[Tom Pratt]

@marshaharris,  Thank you for your reply. I currently have a message in to my pneumologist asking about laser therapy.  Just  wondering, is anyone taking laser 4 treatment in the area of Greensboro or Winston Salem, NC?   I’m know that chiropractic offices in these cities have these lasers, but can’t find any mention of using them for fibrosis. I don’t know if it has reached this far east or not.  I’m sure I’ll have to travel to find a provider and these are the closest cities to me except for Martinsville and Danville VA

[Tom Pratt]

You’ll have to excuse me while I try to find my way around the forum.  I’m somewhat confused as to where the latest threads are and should I be on some of them.  For instance,  I have not heard of level 4 lasers from 2 different pulmonologists that should know of any treatments.  Can that be discussed here or is that another thread?

[Tom Pratt]

I have been on Gabapentin for 3 – 4 months and have noticed that my cough is MUCH better. I never attributed it to the Gabapentin until I started following this forum. It has been around a long time and is inexpensive in the US. I take 600MG twice a day.

[Tom Pratt]

@allang

Hi Allan,
I am new to this forum, and have just started Ofev. I am on medicare with plan B supplement in the US and the copay for me is $2800 for the first month and $500 thereafter except for the “doughnut hole”. I assume it will be about $2800 or more for that time. I have decided to pull the money from my life savings to pay for it as my income is to high to receive help from any of the foundations or the MFG, even being retired. I am waiting to see how bad the side effects are. So far, so good.

[Tom Pratt]

Hi, Charlene and Lindas
I am a first time poster, having joined the forum yesterday. I have just started Ofev 5 days ago and so far feel better with no side effects, but i’m waiting for the symptoms to start. I have been on Flonase for a couple of years and think it helps. I was prescribed gabapentin for neuropathy in feet about 3 months ago and took 600 mg once a day. In thinking back, my cough got better about then. I am currently taking it twice a day and cough is significantly better. I too have the heavy phlegm that accumulates at the back of my throat and I constantly have to clear. No doctor I have talked too about this has mentioned it as possibly coming from my disease.

[Tom Pratt]

Hi @janette   I was diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis in May of 2015 and all that was offered to me was 20 mg Prednisone to suppress my immune system and hopefully slow the progression .  I was referred to Duke in June of 2017 and tried to get into the trial for Ofev, but was turned down.  I have recently started Ofev and have experienced none of the side effects reported by others.  I was also on Metformin and started taking Gabapentin about 3 months ago and noticed my cough got much better.  These drugs have been noted in this forum to reduce the diarrhea and cough. I currently take 8 mg Prednisone and 1200 mg Gabapentin. All I can tell you is that it’s a relatively cheap experiment to try and see if they help you.