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THE Q & A

Welcome to The Q&A with Elaine Moore. Registered members are invited to ask any question of Elaine Moore on autoimmune diseases, Graves' disease, other thyroid diseases and subconditions, laboratory work, traditional and complementary medicine, triggers and environmental influences, thyroid and immune disorders in pets and animals, and other relevant areas of inquiry.

Each thread represents one question with one answer and will only appear at the time it is answered. Once answered, further replies cannot be made to the same thread since each thread represents only one question. A new thread will need to be started for additional questions.

Questions are answered solely by Elaine Moore, a medical writer and clinical laboratory scientist, MT, CLS, with more than 30 years of experience in immunology. Moore has also authored and edited over a dozen books in the area of health sciences and is an editor for McFarland Publisher's Health Topics Series.

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ForumForumDiscussionsDiscussionsQuestion and An...Question and An...Fifteen Year Old Daughter w/ MCTD - Declining Pulmonary Function Test ResultsFifteen Year Old Daughter w/ MCTD - Declining Pulmonary Function Test Results
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 8/5/2010 9:54 PM
 
John
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Joined: 8/5/2010
Posts: 1

Hello,

My daughter was diagnosed w/ this disease (MCTD) in 2003 when she was 8. She was on Methotrexate until a couple of years ago at which time she was switched to Cellcept. A decline in her PFTs, specifically DLCO corrected for alveolar volume or DL/VA, precipitated the change in medicine from MTX to MMF. The DL/VA continues to decline and her most recent PFT series in July had her at ~ 72% of predicted. She isn't experiencing any dyspnea or any other possible manifestations of lung involvement. Her Pediatric Rheumatologist isn't overly concerned about the PFT results because of my daughter's lack of symptoms and the fact that her nail bed capillaries are continuing to improve. He says that the PFTs have a lot of variability and are just a single piece of data, which is why he feels it best to stay the course with the current treatment regimen. My question, has anyone else experienced the declining DL/VA test and remained asymptomatic? I'm actually worried out of my mind over these declining PFT results and not sure what to make of her doctor's reassurances. What could I or should I be doing different? I have this urge to try another treatment approach such as LDN or Antibiotic Protocol but don't want to overly complicate things by having my daughter treated by multilple physicians. I would appreciate greatly any advice that can be offered on my predicament. A gracious thank you to all responders.

Sincerely,

John Morton
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 8/8/2010 10:55 PM
 
Elaine
1st Level Poster

Joined: 8/1/2008
Posts: 3174

Hi John,

You might want to check with a pulmonary specialist rather than your rheumatologist for a second opinion on the declining pulmonary function tests. While there can be some variability, a decline over time in the test results needs a more comprehensive evaluation.

You might also want to check the comments on MCTD that accompany my articles on MCTD and undifferentiated connective tissue disorders on suite101. Be sure your doctor has run a vitamin D level too for 25 OH vitamin D and is providing treatment if a deficiency exists. Best, Elaine
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