately.
The information on this page is general information and should not be used to diagnose or treat a health problem or disease. Do not use the information found on this page as a substitute for professional health care advice. Any information you find on this page or on external sites which are linked to on this page should be verified with your professional health care provider.
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