lung specialist appointment

[Bronte007]

Hello

After over 3 months of chest problems I have booked to see a respiratory specialist privately.- appointment 2 weeks. At the same time my nhs appointment came through - in 3 week’s virtually!! I have had 2 X-rays and a ct scan in past months as the gp thought I had chest infection and then PE ( not) and now ? Fibrosis?

My breathlessness has improved but now my biggest worry is my skin . My hands ( finger tips) became so hard and dry they cracked in jan / feb. I put it down to having 3 lots of gel/ acrylic nails plus the weather. They have improved but the tips now look like they are yellow / brown with broken capillaries? My cuticles are yellow with specs. The sides of my fingers are also yellow and dry. I moisturise around 6 times per day. The tops also look pitted . I am worried about schlerderma. The only thing I don’t have is the raynaulds . I wouldn’t be so concerned if I didn’t have these persistent crackles on my lungs .

my question is how long will the discolouration on my finger tips take to go or will this brown/ yellow staining always be there ?

Thank you and happy Easter to you all xx

[Irishsettermad]

Hi do you get cold hands and feet? The cracks on the end of the fingers can be classed as digit ulcers. Have you been diagnosed with scleroderma?

[Bronte007 in reply to Irishsettermad]

Hi

Thankyou for your reply .

I haven’t had any diagnosis yet. I don’t really suffer with cold hands and feet but do have skin thickening ,patches of hard yellow skin with flaking and darkened areas.

Bronte x

[Irishsettermad in reply to Bronte007]

I would see the Gp and ask for a referral to rheumatology. I have regular ct scans blood tests, my rheumatologist is fantastic he also sees me every 3 months. If you got a diagnosis they could look at medication etc

[Bronte007 in reply to Irishsettermad]

thank you for your advice. When I see the lung specialist I will ask for a referral if they don’t suggest one . My Gp has been a bit useless so I’m going private on my health insurance