[Bill Gardner]

I was diagnosed by a pulmonologist with IPF in 2012 after visits to my general practitioner with complaints of SOB and a chronic cough. In 2016, I began oxygen therapy. I believe it was 2017 when I started OFEV and, due to intestinal issues and a constant foggy feeling, I stopped in less than a year. That was not a quality of life I wanted. Then I began Esbriet and, after some trial and error, settled on a reduced dose of 4 of the 9 capsules per day. This went on for over 3 years. During that time, I lost  interest in eating. Nothing in the store looked or smelled good to me. Foods I have loved all my life, I could no longer tolerate. As a result, I have lost about 30 pounds since spring and 60+ since diagnosis. My quarterly PFT’s were stable for a while but in the past 6 months show a more moderate decline. That wasn’t surprising to me as my SOB was worse, weight loss continued and I was using more oxygen. Three months ago I consulted my pulmonologist and we agreed I would stop the Esbriet in hopes of sparking a return of appetite. I saw my doctor a couple weeks ago and we decided to stay off the Esbriet. I was not in the best place mentally for quite some time. Suddenly, in the past 2 weeks I have had a return of appetite (oh, those burgers taste so good again!) and have added a few pounds back and have had a surge of energy. I have been much more active because I once again feel like doing more. Don’t know if this is finally a result of going off Esbriet or just some type of plateau. I still have my SOB issues, of course, but it just feels good to have some energy, see friends socially again and not feel like I’m on such a fast downward path.  Bill