P.S. Forgot to mention something... Sesame oil... Isn't there a danger of inhaling that into the lungs? I thought that all oil based preparations should be avoided in the nose, for fear of developing aspiration pneumonia... Did he mention anything about this?

Cathie

what can bother ears most is asprin and asprin products,still weter in ears
from getting hair washed and blowing your nose to hard when there
is infection. My son had polups they took him in for surgery they were huge
and rapped around his vocal cords this happed twice,as k ENT what was
causing this, His answer I just don't unnderstand why he;s not choking to
death..And then there is me falling on my nose and the SS. Hugs Sue and
please be careful on way home,I bet that weather burns..

Back again. Just finished the pulmonary consult. It appears I will need some more tests.

The pulmonary function test was normal or only slightly less than normal in all but one area: the part where you exhale deeply and forcefully. That came out at only 60 percent capacity. Two possible causes in a patient with Sjogren's are asthma or obstruction from heavy mucus plugs.

I got to see the slides from my CAT scan on a computer screen. That was AWESOME, looking at slides like slices of bread in succession like an animation of my innards. Everything there looks good.

So the main question is whether I have asthma or just chronic chest congestion. I will be doing a spirometry with Methacholine in an hour. This I believe measures how you react to air irritants?

Tomorrow, I do another breathing test: I believe it's exhaled Nitric Oxide? Then in the afternoon, I go back to the pulmonologist and we determine if I will need to go on some sort of inhaled medication. If the cause of the breathing problem is heavy mucus plugs, I don't know what might be done for that.

My final wrap-up with the rheumatologist will be late tomorrow afternoon. That will mean I can be home by Friday afternoon, which is way cool. My in-laws are watching our dog this time, and they don't know a thing about pups.

About the sesame oil: you can use any brand. I was warned to spray GENTLY with a mist sprayer, not to use a pump sprayer or inhale it sharply as I want to avoid the chance of aspiration. This is not something I would recommend to a healthy person, but my sinuses are so dry that right now I'm catching any little bug that comes my way, so I am willing to give it a shot.

Gonna go see if I can finish my book. The view of Rochester from the pulmonary department is pretty cool as it's on the 18th floor. Now if it weren't so doggone cold....

fanfaire

Yes methacholine Challenge is used to determine if you have asthma. They use increasing concentrations of irritants. If you drop below 80% of your baseline established at the beginning of the test then that confirms asthma.....when you do the baseline expiratory breaths try as hard as you can since this then establishes a reliable base to measure the decrease caused by the irritants...i hope you see this.....good luck....i have had 3 of them

For chest congestion i have found this very useful, sit on a chair facing the back of the chair and rest on the back. Have your husband pound on your back with a closed fist using the bottom of the fist along the pinky. Not too hard not too soft, not enough to hurt. Do the left side top to bottom along the lung length and then the right side and then the left and then the right etc. It should loosen everything up and you will probably be coughing after a few times. I usually follow that up with nebulizer treatment immediately, or if you dont have a nebulizer you can steam up the bathroom. It helps me i hope it helps you. It has saved me a few ER trips.

Popping in really quickly before my last test. Guess what? I have asthma!

I am totally shocked, but I did have a reaction to the methacholine. I got an increased sensation of heaviness in the chest, and it was noticeably more difficult to exhale forcefully. My results were indicative of mild asthma, so not terribly worrisome, but there was a measurable difference nonetheless.

So when I see the pulmonologist again this afternoon, I will ask him if this is another fringe benefit of Sjogren's or a separate problem altogether. Don't know if this is enough of a problem to treat, but it's good to know what's going on. Those Sioux Falls docs who blamed my shortness of breath on deconditioning were definitely off base.

Don't know if I'll get to post again before I get home, so I'll just say here: thanks for all your responses! Like the Grateful Dead song says, what a long strange trip it's been!

fanfaire

wait for the next installment. I do hope you get home to safety and warmth. You'll probably be mulling a heap of info over around and through your mind to try and sort it out...I hope it comes out with not only answers, but some things that can be done about the real problems! Not to mention the pain. Thank you truly for keeping us all up to date. I hope you felt us all pulling for you. Hugs and hope! - j