[setApart]

I've been having Shortness of breath and pleurisy pains been dx with asthma and have SLE, anyways, I've had a CT Scan and wonder if anyone could help me decipher the results and the ER Dr said I might have interstitial lung disease/asthma, I've been given steroids and currently on 20mg but there not helping much, I'm often SOB just talking to someone, I take Advair 500 and Xopenex 3 times a day without much relief.(my labs/xrays/ekg are all normal?)

Impression: Small calcified granuloma in the right upper lobe. No evidence of pulmonary fibrosis. No septal thickening, bronchiectasis, honeycombing, or focal consolidations are seen. There is no evidence of mediastinal or axillary adenopathy. The heart is not enlarged. No evidence of pericardial effusion or mass.

I'm at a loss at what's causing me to be SOB, someone did suggest it might be the Imuran but I've been on it several month's and it's just now getting really bad the past couple of months? and I've had problems with my breathing for 6 mos or so.:worried:

 

[Lily]

Hi Set,

Far be it for me to start trying to decipher a CT scan :lol: I'm certainly no medical professional and there could be many varied and vastly different reasons why you have this.

However I do have a cousin with Sarcoidosis, have you heard of it? It can produce granulomas in the lung and result in shortness of breath and other various symptoms. I assume your Rheumy is going to get these results and go over them with you?

love
Lily

 

[Katharine]

Hi again,

That sounds almost identical to what they found on my CT scan, the granuloma thing, as well as something else but apparently neither really explain the shortness of breath and are pretty benign with no fibrosis as such which is good.

My results are in French so it's even harder to decipher :rotfl: but I have to take the expert's advice when he says there is nothing too serious right now. With me they haven't ruled ILD out but there's no damage as such so that's good. The pulmologist seems to think my problems are cause by a weakening of the pulmonary muscles (along with the others) due to my polymyositis overlap.

I think we can't really interpret these things and you'll have to wait until the pulmologist sees it,

Katharine