I was diagnosed with CF last year at age 54. Obviously I have a recessive gene, as I have mild symptoms & minor lung damage (25%), compared to many others with CF. I tell people I have a “bent CF gene”. If people know about CF, when I tell them I have it, they look at me like I am from MARS. No way – that is a child’s disease, & I shouldn’t be alive. If not, then I try to educate them, but as there are so few of us that are older, I am still looked at like a freak. I am still trying to get my feelings about this late diagnosis and being among the few sorted out. I hope my story will help young people to see there are long-term possibilities. I have probably seen over 50 Dr.’s all over the world, in my lifetime because of my sinus problems, but it wasn’t until I saw an allergist last year, who had worked in an office next to a University CF clinic, that I was diagnosed. She asked if anyone had mentioned CF as the cause of all my problems. I said no, but I am old & also overweight & how could I have CF? She said that many older people with CF are heavy. She had a blood test done - three weeks later I was told I had CF. Through testing I have discovered I carry staph, strep, pseudomonas & a fungus. I have severe sinus problems & have nasal polyps. Doctors always said it was allergies, but when tested, they couldn’t pinpoint my problem & said I was a little allergic to everything. I have gone through many dietary & living changes for the “supposed allergies” and courses of anti allergy shots. I have had over 20 operations on my poor little nose & sinuses. I have had no sense of smell since I was about 20. The family history goes that my great grandmother came to visit my mother when I was one week old & I was already coughing. She said many in her family had the same thick mucus which caused coughing & throat clearing. She called it gutar. She had her own cure & gave me a half a teaspoon of whiskey, which shocked my mother, but did calm the cough. (I now use honey) I was always sickly as a child, colds, earache, headache, bronchitis, cough, pneumonia. At that time the Dr.’s always diagnosed me with “weak lungs” & maybe I would grow out of it! If it had not have been for penicillin I wouldn’t have lived past 3 years old. I was given penicillin so much as a child that I became allergic to it in my teens. Lucky for me, by then they had developed antibiotics. I never was allowed out of the house without being bundled up & scarf over my head. I looked like a little babushka doll. My father was a Col. in the Army so I saw many different military doctors as well as local ones. I have also lived in different countries with different climates when I was growing up. I have always been very aware & insightful about my health. If I felt any sort of cold or sinus problem coming on, I would go to bed & take antibiotics. Wherever I moved, I always had an EENT specialist that was aware that I got sick easily and they always supplied me with a full dose of antibiotics to have on hand. I could be fine on Friday & pneumonia by Sunday. I became very aware of what I could and couldn’t do. I got married at twenty but never had any children. My husband & I lived in Canada for 2 years & then did the European travel thing & lived in a Volkswagen camper for 18 months in the early 70’s. I was very careful on the trip, but I did get pneumonia in Istanbul Turkey. In 1980 we left the US & spent time in Mexico & then lived in Europe. Part of the time we traveled & lived in our Volkswagen. We spent 3 seasons skiing in Europe, (rented apartments), & 3 summers on beaches (in camper). We lived in Germany, France, Italy, Portugal, and Greece. We then went to Geneva Switzerland where I worked for the UN for 5 years. I have traveled in Egypt & across North Africa. I have had heat stroke several times, but understand now that is a result of my CF. In 1990 we returned to the US. I took Doxycycline everyday from 1994-1999 to help control my sinus infections. I am now under the care of the adult CF clinic at the University Hospital. In many way’s I am thankful that I & my family didn’t know I had CF. I know, my husband & I, would have curtailed our lifestyle and I wouldn’t have done a quarter of what we did. Tips: · I have started using a hand sanitizer product in addition to washing my hands frequently. I have it at work (everyone now uses it & the cold swap rate is way down. It is available in small pocket size that I carry & use frequently. Especially in public places like grocery stores, clothing stores, restaurants, using hand railings and washrooms. I feel that I have not been as susceptible to every little bug that comes along.· I always look for clothes with pockets for my tissues. If it doesn’t have a pocket, I don’t buy it.· After showering, I always dry my hair thoroughly before leaving the bathroom. I always use q-tips to dry my ears.· I run an air purifier, ionizer in my bedroom during the day, but not while I sleep. Personally, I feel better in a dryer colder climate. When we lived in the mountains & I skied & I felt the best. I think the exercise & fresh air helped me. When the air is too warm the lining in my nose & throat swells, & I have difficulty breathing & I cough more. When it is damp, I get sick & my infections increase. I was aware that really cold air hurt my lungs, so when skiing I always had a scarf or something over my nose & mouth & my ears are always covered. I seem to need lots of sunlight, which helps me mentally & physically. So skiing in the winter helped me in that aspect also. Air conditioning also increases the coughing; otherwise I would live in the desert someplace. I hope to keep working for a few more years, but when we retire, I want to find a healthier place to live. I wonder about CF people living in Colorado or Montana. If you are out there, do think it is better? Also if there are others that are over 50 with similar diagnosis as mine I would like to hear from you also.