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Respiratory Disorders (Expert Forum)
emphysema or not?
Answered by
This forum is for questions and support regarding lung and respiratory issues such as: Allergies, Asthma, Bronchitis, Colds - Flu, Chronic Cough, COPD, Cystic Fibrosis, Emphysema, Fibrosis, Lung Abscess, Nasal Polyps, Pleurisy, Pneumonia, Sarcoidosis, Sinusitis, Tuberculosis
emphysema or not?
by twingirl, Mar 11, 2002 12:00AM
Two years ago my twin sister was diagnosed with emphysema after having an MRI done. Three weeks after that I was told I had the lungs of a seventy year old woman after having an xray. We both were smokers at that time, and both of us quit smoking. We both have what the doctors call an unspecified autoimmune disorder. Three months later after my sister went back to get her lungs checked by her Primary Care Physician, she was sent to a Pulmonary specialist. He scheduled my sister for biopsies and believed that she did not have emphysema and something else was causing her shortness of breath. Well, the doctor took a lot of biopsies on her and found not only did she not have emphysema, that she had no type of lung disease. She has no heart problems either nor do I. I feel fine too except for shortness of breath. The Pulmonary doctor said that cigarettes aggravated her breathing but because of all the tests and biopsies that smoking was not the cause of her MRI results. My sister and I believe that this "unspecified autoimmune disorder" had attacked our lungs at the same time. It's the only thing that makes sense to us since there is no damage of the lungs. Does anyone have any information on this, or has this happened to anyone? We are just so baffled by all of this. Twingirl
Doctor's Answer
by National Jewish, Mar 14, 2002 12:00AM
, Mar 14, 2002 12:00AM
More testing is needed to learn the cause of the shortness of breath that you and your twin sister are having. Pulmonary function testing and a high resolution CT scan of the lungs may uncover a problem. It sounds like the lung specialist was unable to see any problem in your lungs from the biopsies that were taken. There are different ways to get biopsy samples. If a problem was seen in the pulmonary function testing or the lung CT it’s possible that more information about the problem could be found by having a thoracoscopic lung biopsy. It may be helpful to get a second opinion from a different lung specialist. An arthritis specialist called a rheumatologist would be most familiar with autoimmune lung disease.
