... so I went into my doctor's office today to have her tell me that I have to go for more pulmonary function tests. As it turns out, the spirometry tests showed that I do not have COPD, but instead that I likely have restrictive lung disease. That's the part that she neglected to tell me back in August when the results first came in. When I asked her if my laryngopharnageal reflux disease could cause it, she said possibly. Acid reflux can be an underlying cause. Asthma can also be the cause. But she added that she thinks I might have pulmonary fibrosis from the TB, smoking, and the acid reflux. Well, I've done some research. It is thought that idiopathic (without cause, usually) pulmonary fibrosis can be caused by smoking, acid reflux... and if that is the case, the disease is progressive and untreatable. It's not a better diagnosis than COPD.
