I went through pulmonary testing before lung surgery, I also use Symbicort however I wasn’t told to stop it before testing, maybe it just depends on the doctor who decides. How long do you have to stop before the tests?
@ckoehring Please ask your doctor or their staff. If this is a first or baseline test, they may want you to stop. My PFT's now are to track my progress or regression - I take it with all pulmonary and heart meds at full dosage.
I went through pulmonary testing before lung surgery, I also use Symbicort however I wasn’t told to stop it before testing, maybe it just depends on the doctor who decides. How long do you have to stop before the tests?
I have it on Friday. So will definitely take it tonight. I didn't take it this morning, and I can feel the difference already with more wheezing and coughing.
Will check with doc. in am. Thanks!
This has been one of my biggest confusions over the course of the past years lung issues. My former Dr never mentioned stopping before PFTs (but he is my former Dr for several reasons). When I went to Mayo Clinic their instructions were no Symbicort 24 hours before the test. When I checked in with my new pulmonary team the nurse checked with the respiratory therapist who said no need to stop anything. When I pressed her to ask my Dr, the Dr responded that she wanted me to hold off for 12 hours unless I really needed it. So my recommendation is to ask your Dr and then ask why they would recommend that so you know in case you switch drs and they read your test without knowing if the inhaler was a factor.
I have it on Friday. So will definitely take it tonight. I didn't take it this morning, and I can feel the difference already with more wheezing and coughing.
Will check with doc. in am. Thanks!
I have been over-prescribed long-term steroid-corticosteroid inhalers for decades, to the point where my lungs and bronchia can no longer tolerate them but instead have become overly sensitive - a disease in itself. It seems that the tissue damage gets premanently worse with every inhalation of the "latest form" of synthetic steroid that is supposedly advanced to the point of being harmless. Not so.
My most recently-assigned pulmonologist conducted a pulmonary function test and then, after a month of prodding from within his own medical community, finally wrote a scrip for a "trial" of a corticosteroidal inhaler med that my records show as one I cannot tolerate.
Last time this was done I found myself deathly sick. My lungs, I felt in the aftermath of that grim episode, never fully recovered.
I'm done.
No more blind trust. No more trust, then verify.
I'm down to verify, then trust.
You want to believe every doctor, as your life is in their hands, but I for one cannot.
I must take charge of my own healthcare, become knowledgeable about any condition I bring to any doc, and assertively interview the doc - I'm essentially hiring him/her to do a very important job
Aren't we all? And yet, we question electricians ("Why is that light still flickering when I turn on the vacuum? Is the circuit overloaded, or did a scab laborer cut some corners when the contractor built the house?") and other professionals more than we do our physicians?
I've learned the expensive way and the hard way: No more believing any doc who believes the big pharma propaganda on the leaflet produced by the company's outcome-driven research. I'll wait for reliable peer-reviewed studies, look for docs who read them (as I do) and will at least review my records (miss something there and you're done - fired) before I suck anything into my life-giving and life-sustaining lungs just because the doc cavalierly scribbles the name of the latest formulation or delivery system on a pad saying, "Try this on a trial basis."
No. The trial, as it were, is over.
Harsh lesson: Take charge of your own health care. Verify, then trust.
Meantime, I've found that mullien extract, two droppers in a short glass of water up to three times a day, loosens mucous (and thus averts asthma attacks and blunts the effects of post-COVID aggrevated COPD.
Moreover, via gentle occasional coughing it continues to thin and bring up the deep, thick mucous that is at he root of so many respiratory problems. Once my lungs are freer to actually breathe, I am gradually beginning to take brisk walks that I hope to lengthen, exercise, enjoy life once again.
I spoke with the gal that took the test, who was quite knowledgeable. As I was worried about silicosis, being a potter for 25 years, I had asked my doctor to make sure they tested for that. Apparently, the PFT does not do that and she said I needed a CT to determine whether this might be the cause of my obstruction. I am doing much better on the symbacort, and am now able cut back to one time per day, but I still would like to know whether silicosis might be the cause, in which case I would have to stop working. Anyway, I have asked my doctor if a CT would be covered for further investigation.
I spoke with the gal that took the test, who was quite knowledgeable. As I was worried about silicosis, being a potter for 25 years, I had asked my doctor to make sure they tested for that. Apparently, the PFT does not do that and she said I needed a CT to determine whether this might be the cause of my obstruction. I am doing much better on the symbacort, and am now able cut back to one time per day, but I still would like to know whether silicosis might be the cause, in which case I would have to stop working. Anyway, I have asked my doctor if a CT would be covered for further investigation.
@ckoehring - glad that you're doing much better on the budesonide and formoterol (Symbicort). Is this what was prescribed after the pulmonary function test, or did you already have that?
Good for you to be pursuing the CT and try to get to the bottom of your obstruction. I would not like wondering if my profession might have led to a health issue. Did you hear back about coverage? If so, what did you learn?
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I went through pulmonary testing before lung surgery, I also use Symbicort however I wasn’t told to stop it before testing, maybe it just depends on the doctor who decides. How long do you have to stop before the tests?
@ckoehring Please ask your doctor or their staff. If this is a first or baseline test, they may want you to stop. My PFT's now are to track my progress or regression - I take it with all pulmonary and heart meds at full dosage.
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Hug
1 ReactionI have it on Friday. So will definitely take it tonight. I didn't take it this morning, and I can feel the difference already with more wheezing and coughing.
Will check with doc. in am. Thanks!
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Helpful -
Hug
1 ReactionNo problem, it’s always better to check with the doctor to be safe, I hope you feel better soon, 🙂
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1 ReactionThis has been one of my biggest confusions over the course of the past years lung issues. My former Dr never mentioned stopping before PFTs (but he is my former Dr for several reasons). When I went to Mayo Clinic their instructions were no Symbicort 24 hours before the test. When I checked in with my new pulmonary team the nurse checked with the respiratory therapist who said no need to stop anything. When I pressed her to ask my Dr, the Dr responded that she wanted me to hold off for 12 hours unless I really needed it. So my recommendation is to ask your Dr and then ask why they would recommend that so you know in case you switch drs and they read your test without knowing if the inhaler was a factor.
Hi, @ckoehring - just wanted to check back and see how the pulmonary function testing went? What were the results?
I have been over-prescribed long-term steroid-corticosteroid inhalers for decades, to the point where my lungs and bronchia can no longer tolerate them but instead have become overly sensitive - a disease in itself. It seems that the tissue damage gets premanently worse with every inhalation of the "latest form" of synthetic steroid that is supposedly advanced to the point of being harmless. Not so.
My most recently-assigned pulmonologist conducted a pulmonary function test and then, after a month of prodding from within his own medical community, finally wrote a scrip for a "trial" of a corticosteroidal inhaler med that my records show as one I cannot tolerate.
Last time this was done I found myself deathly sick. My lungs, I felt in the aftermath of that grim episode, never fully recovered.
I'm done.
No more blind trust. No more trust, then verify.
I'm down to verify, then trust.
You want to believe every doctor, as your life is in their hands, but I for one cannot.
I must take charge of my own healthcare, become knowledgeable about any condition I bring to any doc, and assertively interview the doc - I'm essentially hiring him/her to do a very important job
Aren't we all? And yet, we question electricians ("Why is that light still flickering when I turn on the vacuum? Is the circuit overloaded, or did a scab laborer cut some corners when the contractor built the house?") and other professionals more than we do our physicians?
I've learned the expensive way and the hard way: No more believing any doc who believes the big pharma propaganda on the leaflet produced by the company's outcome-driven research. I'll wait for reliable peer-reviewed studies, look for docs who read them (as I do) and will at least review my records (miss something there and you're done - fired) before I suck anything into my life-giving and life-sustaining lungs just because the doc cavalierly scribbles the name of the latest formulation or delivery system on a pad saying, "Try this on a trial basis."
No. The trial, as it were, is over.
Harsh lesson: Take charge of your own health care. Verify, then trust.
Meantime, I've found that mullien extract, two droppers in a short glass of water up to three times a day, loosens mucous (and thus averts asthma attacks and blunts the effects of post-COVID aggrevated COPD.
Moreover, via gentle occasional coughing it continues to thin and bring up the deep, thick mucous that is at he root of so many respiratory problems. Once my lungs are freer to actually breathe, I am gradually beginning to take brisk walks that I hope to lengthen, exercise, enjoy life once again.
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Like -
Helpful -
Hug
2 ReactionsHi Lisa, Here are the results.
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1 ReactionI spoke with the gal that took the test, who was quite knowledgeable. As I was worried about silicosis, being a potter for 25 years, I had asked my doctor to make sure they tested for that. Apparently, the PFT does not do that and she said I needed a CT to determine whether this might be the cause of my obstruction. I am doing much better on the symbacort, and am now able cut back to one time per day, but I still would like to know whether silicosis might be the cause, in which case I would have to stop working. Anyway, I have asked my doctor if a CT would be covered for further investigation.
@ckoehring - glad that you're doing much better on the budesonide and formoterol (Symbicort). Is this what was prescribed after the pulmonary function test, or did you already have that?
Good for you to be pursuing the CT and try to get to the bottom of your obstruction. I would not like wondering if my profession might have led to a health issue. Did you hear back about coverage? If so, what did you learn?