Value of A Second Opinion

[Guest guest]

I had an acute exacerbation of my pulmonary disease in December. My

CAT scan showed some fibrosis but also a lot of " ground glass. " I had

had some stable fibrosis for about 5 years that could have resulted

from inhalation of pastel dust in 1985. I had to go on O2 24/7. My

doctor with the " big " reputation told me the ground glass was all

fibrosis in the early stages. He would not even consider that there

was inflammation in my lungs. I had been exposed to someone in a

hospital emergency room who was very sick. I was there because I had

extreme chills. I was probably getting sick myself. That night, I

had trouble breathing and I felt light-headed. I got progressively

worse in the next ten days as it got harder for me to breathe. I went

to my GP who put me in the hospital. That is when the CAT scan got

much worse. This doc told me there was no treatment that had a chance

of working.

The " big " pulmonary doc told me I had 3 months to 2 years to live. I

am 83, but I am completely healthy with normal circulation and a great

heart. My daughter believed that this was inflammation from the virus

or whatever I caught in the ER. She refused to believe this doc was

right. I got opinions from two other lung docs. One reviewed several

CAT scans spanning five years and told me I could have inflammation

and may respond to treatment. Since I was slowly getting better, he

did not want to try treatment at that time. If I started to get

worse, he would then start steroids and Imuran.

Over the next six months, my pulmonary function studies stabilized.

My last visit to the " big " doc was in June, and he still believed all

of it was fibrosis, rather than stable fibrosis and inflammation. I

asked him if it could be both, and he told me that no one has both in

their lungs at the same time. I asked him if this could be a reaction

to the virus exposure, but he told me no.

I just went back to see him, and he was amazed with my progress. He

did not stop smiling and laughing the entire visit. When he walked

in, he asked me, " did your daughter do the breathing test for you? "

The machine reported that my spirometry was NORMAL. My graph that

showed the levels visit by visit had jumped up at a 60 degree angle.

He said he never saw that happen before. Without seeing a new CAT

scan, he said the fibrosis was stable and I must have had inflammation

from whatever I was exposed to. He originally told me I would never

be off the O2. Now, I am off the oxygen except when I sleep and when

I exercise.

The " big " doctor was wrong, and the other doctor was right. My

daughter was right as well. The moral of the story is get another

opinion and don't believe everything they say.

Sue