hi, excuse an absolute dumbo where all this is concerned; after being rushed into hosp with double pneumonia & heart failure.

[graciepie]

l am then told l have some form of lung disease where they mention COPD & ILD (whats with the initial thing), l am due to see my consultant this wed where l assume everything will be confirmed but as l am 60yrs old never smoked didnt work in any dodgy enviroment l am worried why it has happened. There was also mention of shadows whats that? l have been out of hosp for 7wks & in that time am now on my 2nd infection is this what its going to be like now. l already had health problems that made it difficult to get around & now find l cant even drink without getting breathless, how do you lot keep so up beat & also know what they are talking about when its all initials is there some kind of dictionary.

[knitter]

If you ring the British Lung Foundation help line tomorrow they can explain the initials, then you will have a better idea of whats going on before you see the consultant. Maybe have a look at the website today as well. I developed asthma/Congestive Obstructive Pulmonary Disease after pneumonia. Best wishes

[knitter]

If you ring the British Lung Foundation help line tomorrow they can explain the initials, then you will have a better idea of whats going on before you see the consultant. Maybe have a look at the website today as well. I developed asthma/Congestive Obstructive Pulmonary Disease after pneumonia. Best wishes

[Gordon57]

As already mentioned, pneumonia can be a cause of lung problems. I had it in the early 1990's and it left me with reduced lung capacity straight away, then they treated me for asthma for many years before finally diagnosing COPD in 2006. In Pneumonia the lung tissue gets stretched and forms scar tissue afterwards, this in turn weakens the remaining lung tissue.

Call the helpline on 03000 030 555 when they re-open on Tuesday. They are open 10am-6pm weekdays. You can also find out more from their website at blf.org.uk/Page/Recently-di...

Be careful about looking at the Internet for advice and information, stay with UK based sites like the BLF (British Lung Foundation) or the NHS and you should be OK

You may be able to get more localised advice from NHS Medway, call their PALS (Patient Advice and Liaison Service) team on 01634 825004, 9-5, M-F

[Hidden]

ILD is not in the reference of standard medical abbreviations but if, as you say, you have never smoked or worked in a hazardous environment I would suggest that it possibly means Idiosyncratic Lung Disease - in other words they have no idea what has caused it.

Try not to worry too much...easy to say, not so easy to do I know but it sounds as though they're not going to keep you waiting long to find out what's wrong.

Wishing you all the best of luck,

Lorraine

[Gidge]

ILD means Interstitial Lung Disease and covers things like pulmonary fibrosis, which is different from COPD which is an umbrella term for obstructive lung disease. BLF Helpline is your best bet - make sure you ask questions when you see the consultant tomorrow - get someone to go with you, make a list of what you want know, and make sure you write down the answers ! good luck.

Gill

[Hidden]

Good luck for tomorrow, ask your consultant tomorrow to explain any queries you may have, initials, the shadow etc.

I see Gidge has explained the initials already, any other the doc mentions just ask him/her to explain. The shadow could well be related to a lung infection, your consultant will be able to advise best what is going on and what treatment will help.

Pneumonia takes quite a while to recover from and any worsening of symptoms you need to get back to the doc asap.

If you get a lung diagnosis confirmed, ask for a referral to pulmonary rehabilitation that will help you understand things a lot better and help you manage your health situation more effectively.

[graciepie in reply to Hidden]

DITTO thanks my respiratory nurse has already said about pulmonary rehabilitation but apparently l am not well enough for it yet, she has given me some exercises to do apparently according to what they have received from my consultant l definitely have copd & ILD, what my daughters & l are wondering is if it might be something to do with asbestos. We forgot that we had lived in our previous house with asbestos tiles crumbling into powder not knowing it was asbestos only finding out when our cat died & the council finally decided to sort the tiles out.