how long to dissolve blood clots on coumadin

Right...coumadin does not dissolve clots...they dissolve on their own. I had a Pulmonary embolism and the docs in one hospital said that they would dissolve on their own and they couldn't go anywhere to hurt me. (clots in my lungs) but my reg. doc said they could harden (calcify?) so I'm not sure who to believe or if both are a possibility...anyone know?:confused::confused:

I was told that if you catch the clots in the first 48 hours or so, and take Heparin they'll go away, but if they sit longer than that, they will just kill off the blood supply and those veins will never be good again...

I had waited because I knew something was wrong with my lungs, but didn't think of clots, so I don't know my status yet...

Oh that makes sense jbrd...sure hope the former is the story for both of us. I am a little nervous however because it has been a week and I still get a bit winded (w/oxygen) when I move around. NOT that I move around all that much with my bad knees. I know I should move more, but so uncomfortable. Will excercise improve the chance of lungs not being effected, I wonder? I realize that most peops on here are not med profs so I have to take everything with a grain of "salt". ;)

Sueso is correct; anticoagulants such as Coumadin/Lovenox/Heparin don't dissolve blood clots. They help your body to dissolve clots on its own, and can keep new clots from forming.

Sueso, I've never heard of a blood clot calcifying. I did a little Googling and I found information on blood vessels calcifying, but not the clots themselves. So I couldn't say for sure.

That being said, I have a clot behind my knee that's most likely permanent. Apparently it never completely dissolved five years ago, and was assumed to be gone once I felt fine after treatment. Now it's embedded into the vein and won't ever dissolve. Kinda scary.