A Not Great CAT scan result

I just returned from my visit with my pulmonologist regarding my pulmonary function tests and my most recent CT lung scan. The top photo shows a healthy lungs. The bottom photo shows my lungs.

In my scan you can see some dark areas which are not inflamed. But most of the lung tissue shows the gray ground glass appearance typical of a covid patient with lung inflammation. My lungs still exhibit a lot of post-covid inflammation.

Frankly, I was pretty disappointed! I really thought that I was getting better. My activity levels are up and my oxygen stress seemed to be lower. In other words it seemed like I could do more on a lower oxygen flow. I am down to I liter per minute and can maintain 90 plus percent O2 levels. I have also found that I am able to work at a desk without being tethered to supplemental oxygen and can still maintain oxygen levels above 90 percent based on my trusty finger oximeter.

So, what did my pulmonary function test reveal? Quite frankly given my perceived improvements in both activity and reduced O2 stress at I L flow I thought I did well on the exam. I’m sure all of us can remember taking and examination and walking away feeling real good about the results. Well I kind of had that feeling. When the results were pulled up on the office computer I had the same feeling when I flunked my first drivers test written examination. I didn’t just fail, I totally bombed it. My best score was a little over 40%.

That means for a male my age of 67, my oxygen exchange was 40 % of expected. Funny I found myself making all kinds of excuses from I was unfamiliar with the test to I bet if I took it today I would do a lot better. Sound familiar!

The bottom line is my lungs are not healthy regardless of what I may have thought. The road to recovery will still be long and now in addition to continued supplemental oxygen will now include a 30 day steroid treatment with a whole list of potential side effects to include increased susceptibility to other diseases and infections. To start this process I had my blood tested to see if there might be anything that would prohibit use lot the steroid. One of the side effects of the steroids I was administered via IV in ICU was edema or puffiness in my face.

As I left the appointment I was still trying to process it all. My disappointment that what I was feeling as progress to toward recovery prior to the was not medically validated. In retrospect I am feeling a lot better than I have felt since I was hospitalized with COVID. The reality of situation I am at only 40 percent of what I was before COVID. But I really can’t remember what I was like pre-COVID. And that is really what hurts the most.

The good news is my lungs do not show any fibrous or scarring. So as Meatloaf the singer sang in his hit song “two out of three ain’t bad.”