Addressing mycobacterium chelonae

June 18, 2012 By

DEAR DR. GOTT: This is the first time I have written you. I’m 79 and female in pretty good health. I have a pacemaker and am on Coumadin.

I was diagnosed with mycobacterium chelonae a year and a half ago after a CT scan and sputum testing in a petri dish in a lab in Denver. I guess this is rather rare. My infectious disease doctor said I would have a PICC in my arm and two very strong antibiotics injected. Because they have strong side effects, I will have my heart and kidneys monitored weekly. I now have nausea and a rash.

I am holding off because I take care of my husband who had a stroke and has vascular dementia. The doctor said it hasn’t gotten worse, so I will wait a few months before deciding. [Read more...]

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Medication dosing can be frightening

January 13, 2011 By

DEAR DR. GOTT: I am a relatively healthy 75-year-old female who leads an active lifestyle. I am concerned that my pulmonary doctor wants to increase my Advair intake from 100/50 to 500/50 because a recent lung infection test revealed a worsening. I am aware that the latest news is that Advair is not recommended for long-term care of asthma. I’ve been on the medication for about 12 years and want to get off it. I’ve not had to take albuterol for several years and do not wheeze unless I have a sinus infection with drainage that gets into my bronchial tubes. This usually happens two to four times a year.

The only medications I take are levothyroxine 0.05 and supplemental calcium, omega fish oil and vitamin D.
What do you recommend regarding the Advair? Do I follow the pulmonary doctor’s advice to increase it, or what?
[Read more...]

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Fit female questions shortness of breath

June 11, 2010 By

DEAR DR. GOTT: I am concerned about blocked arteries. I am 60 years old, 5-feet-5, and weigh 115 pounds. I exercise three times a week, do 400 stairs a day, and walk two miles. My total cholesterol is 180, and the good/bad ratios are within good limits. I don’t have any problems with my blood pressure. I have an annual physical exam and blood workups.

However, lately, when doing my stairs, I experience occasional shortness of breath. I have a family history of stroke through my mother and father. Could I possibly have some type of blockage, even though all signs and tests appear normal? Should I request a stress test at my next physical?
[Read more...]

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Lung Scarring Has Serious Consequences

March 11, 2009 By

DEAR DR. GOTT:
I am an 82-year-old female. I don’t smoke but was diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis in 2006 and used oxygen occasionally for the first four months following the diagnosis. Since then I have had to use it 24/7. I started out with two liters and am now on 10 liters. I take 40 mg of prednisone daily.

My doctor had told me that this is normally a slow moving disease but for some reason it is accelerating in my case. Everything I have read is terribly frightening. Can you provide any information or suggestions about treatment?

DEAR READER:
Pulmonary fibrosis is a respiratory disorder in which lung tissue becomes thickened and stiff or scarred. Over time the lungs’ ability to move oxygen into the bloodstream becomes compromised. It is a serious condition with no cure. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Daily Column Tagged With: ,

Asthma Is A Symptom Of Churg-Strauss

March 7, 2009 By

DEAR DR. GOTT:
I was diagnosed with eosinophilic pneumonia about 12 years ago. I was put on a high dose of prednisone and then was tapered off it. I now have asthma and am on prednisone again as well as an albuterol inhaler. Whenever I have an asthma attack, my doctor increases the prednisone dose and then tapers me back down.

My pulmonologist (lung doctor) now tells me I have Churg-Strauss, however, I don’t have any symptoms of it. I have had three blood tests taken but all were negative. Can you tell me anything about this disorder?

DEAR READER:
I will do my best. Churg-Strauss syndrome is one in which blood vessels become inflamed. It is therefore, both a pulmonary disorder as well as a form of vasculitis (which simply means blood vessel inflammation). [Read more...]

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Emphysema Not Curable

February 22, 2009 By

DEAR DR. GOTT:
I have emphysema. When I walk a short distance I am out of breath. I have to stop, sit and wait until I get all my breath back before going on. At home I am on 15 liters of oxygen and when I go out I have to use a tank on wheels that only goes up to 10 liters. I take nine pills every day. I was told I had one blocked lung so my doctor prescribed Viagra which I have to take six times a day.

I don’t do much at home but really feel good. I don’t even have chest pain. I have been to the hospital five times but only for three or four days at a time to have tests. They told me it was to check my lungs and heart valves.

I started smoking when I was 14 but quit in 1982. As long as I take all my medicine, use the oxygen and don’t get out of breath, I‘m okay. I am still able to work in the yard raking leaves. I always work slowly and use my oxygen. [Read more...]

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Are Menthol Rubs Good For Cold Symptoms?

February 12, 2009 By

DEAR DR. GOTT:
My mother is old school in that I grew up slathered in Vicks and put to bed at the first sign of sniffles or a cough. The rub would allow me to breathe easier when she spread it on my chest and under my nose, but boy, did I smell bad!

Well, I’m now grown with a family of my own and can‘t believe how history repeats itself or that I am actually asking this question. Is it safe to use this same treatment on my own children?

DEAR READER:
It depends on the age of your children. All menthol products, including Vicks, have the capability of causing breathing problems, eye and lung inflammation, liver damage, airway constriction and allergic reactions in some infants and children. [Read more...]

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Valley Fever May Be Underdiagnosed

January 4, 2009 By

DEAR DR. GOTT:
While cleaning out my desk, I came across an envelope addressed to you in 2007. Not remembering what on earth I wrote to you about, I opened it to find a letter and copies of three articles. One was an article you wrote about a woman who had been sick for eight to ten years whom you thought may have had a staph infection. The others were also from my local paper dated 2006 about Valley Fever. I have included the letter in this one and hope that you will print it. It may save lives and will at least inform patients and doctors that this fungal disease is still around. Thank you.

Dear Dr. Gott: I read your column today about the woman who had a decade long illness after her and her husband visited the Tucson, AZ area to see their daughter. You wrote that you thought the mother may have a staph infection. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Daily Column Tagged With: ,

Daily Column

November 1, 2008 By

DEAR DR. GOTT:
I am writing regarding the person, who after having two lung x-rays, was found to have a spot on the lung. He was told to wait six months and have another X-ray. I would like to let this person and your readers know about my father-in-law and his experience with a lung spot.

Following an X-ray he was told he had a spot on his lung but the doctor didn’t feel it was anything to worry about. Since he hated going to doctors, he didn’t do anything abut it. Five months later he was in the hospital, diagnosed with lung cancer.

His oncologist recommended chemotherapy and told him he might have about a year to live. My father-in-law went ahead with the chemo but after only two treatments he passed away, just two months after the diagnosis. [Read more...]

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Daily Column

July 16, 2008 By

DEAR DR. GOTT:
My son was just recently diagnosed with sarcoidosis and is being treated with prednisone. I understand that this is becoming more common in recent years and wondered if you have any information about it.

DEAR READER:
Sarcoidosis occurs when inflammation causes tiny lumps of cells (granulomas). The granulomas can continue to grow and clump together to form larger lumps or groups of lumps. If many form in an organ, function is affected.

Sarcoidosis can occur in nearly any part of the body but most often affects the lungs and/or lymph nodes. Other commonly affected areas are the skin, eyes and liver. Very rarely, sarcoidosis can be found in the thyroid gland, kidneys, reproductive organs and breasts. More than one organ is involved in nearly all cases. [Read more...]

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