“Pay it forward.” Following up with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis patient and PatientsLikeMe member Lori

 

This is Lori’s third interview on the PatientsLikeMe blog! She’s been sharing her journey with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (a rare lung disease) with all of our followers here, along with her real-world health experiences on her PatientsLikeMe profile. Since the last time we caught up with her, Lori has lost 70 lbs., has made the transplant list and is playing what she calls ‘the waiting waltz.’ Check out the entire interview below where she talks about ‘life on the list’ and what inspires her to donate her health data. And don’t forget to check out Lori’s own blog called Reality Gasps. Thank you Lori for continuing to share and inspire!

If you missed one of her previous interviews you can find those here.

 

 

You share a lot about reaching your weight loss goal (70 lbs! That’s awesome!). Can you describe what exercise means to someone living with IPF? And some of the other ways you achieved your goal?

For someone living with IPF, exercise isn’t about pushing yourself to go farther, faster or harder — it’s about endurance. Pulmonary Rehab is always focused on doing whatever you’re doing for as long as you can. That’s because endurance equals muscle efficiency. The more efficiently the body can use oxygen, the easier it is to breathe. Right now, I can do 30-35 minutes on the treadmill at 1 mph. I’m not setting any records, but I am moving, and that’s really the key to all. Activity is difficult for anyone with PF because oxygen sats plummet so quickly. So all you can really do is move as often as you can for as long as you can. I marked a 600-ft circuit (4 laps) in the house and practice my 6-minute walk several times a day (600 feet in 6 minutes is a baseline standard). I go to Rehab every week, and I have a pedal exerciser that I use while I watch TV. It sits on the floor for use with the feet, or I can put it on a table for use with my hands. Every little bit helps!

Plus, I have discovered a calorie-burning secret weapon available specifically for PF patients — breathing. My pulmonologist told me that the average healthy person expends about 2% of total daily energy on breathing. People with PF expend 20% on breathing, and someone who is end-stage like me probably uses more than that. Dragging air into these stiff old lungs is hard work! My transplant coordinator agrees, and warns her patients that post-tx, we really need to watch what we eat because we aren’t spending nearly the energy we did before on breathing or anything else.

Can you tell us a little about how you get your Lung Allocation Score and what that means for placing you on ‘The List’?

Everyone who is approved for the lung transplant waiting list receives a Lung Allocation Score (LAS), ranging from 0 to 100. The LAS is used to determine your location on a Transplant Center’s waiting list, and is based on medical urgency and the potential for survival post transplant. When I was listed in February, my LAS was 62, and four weeks later it was increased to 71. The average LAS at Barnes is in the 40s. I am neck and neck with another candidate for the #1 spot — luckily we have different tissue types, so we are looking for different donors.

Since my score is so high, I am re-evaluated every two weeks. Anyone with a LAS below 50 is re-evaluated every four weeks. The bi-weekly eval includes a PFT (FEV1), 6-minute walk, chest x-ray, blood tests and meeting with a pulmonologist.

It’s important to understand that being #1 on the list doesn’t mean that I will get the next lungs that become available. They still have to match size, blood and tissue type . But, because of my high placement on the list, I will be considered first for every donor lung.

And did you have a ‘fake’ heart attack?!

This was one of those “blessings in disguise.” At Barnes, the evaluation for transplant list is a 4-day process. My husband and I were there for Day 1, Test 1 — blood work and an EKG. Pretty routine stuff that I never have an issue with, except this time. When I shuffled from the chair where they drew blood, to the table where they hooked me up to the EKG, my sats dropped (normal) and my heart started to pound (also normal). The tech gave me a few minutes to recover and then ran a strip. She got quiet and left the room, then came back and ran another strip. She left the room again, came back and ran a third strip. I was wondering what was going on because no one ever runs three strips and she kept asking me if I felt okay (I felt fine). Then suddenly, the room was full of people (the acute response team). Among them was a resident who informed me I was having a heart attack. I assured him I wasn’t. He said something about inverted waves and the EKG looking like I was having a coronary. The only problem was, I felt fine… not just fine, completely normal! They sent me to the ER anyway, where multiple EKGs and blood work showed no signs of heart attack. But, a comparison with an EKG I’d had 6 months earlier showed a slight change, so they admitted me.

I ended up having a heart catheterization, which I was scheduled for later in the week anyway. The cath was clear, beautiful in fact. And, they decided to complete all of the tests I’d had scheduled that week as an inpatient instead of an outpatient. In exchange for three days of lousy food, I was able to complete the eval without the stress of driving to and from Barnes everyday in sub-freezing temperatures. My husband got a nice reprieve, too!

You talked a little on your own blog about ‘Life on the List.’ Can you share with the community what that means for you day-to-day?

Getting on the list was a goal I’d had for more than two years. In that time, it had almost become a destination in itself — everything was focused on losing weight and getting on the list. Once I was on the list, everything would be fine. But getting listed is just the beginning of a whole new journey where I have a lot less control over what’s happening. It would be easy to become overwhelmed with frustration or fear or panic — I’ve felt all of those at one point or another. Instead of giving in to these emotions, however, I’m trying very hard just to let go and focus on the things that I can have an impact on. I can’t change when my donor match will be found, but I can keep myself as active as possible so I am ready when the call comes. I can’t predict what my recovery will be like or how long I will survive afterwards, but I can be present and involved right now in the lives of my family and friends. So for me, Life on the List is pretty much a one day at a time kind of thing. I hope, I pray, I plod, and I wait.

I noticed on your PatientsLikeMe profile that you’ve been consistently using your PF Severity Score and symptom report. What do you find helpful about these tools and what inspires you to donate so much data? 

I did it for the t-shirt. Kidding! I really love having one place where I can get a complete picture of what’s going on — not just test scores or symptoms, but also how I’m feeling in relation to everything. The various questions help me tune into my mental, emotional and physical states. And the more I understand about what’s happening with me, the better informed I can keep my doctors, and that helps everything.

As for donating data, I am happy to do it. The treatments and techniques that I am benefiting from today were developed with information from patients who came before. Sharing my info is the best way I can think of to pay it forward.

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