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Hello Sue
So things are still going well. Doing much more but still resting when my body says as I realized becoming re conditioned can take a long time. So it's been 3 months since my last ct scan which I had while in the big city hospital and was so sick. Now, awaiting results. Praying for good news and a diagnosis.
Apparently my last ct showed those ground glass opacities. But I wasnt told. I had to ask. Why dont they just come out and tell a person what they see on these scans? It's just frustrating. 🙏
Replies to "Hello Sue So things are still going well. Doing much more but still resting when my..."
Well Sue it looks like I am a survivor of ARDS.
When i had GERD i choked on the acid in my sleep at least 3x a week. All this acid went into my lungs and I'd wake choking. I could hear it gurgling in my lungs. I coughed it up as best I could.
The pulmonologist feels it was aspiration pneumonia from the GERD. I'm very lucky and so grateful. My next step is a low acid diet and more weight loss. Exercise of course. Next appt he will do the physical testing. Then another ct in 4 months. Man do I feel relieved.
He said put the oximeter away! Lol
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Hi Yvonne - "Ground Glass Opacities" - doesn't that sound scary? But...it really isn't that uncommon, especially with pneumonia or another lung infection. In the "olden days" of x-ray only, that same phenomenon was the indicator of pneumonia, and my doctor used to say "your lungs are cloudy" to me.
So why weren't you told? Because to the doctors it probably was just a confirmation of what they already told you - pneumonia - current or recently past. When GGO's are from an infection, they usually just stay the same or gradually improve. If the get larger or worse, it is cause for additional investigation to find an underlying cause. When I had a severe lung infection, several lobes were mostly clouded. As the infection was treated, the GGO retreated, and is now only in my worst lobe.
"What is ground glass opacities on CT?
Ground glass opacity (GGO) refers to the hazy gray areas that can show up in CT scans or X-rays of the lungs. These gray areas indicate increased density inside the lungs. The term comes from a technique in glassmaking during which the surface of the glass is blasted by sand." (mednewstoday)
"If the nodules are increased in size or solid component, more invasive therapy is suggested. Infections, benign nodules, and intrapulmonary lymph nodes often resolve or become stationary after regular follow-up." (nih.gov)
I know Yvonne, that you like to research on the Internet, and some of what you read sounds scary - but until you KNOW whether these are changing (getting worse) please think positively. GGO's didn't cause your pneumonia - a virus or bacteria does that - they are just a sign of it.
Off to prepare my friend's tiny house for her return - she broke her hip on Wednesday & had surgery yesterday. Now our "troops" are gathering to care for and support her as she recovers. My job is to get what she needs (pillows, ice, shower chair...) in place and fill the fridge and freezer with easy food for her return tomorrow.
Sue