Welcome to Part Two of my series on Pulmonary Fibrosis!

I am writing this information for people with Pulmonary Fibrosis, who it seems are often not given much relief or hope of recovery with this illness. I hope that someone will try the products/supplements that I have listed, and let me know how they work. All of the information contained in this hub is provided by various sources on the Internet, and I encourage everyone to learn more about it.

" Pulmonary Fibrosis involves scarring of the lung. Gradually, the air sacs of the lungs become replaced by fibrotic tissue. When the scar forms, the tissue becomes thicker causing an irreversible loss of the tissue's ability to transfer oxygen into the bloodstream." - The Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation

The symptoms include:

Shortness of breath; particularly with exertion, chronic dry, hacking cough, fatigue and weakness, discomfort in the chest, loss of appetite, and rapid weight loss.

At this time, there is no "cure" for PF, and many people are afflicted with it. Over 5 million worldwide, and 200,000 in the United States- although according to the Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation, these numbers could be significantly higher due to misdiagnosis.

My mother in-law was told of this "wonder" pill when my husband's grandmother was in the end stages of IPF. You can visit the manufacturer's website HERE.

Neprinol is a mixture of USP Grade Nattokinase, Serrapeptase, Lipase, Proteases, Amla, Papain, Bromelain, Rutin and USP Grade Coenzyme Q10.

I'm not well informed on herbal supplements, or pharmacology so I'm not going to try and explain what each of these ingredients are- but check my links below for information sites on each ingredient.

The website claims that Neprinol can "Reduce scar tissue buildup, fibrosis, arthritic conditions, pain swelling inflammation and hundreds of other ailments."

So, for Pulmonary Fibrosis you have 3 main reasons you may take Neprinol- reduction of scar tissue, the halting of fibrosis (making more scar tissue) and the pain of inflamed tissue inside of your lungs.

While this sounds good, I could not find many forums or reviews of this product where people had taken the drug and felt better. I did find one reviewer, who claimed that his mother had been given less than 1 year to live, and has survived 3 years now after taking Neprinol.

This medicine is quite pricey, and you have to take 3-5 pills a day depending on what illness you have. A 300 count bottle costs around $150.00, so it may be a bit of a stretch for someone to try this on a fluke.

Vitalzym is another pill similar to Neprinol. It contains nearly the same ingredients in the same amounts, but is backed by a doctor named Dr. Wong, you can read his recommendation for this product HERE.

My mother ordered some of this, but it arrived too late so we were unable to test it out. I did however find a review by a woman on a blog that said this:

" I just wanted to share that I have started taking VitalzymX for severe osteoarthritis in my hip. The pain was pretty constant and has started to limit my physical activity, doing the things I love to do! It's only been 3 days, of taking 3 tablets, 3 times a day, and the pain is all but gone. I'm still aware of some tightness, but the nagging ache is GONE. I hope that it IS the result of these enzymes, and not just that I've had a good couple of days. Daily pain is so difficult to deal with, and I'm hopeful that this may be an answer not only for me, but for the many people who get up every morning, and have to face the day, yet again, with pain. I'm also battling uterine fibroids, grapefruit size, and am hoping for some changes there too! Try these enzymes.....they work!!!"

But who knows if this is just a promotional review, that's the bad thing about the Internet.

This product is a bit cheaper, at $115.00 for 450 count.

I also read up on the most 2 important ingredients in the products listed above, which turned out to be Serrapeptase and Nattokinase.

Serrapeptase (Serratio Peptidase) is a proteolytic enzyme commercially produced in the laboratory and isolated from the microorganism, Serratia E15. It was originally found being used by silkworms to aid digestion and dissolve its chrysalis. This enzyme can be used to digest non-living tissue, blood clots, cysts, arterial plaque and inflammation in all forms. The uses are wide ranging and cover just about every condition that is affected by inflammation and/or non-living tissue and is in clinical use in parts of Asia and Europe. Serrapeptase is used as an alternative to Non Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDS) which are commonly used to treat arthritis and inflammation. Dr. Hans Alfred Nieper (1928-1998) used Serrapeptase as an arterial blockage treatment for patients in Germany. - From Wikipedia, link HERE.

I have taken NSAIDS before for back pain, and a very bad burn once- and if I could get a more "natural" form, I would certainly use it. I am actually thinking about picking some up- I have several scars, and I did read online that people who have taken just this supplement noticed a decrease in their scar tissue, which sounds promising.

The second supplement is called Nattokinase. Now, granted I am a huge otaku (people with obsessive interests, particularly anime) and from my online anime-watching forays, I have learned what Natto is.

According to Wikipedia, Nattokinase is defined as: "Nattokinase is an enzyme extracted and purified from a Japanese food called Natto. Natto is a cheese-like food made from fermented soybeans that has been eaten in Japan for many years. It is thought by some to be a valuable tool in minimizing the chances of developing heart and vascular diseases. Natto is produced by fermentation by adding the bacterium Bacillus natto, a beneficial bacteria, to boiled soybeans. The resulting nattokinase enzyme is produced when the bacterium acts on the soybeans. While other soy foods contain enzymes, it is only the natto preparation that contains the specific nattokinase enzyme. Nattokinase is valued in the alternative medicine community as a clot-buster and blood thinner, and is sometimes recommended as a substitute for daily aspirin therapy."