Hi Charlene: Yes, it’s darn cold here. We live on Lake Winnipeg (the 10th largest freshwater lake in the world) and already the wind is sending up ice to coat the rocky shoreline. Nasty, nasty. But the cold weather brings on a whole new set of things to get used to – trying to keep the line from the 02 tank to my nose warm. Not too easy. I’ve… Read more

Charlene: I’m sad to see you had a bad day recently, but we all know it’s bound to happen every now and again.

Re: CelCept.  According to the info. insert that came in the box of meds, it’s supposed to be taken in conjunction with Prednisone. no problem there, as I’m on 10mgs. daily. I just hope I’ll tolerate’ it as well as some others on… Read more

Hi Sheila: I can really relate to your feeling of being cut off because of distance. I’m one and half hours from the city, and live in cottage country-not many around in winter. I’m finding that because of the risk of infection I am drawing away from socializing. I’m not comfortable going shopping (thank goodness my husband is so capable)… Read more

Hi Charlene:

I’m just so thankful for all your efforts re:IPF forums , questions and answers. You asked if I was on any IPF medications, no I was not. (thank goodness!) I was put on prednisone and am still on it. As mentioned before, I was put on Imuran @ 1/2 tab daily for two weeks, then upped to One tab daily for two weeks, then increased… Read more

Hi Terry and all others. I’ve been doing a lot of research for the past year on the differences between IPF and HP and NSIP. I was diagnosed with IPF because on my first HRCT scan the radiologist suspected early signs of honeycombing. However, subsequent scans showed no honeycombing, but a lot of ‘ground glass opacities in both lungs and… Read more

Hi Patricia: I’m with you on this. I too have the hot-cold demon. I wear an extra topper which I probably put on and off several times a day. Such a drag! And, like you my feet feel like they’re in a freezer – even when I’m boiling. I was started on prednisone 50mg. and titrated down to 10mg. over a period of nine weeks.  I’m still on 10mg.… Read more

Hi to all acid reflux suffers. It’s been my curse for so many years I can hardly count back that far. I too don’t have anything to eat or drink after 8p.m. But I have one exception. I have a full glass of water before bedtime to hopefully dilute the acid in my stomach. It seems to work well. Another thing I have done is buy a “WEDGE PILLOW”… Read more

Hi Sharlene: You asked if my sense of smell changed after diagnosis. No it happened about a year before. For anyone else with the same problem, go to https://www.verywell.com/disprders-of-olfaction-2488765

There it explains what causes it (to some extent) and what kinds there are. I often smell smoke – when there’s nothing there. I found… Read more

Charlene suggested I post my ‘sweating ‘ problem in a general forum – I hope this is the right one. About 8 months before my diagnosis I began to notice I was sweating a lot just from ordinary daily living. My sister who is a nurse said it reminded her of of the Cystic Fibrosis kids who sweated just from the effort required to breath.  I’m… Read more

Hi Charlene: You mentioned you were improperly diagnosed with Asthma when it was an allergy problem. I guess I was lucky in that with me it was just allergies. I think the fact that it would become a problem every spring is what pointed to allergies instead of asthma.

I’m happy to say that today seems much better than yesterday. As we all… Read more