New and confused

[LadyLynda0712]

Hi,

I'm Lynda.  56 yo, never smoked but parents and siblings around me did.  I was in and out of oxygen tents (?) due to recurrent bronchitis.  I'm now dealing with pneumonia, wasn't hospitalized, given z-pak 4 day antibiotics and Albuterol inhaler. 9 days later, still coughing and having bloody spit-up.  I see my pcp in 3 weeks.

I was told I had several 6 and 7 mm nodules on both lungs and my doctor should repeat CT scan in 3 months.  My lab work showed some kidney and liver issues but "barely out of normal range."  Urinalysis showed blood.  My hips have hurt for over a year but I chalked that up to my age and weight (40 lbs overweight).  My constant fatigue was chalked up to depression (my daughter, Dad, nephew and Mom passed relatively short span).  I was in ER twice this past 9 days, O2 levels in the 70's.

I read nodules this size are "probably nothing" but are they really?  And I was never told how many on each side. And they weren't there in 2016 when I had a chest CT after a minor car accident.  Dealing with this pneumonia is hard enough but now I'm trying to be proactive and find out what I can about these nodules.

Is it more common to have a single one?  Is it more worrisome that both my lungs have them and the same sizes?  What should I be asking my PCP when I see him in 3 weeks for this pneumonia?  Thoughts/advice would be greatly appreciated!!! 

[Rower Michelle]

Hi there-

Your story sounds a lot like mine- 51 yo never smoker- treated initially for a chronic cough that didn’t respond to allergy meds. After 9 PCP appointments in 2 1/2 months, I had failed trials of antibiotics, steroids and multiple inhalers. 

I was a competitive athlete, panicking when my O2 dropped to 90%.  My PCP thought this was typical of atypical pneumonia.  

It seems that you would probably need to see a pulmonologist with O2 levels that low.  I would consider acting with a greater sense of urgency and not wait for your next appointment three weeks from now.

Keep is posted. I hope you feel better soon

Michelle

 

[MBinOregon]

Hi Lynda,

Waiting blows. If I were you, I'd find a good pulmonologist (that lung doc) and make an appointment asap.  I haven't had a PCP in over 20 years (before this, I didn't even have Tylenol in my house. Now it's like pharmacy!), so I went from urgent care with persistent cough --> chest xray for the first time in my life --> CT scan --> pulmonolgist --> biopsy (they still didn't know exactly what they were looking at.  Retrospectively, I think they looked at me and did not think I could possibly have lung cancer.) --> diagnosis all in a month.  It's your health, your life.  No one but you can advocate for yourself (disclaimer: I've got no family, so I can say that).

Good luck to you.

MB

[BridgetO]

 Hi Lynda and welcome. I'm sorry to hear what you've been going through. It sounds both scary and frustrating. I agree completely with MB's and Michelle's recommendation that you see a pulmonologis ASAP.  Hang in there!

Bridget O

[Curt]

Welcome Lynda.  You’ve had a really tough run recently.  I’m sorry for that.  I’m glad you found this site.  I hope you find it supportive.  Nodules are often nothing but given your other symptoms I would agree with Michelle and follow up on it with some urgency.  Hopefully it’s nothing, but if it is something the sooner you can get after it the better.  

[LadyLynda0712]

I honestly felt they didn't know what to do with me.  The ER called me back as one blood culture was Negative for sepsis and one was Positive (they called the positive one a contaminated sample.😏)

I'm not sure but I think my HMO requires my PCP to send me to any specialists. I'll definitely check tomorrow about this.  Oh, and since looking further at my reports today, I looked up a fancy term which meant Collapsed Lung. Whaaaaaat????  So...do they uncollapse by themselves???  It wasn't even mentioned to me.