Long lung but told I’m fine (?)
Is it possible to have long lung even if you don’t have emphysema or any other form of COPD? There seems to be some discrepancy as to whether I do or don’t have emphysema. I had some slight SIB this year. My cardiologist said my echo and stress test were fine. My PFT was fine and no treatment needed. However, my chest x-ray showed some possible early stages of emphysema. My general practitioner MD says I have long lung because I’m tall. She attributed my SOB to lack of exercise. I am seeing a Pulmonologist at the end of the month. I have never smoked anything in my life but grew up in a smoking household. Very confused by all this. Would appreciate your thoughts, thank you.
HI. lotzaspotz. Great question. First off, great news that your echo, stress, and PFT are fine. It's interesting you ask this questoin, as my mom was told the same thing by her doctor and asked me about it. Like you, my mom also has long lungs and early-stage COPD. Many people in the early stages experience no symptoms and can generally do most of the things they enjoy. It's always scary to get the diagnosis. But, still it's good to know as you can take precautious to prevent it from getting worse. The best next step is to talk to a a COPD expert, and I see you are seeing a pulmonologist soon. I am also going to attach a link below to a discussion on this topic. Does this help? John. Site Moderator. https://copd.net/q-and-a/what-does-long-lungs-mean/
I certainly will let you know the outcome of my visit with the Pulmonologist. I’m looking forward to getting some answers.
Thank you so much!
Hi again, lotzaspotz - lots of luck to you for your next visit with the pulmonologist! We will look forward to hearing back from you. Wishing you well, Leon (site moderator)
