blood clots in lungs

I am having a little adventure here with blood clots in the lungs. They
seem to have come from an old DVT from 1999 which had caused my leg to
swell every day until a couple of weeks ago when it stopped doing it.
Suddenly I couldn't breathe.

The folks at the ER thought it was congestive heart failure until they
found the clots in a catscan. They now say that I didn't also have
pneumonia (that's another story, but wait, it's realted) but that it seems
to be fibrosis. I didn't like the sound of that and liked it even less
when I got done reading up on it. The doctor who suggested this was of
the opinion that it is common in autoimune patients. My inquiries suggest
that it is not common, but not unknown and that it is also associated with
methotrexate.

I would be interested here to know if anyone has any information or
opinions on the relationship between pulmonary fibrosis and rheumatoid
arthritis and/or methotrexate.

At the moment I am waiting for my breathing to return to normal and for
the coughing to stop. Since the Mobic was stopped because of the coumaden
my joints are all starting to hurt more and more. So you will excuse me
if my typing is poor.


--
Using Opera's revolutionary e-mail client: http://www.opera.com/mail/
** Posted from http://www.teranews.com **

On Jun 16, 1:17 pm, "James Stewart" <lao...@msn.com> wrote:
> I am having a little adventure here with blood clots in the lungs. They
> seem to have come from an old DVT from 1999 which had caused my leg to
> swell every day until a couple of weeks ago when it stopped doing it.
> Suddenly I couldn't breathe.
>
> The folks at the ER thought it was congestive heart failure until they
> found the clots in a catscan. They now say that I didn't also have
> pneumonia (that's another story, but wait, it's realted) but that it seems
> to be fibrosis. I didn't like the sound of that and liked it even less
> when I got done reading up on it. The doctor who suggested this was of
> the opinion that it is common in autoimune patients. My inquiries suggest
> that it is not common, but not unknown and that it is also associated with
> methotrexate.
>
> I would be interested here to know if anyone has any information or
> opinions on the relationship between pulmonary fibrosis and rheumatoid
> arthritis and/or methotrexate.
>
> At the moment I am waiting for my breathing to return to normal and for
> the coughing to stop. Since the Mobic was stopped because of the coumaden
> my joints are all starting to hurt more and more. So you will excuse me
> if my typing is poor.
>
> --
> Using Opera's revolutionary e-mail client:http://www.opera.com/mail/
> ** Posted fromhttp://www.teranews.com**

You have a lot on your plate right now and my best wishes that you'll
get this all figured out. I am not going to post more than this as
i want to do some research but just wanted to touch bases....

m

"James Stewart" <laojim@msn.com> wrote in message
newsp.ucuyn2min7n1nm@laojim...
>I am having a little adventure here with blood clots in the lungs. They
>seem to have come from an old DVT from 1999 which had caused my leg to
>swell every day until a couple of weeks ago when it stopped doing it.
>Suddenly I couldn't breathe.
>
> The folks at the ER thought it was congestive heart failure until they
> found the clots in a catscan. They now say that I didn't also have
> pneumonia (that's another story, but wait, it's realted) but that it seems
> to be fibrosis. I didn't like the sound of that and liked it even less
> when I got done reading up on it. The doctor who suggested this was of
> the opinion that it is common in autoimune patients. My inquiries suggest
> that it is not common, but not unknown and that it is also associated with
> methotrexate.
>
> I would be interested here to know if anyone has any information or
> opinions on the relationship between pulmonary fibrosis and rheumatoid
> arthritis and/or methotrexate.
>
> At the moment I am waiting for my breathing to return to normal and for
> the coughing to stop. Since the Mobic was stopped because of the coumaden
> my joints are all starting to hurt more and more. So you will excuse me
> if my typing is poor.
>
You did just fine and mine is worse but I will try to share with you my case
of fibrosis of the lung which is improving by the way thanks to 40 mg of
steroid and now 30 mg a day,,,, soon to be 20. I used Methx for 7-8 years
to try to control my RA and there is such a thing as Rheumatoid lung from
Methx.
There is more involved than that usually. I smoked for 30 years and
was up to 3 packs a day when the Lord helped me to stop,,, never to smoke
again. People work in dusty workplaces,,, chemicals and stuff and it is
all part of ending up with fibrosis. I have lost about a third of my lungs
but thanks to steroids, I can mow the lawn without having to go lay down for
my body to recover from no oxygen supply. The coughing up stuff from my
lungs still happens but not like it did. Make sure your doctor knows you
want to fight this now. The loss is such a slow process and what you loose
can not be regained.
Harv

"Harvey R. Stone" <hrstone@swbell.net> wrote in message
news:mos6k.10414$uE5.7927@flpi144.ffdc.sbc.com...
>
> "James Stewart" <laojim@msn.com> wrote in message
> newsp.ucuyn2min7n1nm@laojim...
>>I am having a little adventure here with blood clots in the lungs. They
>>seem to have come from an old DVT from 1999 which had caused my leg to
>>swell every day until a couple of weeks ago when it stopped doing it.
>>Suddenly I couldn't breathe.
>>
>> The folks at the ER thought it was congestive heart failure until they
>> found the clots in a catscan. They now say that I didn't also have
>> pneumonia (that's another story, but wait, it's realted) but that it
>> seems to be fibrosis. I didn't like the sound of that and liked it even
>> less when I got done reading up on it. The doctor who suggested this was
>> of the opinion that it is common in autoimune patients. My inquiries
>> suggest that it is not common, but not unknown and that it is also
>> associated with methotrexate.
>>
>> I would be interested here to know if anyone has any information or
>> opinions on the relationship between pulmonary fibrosis and rheumatoid
>> arthritis and/or methotrexate.
>>
>> At the moment I am waiting for my breathing to return to normal and for
>> the coughing to stop. Since the Mobic was stopped because of the
>> coumaden my joints are all starting to hurt more and more. So you will
>> excuse me if my typing is poor.
>>
> You did just fine and mine is worse but I will try to share with you my
> case of fibrosis of the lung which is improving by the way thanks to 40 mg
> of steroid and now 30 mg a day,,,, soon to be 20. I used Methx for 7-8
> years to try to control my RA and there is such a thing as Rheumatoid lung
> from Methx.
> There is more involved than that usually. I smoked for 30 years and
> was up to 3 packs a day when the Lord helped me to stop,,, never to smoke
> again. People work in dusty workplaces,,, chemicals and stuff and it is
> all part of ending up with fibrosis. I have lost about a third of my
> lungs but thanks to steroids, I can mow the lawn without having to go lay
> down for my body to recover from no oxygen supply. The coughing up stuff
> from my lungs still happens but not like it did. Make sure your doctor
> knows you want to fight this now. The loss is such a slow process and
> what you loose can not be regained.
> Harv
Ps subject line,,, blood clots in lungs which you did not say much.
Fibrosis and blood clots are not necessarily related and you can have one
without the other..... my advice is that you need anwers from a specialist
and time is not your friend.
>

I don't know diddly on this subject but wanted you to know you're in my
prayers.

DeeTee

"James Stewart" <laojim@msn.com> wrote in message
newsp.ucuyn2min7n1nm@laojim...
>I am having a little adventure here with blood clots in the lungs. They
>seem to have come from an old DVT from 1999 which had caused my leg to
>swell every day until a couple of weeks ago when it stopped doing it.
>Suddenly I couldn't breathe.
>
> The folks at the ER thought it was congestive heart failure until they
> found the clots in a catscan. They now say that I didn't also have
> pneumonia (that's another story, but wait, it's realted) but that it seems
> to be fibrosis. I didn't like the sound of that and liked it even less
> when I got done reading up on it. The doctor who suggested this was of
> the opinion that it is common in autoimune patients. My inquiries suggest
> that it is not common, but not unknown and that it is also associated with
> methotrexate.
>
> I would be interested here to know if anyone has any information or
> opinions on the relationship between pulmonary fibrosis and rheumatoid
> arthritis and/or methotrexate.
>
> At the moment I am waiting for my breathing to return to normal and for
> the coughing to stop. Since the Mobic was stopped because of the coumaden
> my joints are all starting to hurt more and more. So you will excuse me
> if my typing is poor.
>
>
> --
> Using Opera's revolutionary e-mail client: http://www.opera.com/mail/
> ** Posted from http://www.teranews.com **

I don't know much about fibrosis, but have worked around patients with clots
in the lungs. Harv is very right. I hope the fact that you are on coumadin
means you are being follow aggressively by a doc for the clots. I think Harv
& Donna G are our experts on RA & fibrosis, whether from mtx, RA itself or
other influences.

--
Nann
remove the Gator cheer to email me
Change everything. Love & forgive.



On Thu, 19 Jun 2008 8:43:10 -0400, Harvey R. Stone wrote
(in message <zvs6k.10416$uE5.7093@flpi144.ffdc.sbc.com>):

>
> "Harvey R. Stone" <hrstone@swbell.net> wrote in message
> news:mos6k.10414$uE5.7927@flpi144.ffdc.sbc.com...
>>
>> "James Stewart" <laojim@msn.com> wrote in message
>> newsp.ucuyn2min7n1nm@laojim...
>>> I am having a little adventure here with blood clots in the lungs. They
>>> seem to have come from an old DVT from 1999 which had caused my leg to
>>> swell every day until a couple of weeks ago when it stopped doing it.
>>> Suddenly I couldn't breathe.
>>>
>>> The folks at the ER thought it was congestive heart failure until they
>>> found the clots in a catscan. They now say that I didn't also have
>>> pneumonia (that's another story, but wait, it's realted) but that it
>>> seems to be fibrosis. I didn't like the sound of that and liked it even
>>> less when I got done reading up on it. The doctor who suggested this was
>>> of the opinion that it is common in autoimune patients. My inquiries
>>> suggest that it is not common, but not unknown and that it is also
>>> associated with methotrexate.
>>>
>>> I would be interested here to know if anyone has any information or
>>> opinions on the relationship between pulmonary fibrosis and rheumatoid
>>> arthritis and/or methotrexate.
>>>
>>> At the moment I am waiting for my breathing to return to normal and for
>>> the coughing to stop. Since the Mobic was stopped because of the
>>> coumaden my joints are all starting to hurt more and more. So you will
>>> excuse me if my typing is poor.
>>>
>> You did just fine and mine is worse but I will try to share with you my
>> case of fibrosis of the lung which is improving by the way thanks to 40 mg
>> of steroid and now 30 mg a day,,,, soon to be 20. I used Methx for 7-8
>> years to try to control my RA and there is such a thing as Rheumatoid lung
>> from Methx.
>> There is more involved than that usually. I smoked for 30 years and
>> was up to 3 packs a day when the Lord helped me to stop,,, never to smoke
>> again. People work in dusty workplaces,,, chemicals and stuff and it is
>> all part of ending up with fibrosis. I have lost about a third of my
>> lungs but thanks to steroids, I can mow the lawn without having to go lay
>> down for my body to recover from no oxygen supply. The coughing up stuff
>> from my lungs still happens but not like it did. Make sure your doctor
>> knows you want to fight this now. The loss is such a slow process and
>> what you loose can not be regained.
>> Harv
> Ps subject line,,, blood clots in lungs which you did not say much.
> Fibrosis and blood clots are not necessarily related and you can have one
> without the other..... my advice is that you need anwers from a specialist
> and time is not your friend.
>>
>
>

On Thu, 19 Jun 2008 08:15:20 -0700, Nann Bell
<hanbellGOGATORS@earthlink.net> wrote:

> I don't know much about fibrosis, but have worked around patients with
> clots
> in the lungs. Harv is very right. I hope the fact that you are on
> coumadin
> means you are being follow aggressively by a doc for the clots. I think
> Harv
> & Donna G are our experts on RA & fibrosis, whether from mtx, RA itself
> or
> other influences.
>
The clost and the fibrosis are, as far as I know, unrelated. The clost
seem to have come from an old DVT from 1999 a piece of which apparently
finally let loose. My leg was swollen every day since 1999 and no longer
swells now.

I happend to be having another round of what was thought to be pneumonia
but which was not clearing up. All through this episode I kept asking
people about the MTX connection and they all dismissed it out of hand. It
wasn't until one doctor suggested the fibrosis possibility in passing that
this came up. I know how to do research and I know how to find good
information on line and I don't like what I find about pulmanary
fibrosis. Not one little bit do I like it.

I'm trying to get on the medicare to pay the hospital bill and maybe for a
better RA treatment and now, apparently for the fibrosis treatment, so
I'll let you know what happens. When I get some word on that I'll go and
get the proper tests fot eh lungs.

Right now I'm still trying to get my breath back and the coumaden right.

--
Using Opera's revolutionary e-mail client: http://www.opera.com/mail/
** Posted from http://www.teranews.com **

James, I have pulmonary fibrosis and I'm not real happy about it either, but
I don't worry about it. Mu pulmonologist has me using oxygen at night
because when he had me tested, I wasn't getting enough. He also put me on a
small dose of prednisone daily. Since I have serious heart problems,
Parkinsons Disease, osteoarthritis (have 2 replaced joints), and other
problems, the fibrosis just has to take its place in line and wait its time!
Gwen
***********************************************
The Son of God became man to enable
men to become sons of God. (C S Lewis)


"James Stewart" <laojim@msn.com> wrote in message
newsp.uc0bztsln7n1nm@laojim...
On Thu, 19 Jun 2008 08:15:20 -0700, Nann Bell
<hanbellGOGATORS@earthlink.net> wrote:

> I don't know much about fibrosis, but have worked around patients with
> clots
> in the lungs. Harv is very right. I hope the fact that you are on
> coumadin
> means you are being follow aggressively by a doc for the clots. I think
> Harv
> & Donna G are our experts on RA & fibrosis, whether from mtx, RA itself
> or
> other influences.
>
The clost and the fibrosis are, as far as I know, unrelated. The clost
seem to have come from an old DVT from 1999 a piece of which apparently
finally let loose. My leg was swollen every day since 1999 and no longer
swells now.

I happend to be having another round of what was thought to be pneumonia
but which was not clearing up. All through this episode I kept asking
people about the MTX connection and they all dismissed it out of hand. It
wasn't until one doctor suggested the fibrosis possibility in passing that
this came up. I know how to do research and I know how to find good
information on line and I don't like what I find about pulmanary
fibrosis. Not one little bit do I like it.

I'm trying to get on the medicare to pay the hospital bill and maybe for a
better RA treatment and now, apparently for the fibrosis treatment, so
I'll let you know what happens. When I get some word on that I'll go and
get the proper tests fot eh lungs.

Right now I'm still trying to get my breath back and the coumaden right.

--
Using Opera's revolutionary e-mail client: http://www.opera.com/mail/
** Posted from http://www.teranews.com **

On Thu, 19 Jun 2008 15:56:56 -0700, <sweetpickleNO@spamknology.net> wrote:

> James, I have pulmonary fibrosis and I'm not real happy about it either,
> but
> I don't worry about it. Mu pulmonologist has me using oxygen at night
> because when he had me tested, I wasn't getting enough. He also put me
> on a
> small dose of prednisone daily. Since I have serious heart problems,
> Parkinsons Disease, osteoarthritis (have 2 replaced joints), and other
> problems, the fibrosis just has to take its place in line and wait its
> time!
> Gwen

Progress!

My medicaid (Arizozna Access) claim has been accepted so Now I can go and
get the expensive high resolution cat scan to settle the fibrosis question
and talk to the rheumatologist about the expensive medicine and stuff like
that there. I think I feel better already. I would like to know what
I'm not paying for the week in the hospital, though.
** Posted from http://www.teranews.com **

Hi James,


There are several of us here who have been down the fibrosis road, and
it is a bit rough, but can be treated, especially if caught earlier.

Rheumatoid lung and methotrexate induced fibrosis are two different
entities, but are often treated the same way. The doctors will usually
pull you off of the mtx, and start you on high dose (30-60+ mg)
prednisone for at least a few months. Another med they often add in is
Imuran to help with the fibrosis as well as to replace the mtx for your
RA. Some people also require oxygen depending on the amount of damage
done

If the doctors think it is mtx induced fibrosis, you more than likely
will not be allowed to take mtx ever again, however, if they find that
it is RA induced fibrosis, you may be allowed to resume the mtx once the
inflamation from the initial flare has been taken care of.

I would encourage you very strongly, to get copies of your CT / x-ray
results, along with any reports you can get, and find yourself a good
pulmonary doctor who will also work with your rheumatologist to gain
better control of the fibrosis and to work on preventing a reoccurance
that could cause further damage to your lungs. They may also want to
do a bronchoscopy to help determine what the cause of your fibrosis is.
Pulmonary fibrosis can have many different causes so often times the
doctors like to try to figure out what it is that they are dealing with.

Feel free to come here and ask questions as often as you like or need
to. We will do our best to help you out. Also, feel free to email me
privately if you want to as well.

The most important thing at this point, is to find a good pulmonary
doctor and get appropriate treatment as quickly as possible, as any
damage that is there can not be reversed, though the inflammation can be
taken care of with quick and appropriate treatment!!!

Best wishes to you!!!

..
..
..
..

Donna
..
..
..
..
1.) ANGELS EXIST, but some times, since they don't all have wings, we
call them FRIENDS......


2.) J.K.M.A.

On Thu, 19 Jun 2008 19:34:39 -0700, Donna G. <DKGBeeker@webtv.net> wrote:

> Hi James,
>
>
> There are several of us here who have been down the fibrosis road, and
> it is a bit rough, but can be treated, especially if caught earlier.
>
> Rheumatoid lung and methotrexate induced fibrosis are two different
> entities, but are often treated the same way. The doctors will usually
> pull you off of the mtx, and start you on high dose (30-60+ mg)
> prednisone for at least a few months. Another med they often add in is
> Imuran to help with the fibrosis as well as to replace the mtx for your
> RA. Some people also require oxygen depending on the amount of damage
> done
>
> If the doctors think it is mtx induced fibrosis, you more than likely
> will not be allowed to take mtx ever again, however, if they find that
> it is RA induced fibrosis, you may be allowed to resume the mtx once the
> inflamation from the initial flare has been taken care of.
>
> I would encourage you very strongly, to get copies of your CT / x-ray
> results, along with any reports you can get, and find yourself a good
> pulmonary doctor who will also work with your rheumatologist to gain
> better control of the fibrosis and to work on preventing a reoccurance
> that could cause further damage to your lungs. They may also want to
> do a bronchoscopy to help determine what the cause of your fibrosis is.
> Pulmonary fibrosis can have many different causes so often times the
> doctors like to try to figure out what it is that they are dealing with.
>
> Feel free to come here and ask questions as often as you like or need
> to. We will do our best to help you out. Also, feel free to email me
> privately if you want to as well.
>
> The most important thing at this point, is to find a good pulmonary
> doctor and get appropriate treatment as quickly as possible, as any
> damage that is there can not be reversed, though the inflammation can be
> taken care of with quick and appropriate treatment!!!
>
>
I just got the medicaid approved so now I can go around and start making
apointments.
** Posted from http://www.teranews.com **

On Thu, 19 Jun 2008 20:25:15 -0400, James Stewart wrote
(in message <op.uc0t4doun7n1nm@laojim>):

> Progress!
>
> My medicaid (Arizozna Access) claim has been accepted so Now I can go and
> get the expensive high resolution cat scan to settle the fibrosis question
> and talk to the rheumatologist about the expensive medicine and stuff like
> that there. I think I feel better already. I would like to know what
> I'm not paying for the week in the hospital, though.

That's great news. Being accepted for the needed treatment is a nice stress
reliever right there! You may not need expensive medication though,
prednisone is the first line therapy for fibrosis and is dirt cheap. The
question will be where to go with your RA treatment, depending on the source
of the fibrosis - but the high dose pred should help in the interim. I just
hope any others who live with you are very understanding about pred's affects
on one's prsonality.


--
Nann
remove the Gator cheer to email me
Change everything. Love & forgive.

Both the pred and the imuran which are the two most commonly used meds
for fibrosis, are very cheap, so you shouldn't have to worry too much in
that area!

..
..
..
..

Donna
..
..
..
..
1.) ANGELS EXIST, but some times, since they don't all have wings, we
call them FRIENDS......


2.) J.K.M.A.