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Interstitial Lung Disease, Lungs Harden, Substitute For Steroid
i am suffering from intertestial lung disease, recently i took blood test ana which is positive, i took ct scan , which say my lungs have become harden, doctor is suggesting me to take steriod , predmet, i am not interested to take steriod, because i have already taken in the year 2007 october for 6 months, the same disease is accured again, pls suggest some medicines apart from steriod, pls reply immediately
posted on
Tue, 15 May 2012
Medically reviewed by
Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team
Tue, 15 May 2012
Answered on
Thu, 17 May 2012
Last reviewed on
Hi,
The options available for interstitial lung disease are limited and steroids are the first line of treatment. This is a disease which has a long standing course and there is currently no cure available. We can only treat the symptoms.
Medications apart from steroids include azathioprine, mycophenolate and cyclophosphamide. These are strong drugs with a large number of side effects and need to be taken under the supervision of a physician only. You can consider taking a second opinion but there are 2 things you must keep in mind: Steroids remain the first line and the best available treatment for your condition. The other drugs are used only when patients fail to respond to steroids. Secondly, we must treat it so that the rate of progression slows down.
Hope this helps
Regards
The options available for interstitial lung disease are limited and steroids are the first line of treatment. This is a disease which has a long standing course and there is currently no cure available. We can only treat the symptoms.
Medications apart from steroids include azathioprine, mycophenolate and cyclophosphamide. These are strong drugs with a large number of side effects and need to be taken under the supervision of a physician only. You can consider taking a second opinion but there are 2 things you must keep in mind: Steroids remain the first line and the best available treatment for your condition. The other drugs are used only when patients fail to respond to steroids. Secondly, we must treat it so that the rate of progression slows down.
Hope this helps
Regards
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