Nodules on My Chest CT Scan

 Nodules on My Chest CT Scan

 

    I recently had a chest CT done. I received a phone call from my coordinator a few days later requesting I send her the copy of the CD I received from the imagine center, instead of waiting to give it to her at my upcoming appointment which was in two weeks. She said they noted I there were some nodules present in the san. This scared me. It seemed concerning. To me the word nodules means growths. I had recently had a reactivation of Epstein Barr Virus which came with my lungs. I had been quite nervous about that as I know that after a transplant, EBV can cause cancers to pop up in various places of the body. She told me the nodules meant I most likely had an infection and they would schedule me for a bronchoscopy in two weeks. In the meantime, I had my regular doctor appointment with my lung transplant doctor. Everything seemed fine but my FEV1 was now 10 points lower.  This was concerning to me.  I could definitely feel some mucus in my lungs and my energy had been a bit lower and I do think this led me not be able to blow as high a number. On top of that, I had been unable to go to yoga for a good two or three months. Was my last highest PFT a fluke? I didn't think so as my numbers at home reflected the same high values as my PFT. Now my numbers at home were significantly lower. I was glad to be getting a bronchoscopy in a week. The doctor told me not to be too concerned.  She said I was within range for PFT as my numbers tend to fluctuate a little.

    On July 3^rd, I had my bronchoscopy at 1:30pm. My doctor didn’t do the procedure because they changed the way they schedule bronchoscopies and she only does them at certain allotted time slots. This wasn’t a big deal as I’ve had bronchoscopies by many different doctors. The procedure was a bit delayed and I arrived a bit early so I waited for some time. It was finally my turn. I wasn’t expected to be more than 10 minutes. I was just having a lavage on the right side of my lungs and no biopsies. I love no biopsies because for one, sometimes I can feel them tugging and pulling and a bit of pain, and two it means I don’t need to get an X-ray afterwards! It took me some time to wake up this time around. I usually wake up almost immediately after getting to the recovery area. They really knocked me out. Sometimes my tolerance to the sedation is high. I was really groggy and slept for most of the time that my mom was there. I kept asking her about getting me food when I was done, like I usually do. Everything went well and I was sent off. I took a nap soon after getting home. I had to sleep off the medicine that was still in my system.

    Nothing really grew in my lungs but because of my chest CT scan results I was put on TOBI for a month. My lungs felt a bit better after that. I was then instructed to get a chest CT to see if the TOBI made things better.  Well, one nodule was gone, but the other was larger and now there were three more tiny nodules. This was quite concerning. I thought perhaps it was something other than mucus as my lungs felt clear. I asked if it could be cancer and my coordinator told me that's something that is always in the back of their minds. I debated on getting a PET scan but when my coordinator called, it was Friday after hours. She was able to get a hold of my doctor and she thought perhaps we should do a round of IV antibiotics to knock out whatever might be hiding in my lungs and TOBI really isn't always effective. So I am currently on my second week of IV's. I did decided against the PET scan for now by Monday I had noticed there was some mucus in my lungs afterall. I have been doing ceftazadime two times a day for a half hour each time. It's not really bothersome as it's quick and only two times a day, so it doesn't affect my sleep. It also doesn't give me any side effects which is another plus. I do have to take oral vancomycin once a day for 21 days to keep C. diff from coming back since I am prone to getting it. This med does cause my to have frequent bowel movements. The plan is to get yet another CT scan in a month. Fingers crossed that things look better.

(Doing my morning nebs of levalbuterol and hypertonic saline while infusing my antibiotic, before I go to yoga.)