Just diagnosed

[betsyzimm1972]

Hi. I'm Betsy. I'm 42 years old and have had recurring pneumonia for the past 3 years. I have had 3 broncoscopies which have shown bacteria and aspergillus. My doctor's at home for some reason didn't treat the aspergillus. Finally made the trip to Mayo in June. Now I'm being treated with Voriconozale. Can anyone tell me how long it takes to see an improvement? My main complaint has been shortness of breath to the extent that I can't walk very far or do strenuous exercise. I'm so wanting relief!

[freefaller]

Hi Betsy,

I live in the UK and as yet am not receiving any treatment as I am waiting to get to our National Aspergillosis Centre to get all the information and treatment I need. Most treatments take at least two months to show an improvement I am told and some will take longer. I would check with either your Doc at the Mayo Clinic, your GP or maybe ask your pharmacist as they may be able to help but I would definitely check with the Doc you consulted with at the Mayo Clinic.

Good Luck and I hope you see an improvement soon.

Sian

[GAtherton Administrator Fungal Infection Trust]

If the Voriconazole is working effectively you should see some benefit in a month or two - often not a sudden change but a gradual improvement.

If you see no benefit it could be that your dose is wrong or that you need a different antifungal drug so ensure you return to your doctor for further advice

[betsyzimm1972 in reply to GAtherton]

Thanks GAtherton. I have a re-check at Mayo the end of August. That will be right around 6 weeks that I've been on the meds. We'll see how I'm doing then.

Thanks for the info.

[ylmwelch]

I think it might be helpful to know how much of your lungs are involved. As an example, it is my right upper lobe. Mine went a long time undiagnosed. I have life long asthma,and pneumonia several times. So I have a lot of scarring.

[betsyzimm1972]

I'm not really sure. The sample was taken from upper right lobe. It showed up in the last broncoscopy I had, but not sure where they took the sample from.