Is a second opinion needed??

last year my husband had a abcess on his left lung, along with pneumonia. he was a sandblaster for 15 years.doctor told him he has BOOP and after about 6 months of follow up visits with the pulmonary dr, he told him that he's the best he will get.the x-rays show significant scarring in the lung. to this day he still shows symptoms that are not "letting up" at all. he tires so easily when trying to do the simplest tasks, trouble breathing as if something is laying on his chest, gets boils (or carbuncles) on his back, chest and arms, still has the pain on his left side and shoulder as he did when he had the pneumonia. he also contracted a staph infection. he had testing on his heart for pulmonary hypertension. it came back ok, but i heard when giving that test, some type of exertion, as in, biking, running in place etc, is required for an accurate result. if you have heard of this, please give suggestions.. thanks

BOOP is bronchiolitis obliterans organizing pneumonia. With sandblasting, you can get a condition called silicosis. And, lung abscesses are localized severe infections in the lung tissue.

Basically, it sounds like your husband probably had some lung scarring from silicosis and then caught a bug and ended up with pneumonia. If he didn't get antibiotics quickly enough and it was an agressive "bug" causing the pneumonia, that would lead to an abscess. The organizing pneumonia would have been all around the abscess at the time of his infection. If his scans have not cleared and they are the "best they will get", he may have had some lung destruction. This would mean he has lost some lung tissue. (I have seen this in patients who had a bad Staph pneumonia.) He may not ever breathe as well as he did prior to his illness, but continued extreme shortness of breath and pain definitely need to be evaluated. You may see the doctor who's been following him, and simply explain that his symptoms are severe and you want further evaluation. Or, you might see someone for a second opinion. I'm not sure if he's been having plain chest x-rays or chest CT scans, but a CT scan would be more definitive and give more detail.

He differently needs a 2nd opinion. Sounds like something has been missed somewhere. Or at least to me that's how it sounds.

Anyway, what can a 2nd or even a 3rd opinion hurt and may even help in the long run.

Good luck and I will add you to our prayer list.

I searched 5 different medical web sites and can not find any reference to BOOP. What is it's full name?

The scaring in his lungs is called "Pulmonary Fibrosis (PF)". When the cause of the scaring is not known it is called "Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF)". Other names for this condition are:

- Alveolocapillary block
- Cryptogenic Fibrosing Alveolitis
- Diffuse Fibrosing Alveolitis
- Fibrosing Alveolitis
- Hamman-Rich Syndrome
- Interstitial Diffuse Pulmonary Fibrosis

I have this condition. It makes breathing difficult because the scaring makes the linings in the lungs stiff thus the exchange of oxygen into the blood difficult. There is no cure other than lung transplant. The condition may not get worse or it may progress over time. No one can predict if, when or how fast progression will occur.

The pain he feels may be associated with the pulmonary problems he has. Also it is possible that the pneumonia has returned. It may also indicate a problem with the cardiovascular system. I had chest, neck and jaw pain for months. I was certain it was associated with my heart. For three months my doctor and I subjected me to several tests, x-rays and CAT Scans. The results always showed no problem with my heart. I did have "walking" pneumonia. Finally he sent me to a cardiologist who did a stress test, but the results were uncertain. The cardiologist did a cardiac catheterization on me. From that, they woke me long enough to tell me I was going to have open heart surgery to put in 5 bypasses. I have no heart dammage. My situation is rare but is possible. The pain associated with the cardiovascular system is called "angina". My condition was caused by "Coronary Artery Disease (CAD)".

Pulmonary Hypertension is high blood pressure in the arties and vessels of the lungs

A second openion for any serious medical condition never hurts. Your health is of great importance to you. Your confidence in your doctor is something you must be comfortable with. If you have to ask "Do I need a second openion?". The answer is most likely "Yes!". Do not worry about offending your doctor. He/she should appreciate your concerns and the help of another qualified health professional.

I hope that I have provided some useful information. More information is available at the links below. I hope it helps.

I sincerely wish the best to you and your hubby,

Terry

Do do mean COPD??

Yup they do a treadmill test as part of a pulmanory function test