Good News, Everyone! (Pt 3 of my Three-Part Pulmonology Adventure)

I love Professor Farnsworth!

Anyway..... on to the blog post at hand.

It’s all been leading up to this – today is the day I meet with the Pulmonologist –  I was nervous all morning!

I parked in the same parking garage, and went back to the 1^st floor Pulmonology area, and this time I WAS in the right place. 

I was called back after about 10 minutes (10 LONG minutes of stupid morning news shows on the TV, with a heavy liberal viewpoint that made me want to rip my ears off) and brought to a small office. The nurse did my vitals, then left me there to wait for the doc.

Doc came in (turns out he was one of the associate medical professors, not just a newbie or young guy!) He reviewed my films, and asked why I’d had them done outside of the hospital. I told him it was because if I’d had them done at UF Health, it would have cost me $58, whereas having them done off-site cost me $0. He also asked why I brought actual films instead of a CD, and I told him that the letter sent to me said “bring films” – he laughed and said that that really meant a CD of my films. Oh, well – I guess I’ll know for next time!

Anyway, he asked me all sorts of questions. Do I have allergies? Do I have pets? Do I have carpet, and how old is it? How long have you had these issues? So many questions!

After answering all those questions, he kind of looked at me and said that there was nothing wrong with me.  My films were clear. There were no noises in my lungs. Nothing.

He did have a few suggestions for me though – lose 40 pounds and keep doing what I’m doing (running-wise) and most likely, those 2 things will take care of any breathing issues I may have.

He had a few other suggestions as well – he prescribed Singulair for me, suggested a sleep study to rule out apnea, and, if the Singulair didn’t work, an inhaled corticosteroid.  I took him up on the offer for Singulair, but said that I’d wait on the other two to see what the Singulair did for me.

So, I’m relieved for once in my life to be told that I’m fat and out of shape! I was SO scared that at the end of this journey I would hear “COPD” or “Emphysema”. I was so worried that all those years of smoking (and the previous years of second-hand smoke from Dad) would catch up with me.