Hi everyone. First post here.
I am 44. I had to get my lungs checked in preparation for a minor surgery (not lung related).
When I got the x-ray images, they came with a short report: flattening of the diaphragm, accentuated retrosternal space, the lung structure appears slightly rarefied, no acute pulmonary congestion signs, no pneumonic infiltrates, no pleural effusions, emphysema aspect. (I translated these terms from German, so they might not be entirely correct in English.)
I spent the night reading up (and freaking out). I got an appointment with a pulmonologist the very next day. She let me do a quick spirometry test. She did some lung auscultation, measured my blood gas with a finger clip infrared gizmo and asked me a couple of questions.
Then she rolled her eyes and mumbled something about "not again…". My diaphragm, she explained, appears lowered on the x-ray, because I am a sporty guy and can inflate my lungs more than the usual patient – and there is a radiologist somewhere, who is a bit overcautious.
At that point I wanted to believe her anything. The emotional roller coaster ride had made me a bit numb, to be honest. I took my new diagnosis and ran away as fast as I could.
But now, a few days later, I would like to know a bit more. I have read, that emphysema detection on simple xray images is indeed controversial. But I can't believe that my lungs are so fit they appeared somehow hyperinflated to the radiologist. I do cardio, but I am not, by any means, a professional athlete. I am an office worker. I enjoy taking long walks and longer bike rides on the weekend (25 miles, not uphill). I enjoy swimming. I try to become better in crawling. Occasionally I do some fitness boxing, which includes rope skipping. I suck at jogging. I *try* to stay fit.
My test results:
target actual1 %(l1/S)
VC MAX [L] 5.44 6.31 116.1
FEV1 [L] 4.31 5.60 129.9
FEV 1 % VC MAX79.63 88.63 111.3
MEF50 [L/s] 4.03 7.27 180.7
SaO2 97%
So, as far as I understand these numbers, my FEV1/FVC MAX ratio should be 79.63 for my age&weight, but happened to be 88.63 which is 111.3% of the target value. That sounds good. MEF50 of 7.27 litres per seconds also seems to be good - maybe a bit too good? I don’t know.
I have read that spirometry is very difficult to interpret in case of an emphysema. The results can be misleading. Should I go to another pulmonologist and ask for a different test? Which one? Or should I just give it a rest for now?