[Chati W]

Hi Malcolm,

My name is Chati and we recently found out that my father-in-law was diagnosed with IPF. This is a very recent diagnosis and he is going in for a secondary opinion (the appointment is more to confirm that he indeed does have IPF).

After reading one of your previous posts, I found that there are a lot of similarities between your health level and my father-in-law’s. We are still trying to learn as much as we can about the disease. And he will likely be prescribed Esbriet at his secondary appointment in August.

Since the news is only about a month old, our entire family is trying to understand what we can expect. Like you, my father-in-law, is in his late 60s (67 years) and in fairly good shape. He exercises regularly and still can function at a high level. He goes swimming and plays badminton and walks vigorously every day. I know that he and the entire family would appreciate hearing about your experiences.

Totally understand if you are uncomfortable with emailing us. We are just looking for people to reach out to so that we can understand what to expect in the few months/years.

If interested, please reply to this post.

Thanks for any information you can provide!

Sincerely,
Chati

[Chati W]

Hi Darcy,

Thank you very much for sharking your experiences! We found it very insightful and also encouraging. Like you, my father-in-law, still is able to maintain good lung function and does exercise regularly. We are really hoping that he is able to continue functioning at this rate but it is just too soon for us to know.

When he was diagnosed with IPF earlier this summer, the doctors did a pulmonary function test and noticed that his lung function had declined since the last time he did the test which was in 2016. We were curious to know whether throughout the last 6 years, has your lung function slowly declined or stayed stable? Also, are you taking Esbriet and has that helped slow down any potential decline in lung function.

Any information you can provide is greatly appreciated!

Thanks,
Chati