Garys catscan is in my hands and have lung questions

[Chrisandgary]

According to Garys Catscan with the aortic aneurysm at 5.6 also shows some lung items I was wondering if anyone knows about.

It says..."Incidental note is made of several abnormal densities in the right lung. There is an 8 mm diameter well defined nodule anteriorly in the right mid lung. In addition there is an ill defined interstitial focus in the central right lung with a branching soft tissue attenuating structure extending superior to it. This could be and area of scarring. A small similar ill defined interstitial patch is seen elsewhere in the right lung..... There is some emphysematous changes with loss of normal markings in the anterior right upper lobe.
Emphysematous changes are noted in the anterior right upper lobe and there is a nodule in this region as well as some other defined densities suggesting postinflammatory scarring. An active neoplasm cannot be excluded on the basis of the appearance. If there is no previous cat scan for comparison, then a 3 month follow up cat scan without contrast is suggested to confirm stability of the right lung findings."

What the heck does all of this mean? Is this all scarring? Does he have emphysema too? Oh my goodness this is info overload. Sometimes I think I am better off not knowing anything!
Thank you for all of your support
Christine

 

[Ross]

He sounds like he has my lung disease. Has he had pneumonia before? If so, how many times? I have pulmonary hemosiderosis, which is unexplained bleeding of the alveolar air sacs. They grow and burst for no plausible reason which appears as emphysema on chest films. The 8mm density could be a well defined "bleb" which is a noncancerous tumor type thing. Both of my lungs are riddled with them. Might be best if he gets a pulmonary consult before surgery. I'm very troubled at that 5.6, he might not wait for as long as they want him too.

 

[Chrisandgary]

You guys are freaking me out over the 5.6. What else can I do-We have a surgeon appt on Tues and on Thursday. Ive pushed these people as hard as I can - Tues doc has a lot of balls in his court we may just go with him and maybe he will schedule asap.
Should Gary just lie in bed and wait??!! He is at work right now. The cardio doesnt seem so concerned - as long as he gets it done this month.
Thanks guys for making me stay on top of this. I am living and breathing every moment in fear, anxiety and sadness. No one understands this like you have either gone thru it or been the sig. other.
This SUCKS.
Christine

 

[Ross]

Christine don't freak. Yes, he is in danger and the sooner they can get this fixed, the better it will be. Just make sure he's not straining physically and get to those appointments. Why they are making you wait is beyond me. Don't freak. It doesn't help the situation any anyhow. Have they done a TEE on him yet? Sometimes echos give false sizing on these things and TEE's are much better.

 

[Chrisandgary]

No Tee yet. cardio has ordered nothing since the cat scan and immediately referred us to the surgeon. The moment the cardio called with the bad news of the echo - I had the catscan appt the next day and the results the day after. I just cant seem to get the surgeon fast enough!
Stupid question and I know even less about lungs than heart but Garys brother has sarcoidosis - when he has an episode it always hits his lungs.
Is this similar to what you are talking about?
Gary has never had pneumonia - he had scarlet fever as a child .
He does wheeze - probably for a year now - I made him go to a pulmonologist last May of 04 for the wheezing and the horrible snoring. He is now on a cpap machine at night. He also gained ALOT of weight over the past 2 years he blames on the lack of vegetables because of the coumadin - I know otherwise!
Thank you Ross for all of you advice.
Christine

Christine don't freak. Yes, he is in danger and the sooner they can get this fixed, the better it will be. Just make sure he's not straining physically and get to those appointments. Why they are making you wait is beyond me. Don't freak. It doesn't help the situation any anyhow. Have they done a TEE on him yet? Sometimes echos give false sizing on these things and TEE's are much better.

 

[CCRN]

Just wanted to help

Just wanted to help

You guys are freaking me out over the 5.6. What else can I do-We have a surgeon appt on Tues and on Thursday. Ive pushed these people as hard as I can - Tues doc has a lot of balls in his court we may just go with him and maybe he will schedule asap.
Should Gary just lie in bed and wait??!! He is at work right now. The cardio doesnt seem so concerned - as long as he gets it done this month.
Thanks guys for making me stay on top of this. I am living and breathing every moment in fear, anxiety and sadness. No one understands this like you have either gone thru it or been the sig. other.
This SUCKS.
Christine

Now I feel guilty for what I wrote on your other thread. You're doing everything you can and that's the best you can do.......and then you put it in the Surgeon's court. Sounds like Gary has some lung problems but that doesn't mean it can't be managed. Don't think the worst of the report. My dad had some questionable spots on his chest xray and they had disapeared with the followup exam. Emphasema can make an xray pretty weird at times.
We just want to be sure you guys don't run into any problems we know other people have had. Most of the alarmists here care and really want to steer you in the right way. You look as if you've got the message loud and clear.

 

[ALCapshaw2]

NO vegetables because of Coumadin?

AVOIDING vitamin K is NOT a good plan.

The BEST analogy I've heard is that avoiding vitamin K is like living in a dark room. ANY light (or vitamin K) then makes a BIG difference.

On the other hand, living in a room with a moderate light level (regular consumption of vitamin K) means that any change is perceived only as a MODERATE change (like going from a 50 watt bulb to a 100 watt bulb).

As Ross (and others) like to say, "DOSE the DIET, don't DIET the DOSE" when dosing Coumadin.

I know how stressful this is for you and Gary. I would keep pushing the surgeons for the earliest possible date, but sometimes that is hard to do. The GOOD ones usually have a full schedule and sometimes you just have to get in line. Let them know you would be happy to jump at any cancellation that comes along. Good Luck with the scheduling!

'AL Capshaw'


%

 

[Ross]

NO vegetables because of Coumadin?

AVOIDING vitamin K is NOT a good plan.

The BEST analogy I've heard is that avoiding vitamin K is like living in a dark room. ANY light (or vitamin K) then makes a BIG difference.

On the other hand, living in a room with a moderate light level (regular consumption of vitamin K) means that any change is perceived only as a MODERATE change (like going from a 50 watt bulb to a 100 watt bulb).

As Ross (and others) like to say, "DOSE the DIET, don't DIET the DOSE" when dosing Coumadin.

I know how stressful this is for you and Gary. I would keep pushing the surgeons for the earliest possible date, but sometimes that is hard to do. The GOOD ones usually have a full schedule and sometimes you just have to get in line. Let them know you would be happy to jump at any cancellation that comes along. Good Luck with the scheduling!

'AL Capshaw'

Exactly, please don't tell me he's not eating vegetables. He should be eating anything he darn well wants too and likes, then adjusting the coumadin to match the diet he loves.

 

[Chrisandgary]

NO vegetables because of Coumadin?

AVOIDING vitamin K is NOT a good plan.

The BEST analogy I've heard is that avoiding vitamin K is like living in a dark room. ANY light (or vitamin K) then makes a BIG difference.

On the other hand, living in a room with a moderate light level (regular consumption of vitamin K) means that any change is perceived only as a MODERATE change (like going from a 50 watt bulb to a 100 watt bulb).

As Ross (and others) like to say, "DOSE the DIET, don't DIET the DOSE" when dosing Coumadin.

I know how stressful this is for you and Gary. I would keep pushing the surgeons for the earliest possible date, but sometimes that is hard to do. The GOOD ones usually have a full schedule and sometimes you just have to get in line. Let them know you would be happy to jump at any cancellation that comes along. Good Luck with the scheduling!

'AL Capshaw'


%

CCRN - Please dont feel guilty. I need the truth and the truth gets the job done. While Gary will not sit on the computer and research this - this is just not his thing - it is me and I have been passing along alot of this info and tidbits you all have been so kind to share. You know what - as the hours go by and I tell him 1 thing here and there such as "You really shouldnt be exerting yourself," "Some one else had a burst at only 4.7" "You really shouldnt lift anymore than 20 lbs." I think it is sinking in!!!! He called his brother to sheetrock our kitchen and he gave up trying to repair our lawnmower and is letting our neighbor take it over (however he did twiddle away with it yesterday and attempted to start it many times).
So anyway Dont feel guilty - little by little all of your words and advice are Working and making me work harder to help him slow down without him feeling physically disabled. He is such a great guy ( everyone says "Why Gary he is such a great guy?) SO THANK YOU - I cant thank you enough!
Christine who thinks Tuesday is just never going to come!

 

[Nancy]

Oh Chris and Gary--

I understand SO much how you both feel. Although Joe hasn't had an aneurysm, he's had MANY situations which were extremely dicey, and they were very, very stressful times. We both got through it.

Just make sure that Gary is doing sensible things. Starting the lawn mower several times in a row IS stressful on your heart, I know, because that's my job now, and you can get a high heart rate rapidly doing that. He wants to do all his regular things and doesn't want to give in to his problems, BUT GARY-- Please take good care of yourself as you wait to have things fixed up. The lawnmower can wait, get a neighborhood kid to do it, or even a lawn service for the rest of the summer.

I know you are feeling fairly well, as opposed to some who can only sit on the sofa before getting surgery, but your test results are showing different things. You have some serious issues, they will get fixed up and you will be better, but you have to give in to the problems for a short while. Save the macho stuff for afterwards when you are feeling well.

And Chris, you have to be brave too. I know you are, but put on your best smile, keep Gary "bucked up" so he doesn't get discouraged and just help him keep going until his surgery date.

I remember a time when Joe was in the hospital and so, so sick. He was in kidney failure and close to other organ failure. He KNEW he was in trouble. He asked me, "Do you think I'm going to make it?" I said, "You damn idiot, what do you think we're doing all this stuff for? And why are you in the hospital? Just keep fighting, you'll be OK" That was several years ago. He has his ups and downs, but his body has been able to get over things and heal, and so will Gary's.

Be sensible, Gary. You will be OK. Your surgery date will be near.