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After my mid-May clinic visit, I made my 130th medication change since my bilateral lung transplant in July 2021. Each week I fill my pill boxes with 17 medications. Another 17 have come out of rotation since my transplant. Following my diagnosis of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis in January…

Leave no stone unturned. This is a basic tenet of any investigation, something I learned very early in my career as a special agent. It also seems to be a practice employed by my healthcare team, which now includes an additional doctor. Last week, I added endocrinologist Oksana Davydov…

Disrupting the rhythm of day-to-day life with pulmonary fibrosis comes at a cost. When I was diagnosed with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) in January 2017, my medications changed dramatically. I went from taking only Zyrtec (cetirizine hydrochloride) for seasonal allergies to requiring multiple meds that…

My adventure continues. At this point, regular readers might be thinking, “What now?” Some may even pause to make some popcorn before reading further. I was surprised when I was diagnosed with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis in 2017, because I had led a relatively healthy life. Deciding to be positive on…

As of April 11, almost 105,000 people are awaiting an organ transplant in the U.S., according to the United Network for Organ Sharing. Of those, 993 are waiting for a lung transplant. In the past year, 879 lung transplants were performed. When I was diagnosed with idiopathic…

I recently underwent a bronchoscopy and bronchoalveolar lavage. While I was confident that I was under the care of competent professionals and trusted that the procedure would be conducted efficiently, I experienced a brief moment of apprehension and unease just before it. A bronchoscopy allows doctors to view your airways…

Have you discovered the Pulmonary Fibrosis News Forums yet? Think of them as a virtual café where you can stop in and read a couple of items from the discussion areas, comment on questions from others, or pose a question to the group. Each time a new member joins,…

One of the lessons idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) has taught me is that not everything will go as planned. For that reason, this past weekend we celebrated Halloween and One-Half (which we call HH). Flexibility is important to everyone on this journey. Let me explain. Before my IPF…

Living with pulmonary fibrosis (PF) is not for the faint of heart. That applies equally to patients, caregivers, and loved ones. While each of us is on a unique journey, there are times when support is necessary. I have shared before that when I was diagnosed with idiopathic…

Weight loss is a recurring topic during my medical appointments, and I frequently discuss it with my transplant team. I wrote about this a couple years ago in a column titled “Using Ozempic in hopes of qualifying for a lung transplant.” At appointments, my body mass index is…