Ground glass lung nodule vs. Cystic nodule

Posted by penthewen @penthewen, Jun 3 5:33pm

Last year they found a small .5 cm cystic nodule in the left upper lobe of my lung. I had it rechecked six months later, which was today, and the report says it is now a 6 mm ground glass nodule in the left upper lobe. How can that be?

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The nodules that I have in my lungs will sometimes appear in one area and then three months later the nodules I have are in a different area or changed in size. Most of the time they are solid or semi-solid. I have now have had three CAT scans And I will see my pulmonologist in July to find out what is going on! (I hope)
Copy of one of my CT’s below.
My doctors look at me like I’m crazy when I mention “long covid”. I really do believe that I have long Covid because this all began the last time I had Covid. It went in to pneumonia and caused multisystem failure! It has been about a year and I still require oxygen because I get so short of breath. I’m fatigued 24 seven, cannot read because my eyes just shut, cannot walk my dogs, my taste is different (esp. coffee), I have bad headaches, heart rhythm issues, “brain fog”, feel depressed a lot and seems like it’s difficult to enjoy anything anymore.

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@penthewen Isn't it frustrating to try to figure out these reports? What I can tell you is that ground glass opacities (GGO), cysts and nodules are all dynamic, changing artifacts in our lungs. And two different views of the same artifact can result in the radiologists using different terminology.

What does the pulmonologist have to say about the finding?

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@sueinmn

@penthewen Isn't it frustrating to try to figure out these reports? What I can tell you is that ground glass opacities (GGO), cysts and nodules are all dynamic, changing artifacts in our lungs. And two different views of the same artifact can result in the radiologists using different terminology.

What does the pulmonologist have to say about the finding?

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They have yet to send me to one. This is just my PC. I am wondering if i should follow up with a pulmonologist

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@penthewen

They have yet to send me to one. This is just my PC. I am wondering if i should follow up with a pulmonologist

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Oh my goodness, YES!! Please get a good Pulmonologist for any issues that are respiratory related! I stopped depending on my PCP to send me to a specialist and found a good one on my own research. He has answered more questions and provides answers for me! It is YOUR body, YOUR health and YOUR life so take control. Blessings to you and prayers for finding answers.

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@penthewen

They have yet to send me to one. This is just my PC. I am wondering if i should follow up with a pulmonologist

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Oh, if it was me I would definitely be seeing a pulmonologist. If you know anyone with Asthma or COPD, maybe ask for a recommendation. Or ask your PCP for a referral.

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@meh3

Oh my goodness, YES!! Please get a good Pulmonologist for any issues that are respiratory related! I stopped depending on my PCP to send me to a specialist and found a good one on my own research. He has answered more questions and provides answers for me! It is YOUR body, YOUR health and YOUR life so take control. Blessings to you and prayers for finding answers.

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Thank you i plan on it!!

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@sueinmn

@penthewen Isn't it frustrating to try to figure out these reports? What I can tell you is that ground glass opacities (GGO), cysts and nodules are all dynamic, changing artifacts in our lungs. And two different views of the same artifact can result in the radiologists using different terminology.

What does the pulmonologist have to say about the finding?

Jump to this post

Thank you for your response @penthewen! The pulmonologist appointment was on May 19 and the office called and rescheduled it to the middle of July. It is very frustrating! He wanted to rule out issues with my history of asthma (that has been controlled for over two decades) and he also wanted to rule out in a cardiac issues. I actually had an echocardiogram when I was in the intensive care unit for the system failures. My ejection fraction was in the high 60% range and it had only been a few months. I had the echocardiogram he wanted me to get which is basically identical to the one I had when I was out of state and in the intensive care unit I also had pulmonary function test, which showed that I had no obstructive airway issues, but did mention something about my oxygen perfusion? And, of course, I had the repeated CAT scan, so I will not know until the middle of July what he thinks about the test results and everything that is going on. I just know that I have been extremely short of breath since that experience last year, and nobody can put their finger on it. This long Covid stuff really has me wondering because I have so many of the problems that most folks do with this DX. I would really like to at least get back to walking my dogs! I know it will take time as I cannot walk to the mailbox without sitting on the ground to get my breath.

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At 6 mm it is too small to biopsy. The chances of a false negative are too great. There is a strong post that these are two different processes. Make that pulmonary appointment and see where that takes you.

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