I have been suffering with undiagnosed breathing problems probably all my life, but I did not start getting help until fall of 2020 at Penn Medicine following an employer annual physical (for the third year in a row, at different healthcare facilities in different states) when a doctor advised me to seek help regarding obstructed breathing.
I never did seek help in the past due to family discouraging any care was necessary (this happened for most of my medical issues). The obstructed breathing was very apparent on PFT's, but doctors could not figure any cause despite numerous testing.
In June of 2021 I received a VATS biopsy, even though doctors believed this would not result in any definitive findings either. Unfortunately it did not, and at this point I have been diagnosed with obliterative bronchiolitis, brought on my Crohn's-Colitis is what doctors believe.
There is no cure for this disease, and I am only on symbicort as a preventive medication. My breathing is not the greatest, especially for someone who is 23, but I try everyday.
