Pneumonitis?

[dahknee]

Hi, I've been dealing with pneumonitis for over 2 months and hve been down several courses of treatment for it and it still just keeps hanging on. I would appreciate any advice from those others who have been through it. Maybe you have something that worked for you that my onc and rad doc haven't tried. Anyway I'd really appreciate any info. Thanks in advance and God loves us all.

Donny

[Connie B]

Hi Donny,

I'm sorry to hear your still having to deal with it. I had it too, but my doc's put me on prednisone and that did the trick for me. I had it for about 6 weeks. Maybe they need to up your meds. I know with me, they were concerned it may not go away, but I was lucky enough that it did. I had shortness of breath with it and man did that knock me on my butt being SOB.

Hope this will clear up for you real soon.

[dahknee]

Hi Connie, thanks for responding, I've been on prednisone for 3 weeks at 30 mg. now 20 mg. till tomorrow, then 10 and on down. I've done a course of Azithromycin, then a course of Augmentin 875 twice a day for ten days, also Claritin D plus Robitussin DM and Flonase to try to dry out the sinus drip. Heck I don't know what more I can take with all this but any suggestion is well taken and appreciated. Thanks Connie.

Donny

[Connie B]

For sinus the only thing I know that works for me and others I've share this with is "warm saltwater" up your nose. You can put this in a spray bottle and it does clean out your sinuses and is completely safe. My father-in-law swore by this and he got me into doing it a long time ago. I've since passed it on to many that swear by it. You can do this as many times a day as needed and it won't harm you.

When I started to do this, I was told to take salt and put it in a glass of warm water. Cup one of your hands and pour some of the saltwater into your hand. Bend over a sink and sniff the saltwater up your nose. Be prepared for a little mess and a little shock to the system, but once you do it, you get the hang of it. But, I now have a nasal spray bottle that works well.

I was on my prednisone for 6 or 8 weeks maybe it was 8 weeks when I had penumonitis. That was many moons ago for me. But I know I put on the pounds being on it. But it did clear up my lung pneumonitis problems and took away my SOB. As for the sinus issues, are they saying that's part of the pneumonitis? I've never heard of that one before.

I sure hope your feeling better soon. I know I have been dealing with some new allergies (something I've never had before) and they haven't been bad, but they haven't been fun either. Salt is working for me.

Good Luck and Get Well Soon.

[Jyoung20]

I took prednisone for a total of 6 months and it finally went away. Everytime they decreased the dosage , it came back but did eventually go away---hopefully never to return.

Blessings,

Jamie

[Barb73]

Hi Donny,

When Bill completed his concurrent radiation and chemotherapy 4-1/2 years ago, he was diagnosed with pneumonitis. He was put on prednisone. Some time after he came gradually down off it, he developed an insistant cough.

The pulmonologist was going to put him back on prednisone, but instead prescribed a cough med. That cough medicine made Bill loopy, and didn't do anything to abate the coughing, so Bill didn't continue with it.

While at the pharmacy, Bill saw Mucinex and decided to give it a try. It worked like a charm for the cough.

He notified the pulmonologist who said that Mucinex had been a drug that previously required a prescription, but was now an OTC (over-the-counter) med. He further said that it didn't seem to work. Well, it worked for Bill.

This past October, Bill had a bout with coughing one night (some blood in the sputum). It was after having done a lot of raking of leaves during the day. We called an ambulance to the ER in the middle of the night.

The doctors there took a CT scan and determined that the only thing outstanding was the scarring from all the past radiation. He was given an emergency inhalator and advised to see his pulmonologist at first opportunity.

Bill's pulmonary doctor gave Bill a prescription for Spiriva, which he has been using once a day, and Bill has not coughed since. That's over 7 months without problems in that area. He was also told to "cut back," but not to stop the outdoor lawn work. The doctor said that the activity was good for Bill.

Of course, with the recent chemo regimen and such, Bill has cut back on activities, but due to fatigue,

Sorry for the length of this. Trying to keep details exact, so maybe overexplained.

Barbara

[jaminkw]

Donny, I've never had pneumonitis but am very familiar with allergy and sinus issues. When all else fails I resort to a product you can buy in the drug store very similar to Connie's home remedy. It's called NeilMed and I know it's available in Walgreens. I started with their Nettie Pot and packets of some ph balanced isotonic solution that may just be salt. I don't know. The Nettie Pot was o.k. but the squeeze bottle is better. It says to use warm distilled water but my daughter, the RN, says boiled tap water cooled down to warm is o.k. I rinse the bottle with alcohol when I'm done. I had a horrific infection from a dental cleaning before I was dx'd so I tend to be very cautious about possible infection.

Hope you get this problem resolved.

Judy in Key West

[dahknee]

Judy, yes the Neilmed squeeze bottle helped alot. The sinus problem is cleared up. Still wheezing, coughing, SOB, (I love the SOB initials, too descriptive). Slowly getting better but may be on Prednisone for a while longer. Pulmo thinks we'll continue it till it's all clear. I just wanna breath.

Thanks Judy

Donny

[jaminkw]

Donny, feel better soon. Your sense of humor is greatly appreciated.

Judy in Key West

[gpawelski]

For patients that had chemo or radiation, infections are the curse of the rest of their lives (a.k.a. "late toxicities develop only in people who survive"). You've got to nip these infections in the bud ASAP.

Radiation pneumonitis is a lung inflammation infection. One of the side effects of chest radiation therapy involves the lungs. When high-energy rays are used to damage cancer cells and stop them from growing and dividing again, it is inevitable that normal cells are also affected.

Especially after radiation treatments within the chest or the breast, the lungs may become inflamed (radiation pneumonitis). If radiation pneumonitis persists, it can lead to scarring of the lungs (radiation fibrosis). Longer term side effects of scarring is radiation necrosis.

When radiation exceeds tolerated doses, inflammation of the lung can be seen from one to three months after treatment. The process can be lethel when both lungs are involved or if threshold doses of chemotherapy have been exceeded (particularly Taxol). Recovery from the acute phase usually occurs and the second phase follows almost immediately.

Taxol appears to increase the risk of lung inflammation and researchers have reported in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute suggesting using Taxol with caution. It is sometimes used along with radiation treatments since it is thought the drug might enhance the radiation effects. The combination may cause more problems than it solves, like radiation pneumonitis.

Eventually, progression to the late fibrotic stage occurs. Radiation pneumonitis "should be prevented." Corticosteroids can aid in recovery from acute pneumonitis. Antibiotics for infection and supplemental oxygen may be needed.

Because radiation pneumonitis is thought to occur as a result of excessive generation of free radicals in healthy tissue after radiation therapy, radiation-induced pneumonitis can also be treated with antioxidants.

Scarring of the lungs with radiation fibrosis is an aftermath of persistant radiation pneumonitis. If radiation pneumonitis persists, it can lead to radiation fibrosis. Radiation fibrosis is usually not reversible. You need to nip your radiation pneumonitis in the bud.

A pulmonary specialist is needed on your team of physicians to help fight your disease. It is critical in lung cancer disease. In the case of radiation side effects, your pulmonary specialist is the top physician to see.

[jstdzy]

Connie,

My allergist gave me the recipe 1/4 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp baking soda dissolved in 1 cup warm water, then get one of the big ear bulb syringes and away you go! LOL! Does work wonders!

Dana

[Geri]

I had radiation pneumonitis many moons ago, a few months after my tx finished. I thought I would die for lack of air

I went the prednisone route and got no relief at all, just the side effects so my lung onc told me to go off it and wait and see.

I waited for a few weeks and then realized that I had I just yawned........something I hadn't be able to do since dx. I also realized that I was breathing without thinking about it and hardly coughing at all, how refreshing was that!

My onc had told me that if the steroids don't work (for me they didn't perform as needed) that more often than not the pneumonitis heals and goes away. Which is what it did for me. Sometimes patience, if you can summon it, gets you through.

I don't know if my experience is of any help, I don't want you to think that this all happened in a short time, it tooks several months for the improvement to show up.

Take care

Geri