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Inverted Thinking about IPF
Like many people who have talked about the stunning moment when they learned they had this miserable disease, my first questions were: How do I slow it down? How do I find a good pulmonologist?
I should have also applied inverted thinking. Suppose I wanted to speed up the progression of fibrosis, what are the top five things I’d make certain to do? By inverting the question, we identify things to avoid.
Two disclaimers: First, my only credential for talking about IPF is that I’m still alive eight years after being diagnosed. Second, the logic of what to do also differs with each person. I wouldn’t torture myself with some of the treatments if they only offered me three more months of life; but I certainly would if they meant three more years.
Here are the top five things I would do to speed up this disease. Feel free to add to the list.
Have a few cocktails every afternoon. A growing body of research shows that chronic alcohol use not only harms the lungs, it facilitates the growth of scar tissue that is so devastating to IPF.
Under-exercise. Without exercise, you will weaken your respiratory muscles and make them less efficient at getting oxygen into the bloodstream.
Consume foods and drinks that increase mucus production. If you cut back on your water consumption and eat lots of sugar, fried foods, and highly processed foods, that should do the trick. Whole milk might help.
Hang out with big crowds of people. Standing next to two people may not put you at much risk for flu or Covid or RSV and the dreaded exacerbatory event they can provoke. But you can increase your odds if you mingle with a crowd of hundreds.
Ignore the support groups and chat groups where other people discuss their experiences. Sure, some of those people will advocate things that make no sense to you. However, many will have useful comments. Ignoring them will almost certainly enable you to stay unaware of medical developments, clinical trial opportunities, and things that helped other people like you. It will also shield you from the responsibility of sharing knowledge you have that might help them.
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