cece

I am a Critical Care RN and at work had an episode of sudden onset tachycardia, facial flushing (I felt like I was having a hot flash), and tachypnea (rr was 30-40's) this lasted for several hours and I was seen in the ER where I work. My CT was negative for any overt PE but my D-dimer was 5.0 (5000) I have Leventhal-Stein (also known as PCOS). I was treated within the last two weeks for an apparent URI (cough, wheeze, sob, fever, clogged sinuses) I had gall bladder surgery 4 months ago (laparascopic removal but d-dimer usually returns to normal within 3 months even for CABG). They ran a thyroid panel to see if I was having issues there (no results yet), but will thyroid or hormonal issues elevate a d-dimer to that extent? I take glucophage every day (1000 mg)(but its not a medication known to artificially elevate the d-dimer). I see pts every day with many other issues with only slightly elivated d-dimers. I am personally at a loss and are concerned that much of the respiratory symptoms that I had may have been PE rather than URI. Any thoughts? Also How long will PE's show up for on CT?