My ct scan showed faint ild. i went to a lung dr and he said my pulmonary function test showed asthma not ild. what should i do?

Keep up with Pulm Dr: Keep seeing the pulmonary (lung specialist) dr. As i always teach medical students, we treat people, not test results. Do not get caught up on the tests diagnosis but rather what medications treat your conditions and improve any symptoms you may have best. This will be accomplished by a good relationship with your lung dr. Best wishes.

Discussion: The information you provide is limited. Why you got a ct scan to begin with is important. You would generally not diagnose asthma by ct. I would be concerned as to a new diagnosis of asthma at age 61 without further information. It is reasonable to seek a second opinion from an experienced pulmonologist. New and/or progressive symptoms may warrant a lung biopsy. http://goo.gl/cguwmy.

Follw up on PFT: Sometimes may have overlap on pft so need to see the test and ct combined. Also depends on symptoms. If asthma may have airtrapping on ptf and lung volumes are falsely elevated. On ild lung volumes will be low as well as dlco. Dlco on asthma will be high. These are all quirks in pft. Ct may be to sensitive for ild but needs to be taken in context. If still questions ask ur lung doc.

May be both?: As another doctor has suggested, you may need a more detailed lung function with dlco to confirm the suggestive ct finding. On the other hand, if your lung function has become nearly normal after asthma treatment and your sob has mostly gone, the likelihood of ild would be quite low.