Hi everyone,
In December, I posted about my FEV1 showing significant decline after being stable for three years. Each year it had consistently dropped about 20 mL annually, and then in December it showed a shocking 140 mL drop. Thinking this might have been an anomaly, my pulmonologist sent me for a repeat pulmonary function test. Now, five months later (so not even a year) I have had an 80 mL drop. In the past, my FEV1/FVC consistently decreased about one percent each year, until last year when it dropped 3% and this year 4%. It is now 77. My FEF 25-75% dropped 6%, then 8% last year, and now 9% this year.
One of the only positive things I see is that my RV continues to decrease and is now 109%. When this all began in 2021, it was right at the edge of air trapping at 121%. But since the first test which was shortly after I had Covid, my RV has been significantly going down. Also, my RV/TLC had been consistently at 38 for four years, and finally for the first time it is now 36 (predicted is 35).
I don’t know if this is important to know, but for the first time the tech did the post-albuterol on my test since there is a suspicion that there may be a connection to my daily unrelenting congestion and allergies. Most days I feel like I can’t breathe because my nose is so congested. When I use albuterol at home, I can breathe well. I try to tough it out and not use the albuterol unless I absolutely have to. I use a lot of saline spray so I can breathe, and I wear a nose cone so I can breathe at night.
I am pretty devastated and very sad about these results. I’m hoping some of the kind people on this group including Dr. Mannino could please weigh in and tell me your thoughts. My doctor is out of town for a month and a half.
