We interviewed Peggy Roby, who is a caregiver for her husband, who has been diagnosed with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.

PF NOW: When did your experience with pulmonary fibrosis and as a caregiver begin?
Peggy: Ever since he was in his 30-40’s, he’s been clearing his throat, and from what I had read, some other pulmonary fibrosis patients have talked about having that feeling as well. When this started happening years ago, I didn’t think much about it, just figured that it was a nervous habit. He’s had a cough for years, and we finally decided to seek out medical attention 4-5 years ago once the cough started getting worse
PF NOW: How was he diagnosed?
Peggy: The first doctor went ahead and did a breathing test and did a CAT scan, and saw that there were beginning stages of pulmonary fibrosis, and he was told to take Singulair and return on a yearly basis. He had never, ever smoked, and every time the doctor would see him, he would say, “You’ve smoked,” and he would say that he hadn’t. After about four years of that, I asked our daughter, who is a nurse at the hospital, for a referral to a new pulmonologist, and she recommended a physician because she said he was so compassionate with his patients and I just wanted a second opinion so that my husband could have a better quality of life. When we went to him, he said that he was going to start from scratch, and he did all kinds of blood work and ended up diagnosing it as idiopathic. He also did the CAT scan and said that my husband’s condition had advanced, although not rapidly, in comparison to the last scan from four years prior. He suggested steroids to help reduce symptoms but that would not help the problem so I began to investigate and started researching different websites and I came across your research study on systemic enzymes. It was because of Dr Mehta who said that he was not sure if taking these enzymes would help but they would certainly not hurt him, that my husband was at peace with what I had found. I was telling my kids all about this website and these enzymes. The pulmonologist was so interested to see the effects that he wants to do a follow-up CAT scan once my husband completes six months on the enzymes.
PF NOW: What is your daily routine like, and how do you support your husband?
Peggy: His regimen includes taking the enzymes, and I enjoyed helping him start off his scheduling table in order to get him into routine with his enzymes and food. On your website, you have breathing exercises, and Dr. Mehta said he would sign him up for pulmonary rehab, which I wasn’t really excited about once he started. They weren’t really doing as much as I thought your exercise regimen would do, so I tried to implement your exercise regimens more. Even after this long, it is something that we struggle with because he is active as it is, so to this day we are working on getting him to do his specific breathing exercise. As a caregiver, that is sometimes the struggle that I have in order for him to not feel like I’m telling him what to do.
PF NOW: How has your life changed before and after the diagnosis?
Peggy: Well, the worst was probably when we started to notice a real issue when we went to Yellowstone about a year ago and there was some walking and he would be short-winded and gasp for breath. Whenever we would talk on the phone around that same time period, I would hear him breathing heavy over the phone. Everyone expects that, as we age, we aren’t able to do all of the things that you used to do, but his condition has definitely affected activities that we would be able to otherwise do. He coughs a lot around the house and it is very loud, and he can’t help it. We actually now sleep in different areas.
PF NOW: Were there any unexpected challenges associated with being a caregiver for your husband?
Peggy: Except for having to do some activities, such as walking or hiking, on my own, I don’t think there have been too many surprises. We are blessed that he is able to care for himself and does not need to be given extra oxygen. He is just kind of pacing himself, but as far as my role as a caregiver, I am blessed that there is not much he needs for me to do on a daily basis.
PF NOW: How has your experience been with pulmonary rehabilitation?
Peggy: The pulmonary rehab was a local one that our physician was affiliated with. My husband was put into a pulmonary rehab group with several other gentlemen who were on oxygen, and some of them had a breathing apparatus, and they would have them take classes on how to clean those. When he would get home and tell me about the things that he did, I felt like the activities he did weren’t what I had expected. Then, they gave him a harmonica and said that this was the kind of exercise that the lungs need, but they were not having him advance much and only did it every so often. Some of the other exercises, in my opinion, seemed like they were more cardiac rehab-based, since he had actually previously been through cardiac rehab years ago. I just felt like a lot of it was not geared towards his condition like those that are on your website.
PF NOW: Did you try anything beside systemic enzymes?
Peggy: Our physician also offered the use of steroids, and neither of us were interested due to the potential negatives. We were also offered Esbriet and I happened to watch an informational video on how it does not necessarily help the condition, and to me it did not sound like it was going to fix the problem. The doctor also confirmed that there were no guarantees, which is why my husband and I discussed enzymes with him. His advice was that he could not guarantee that it would help, but it also would not harm. Once we decided that this is what we wanted to do, Dr. Mehta wanted to do a follow-up CAT scan after three months. However, we actually got in touch this past week and decided to hold off to avoid going to the hospital due to COVID-19.
PF NOW: Do you have any advice for the community or those who are going through similar experiences?
Peggy: Don’t ever sit back and think that this is going to be it—do research, take action, and keep going. One of my best friends’ mother passed away from pulmonary fibrosis about 25 years ago, and her brother also passed away from the same condition in his 60’s after a difficult battle. After doing some reading, my husband turned to me and initially said, “ I can just tell that I don’t have much longer,” and this was before I read about the enzymes. I think that this was what encouraged me to get a second opinion. Another thing important to understand is that the patient cannot help their coughing and they don’t want to be coughing. You just have to learn to be patient with them.
Peggy has agreed to answer any questions and would love to have a conversation with our community members who may be facing similar or other challenges via email, so we can all help and support each other. Please reach out to us if interested in learning more and for her contact information.
To connect with the rest of the PF NOW! community:
Join our online forum, and attend our virtual support groups on Zoom.
4 comments
Ana Jones
Posted on March 31, 2021 at 9:16 pmHi. My name is Ana Jones. I am struggling with my husband’s pulmonary fibrosis. I would like for Peggy Roby to reach out to me if possible. My husband is on oxygen and cannot go a few steps without being out of breath. It hurts me so bad watching him in this condition. During the night he gasps for air and does not get any sleep. Now he is not eating. He gets agitated when I ask him to go to the hospital emergency. He’s also very depressed. I don’t know what to do anymore. I am his sole caretaker. I brought him to a pulmonologist appointment yesterday and all the doctor prescribed was for him to take 20 milagrams of prednisone a day opposed to 10 Mg.
PF NOW
Posted on April 1, 2021 at 6:40 pmHi Ana,
Thank you for reaching out. It’s not easy to fight Pulmonary Fibrosis but we are here to help you and your husband now. We will do our best to connect you with Peggy. For now, we hope you’ll send a request to join our online community:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1198991686930106
In this group, there are over 200 people – just like Peggy – who would be happy to help with any questions you may have.
Have you signed up for our newsletter? We recently announced our upcoming Virtual Support Group on Tuesday, April 13th at 3:30pm PST / 6:30pm EST. This happens on Zoom and is another meaningful way to connect with people who have or are impacted by PF (including relatives and caregivers). Participation is free, and you can register here to receive a reminder: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdKO56AaaMZ9fHhwgcztSH5MUdoehsr9RsUdFQoRE1WPfN6uw/viewform. We’d love to see you and/or your husband there.
We do not want to overwhelm you with information, but please let us know if you’d like to learn more about PF, caring for someone with PF, or making sure you’re taken care of too. We know how much it hurts to see him in this condition, and we understand how hard you’re working as his caregiver too. Here’s an article on how to take care of yourself and make sure you don’t emotionally burn out: https://pulmonaryfibrosisnow.org/2021/03/05/signs-of-caregiver-burnout-and-ways-to-prevent-it/.
Once again, feel free to reach out any time if you’d like to learn or share more. We’ll be thinking of you, and we hope to connect soon through our online community and online events.
PF NOW
Posted on April 17, 2021 at 5:26 amHi Ana, Peggy did reach out to me and was very apologetic about seeing my email asking about your request to get in touch with her nearly a month later. She was very sympathetic to your situation and would be happy to talk to you. Phone call and text messaging works best for her. Please look out for an email from us with her contact information. Peggy is wonderful to talk to and I am sure you will get some answers and support you are looking for.
Cheryl Rivera
Posted on December 6, 2022 at 6:35 pmHello, My name is Cheryl and my father was diagnosed with IPF. He is 82 years old and recently started oxygen therapy. If Peggy or any other caregiver is open and available to answer some questions, I would greatly appreciate it. I signed up for next week’s support group and am looking forward to it. Thank you!