IPF- is your diagnosis correct?

I was wrongly diagnosed with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) 9 years ago. According to the medical literature the average survival is only 2 to 3 years after diagnosis. After 5 years I started wondering, why am I still alive? It turns out, it was a wrong diagnosis. I have Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT) in my left leg for at least 10 years after my fall and leg injury. My left ankle was swelling every night, but there was no pain or any other symptoms. Emboli were traveling to my lungs leading to lung damage that was wrongly diagnosed as IPF. Now I developed pulmonary embolism (PE), a thrombus in the main pulmonary arttery that can be seen on the scan. For the last 10 days I am injecting myself subcutaneously with low dose heparin and taking orally 5 mg warfarin. I am expected to stay on warfarin for at least 6 months. I am also taking prednisone 30 mg once a day orally, and will remain on prednisone probably for another month (total 3 months). In 6 to 12 months I may even recover completely.
The wrong diagnosis of IPF is apparently not uncommon. K.C. Meyer, M.D. (Director of Interstitial Lung Disease Clinic at the Univ. of Wisconsin UW) in his Update on Clinical Trials for IPF (on Internet) lists 12 alternative diagnoses made at UW in patients claimed to suffer from IPF. They are: lymphangitic carcinoma, hypersensitivity pneumonitis, polyomyositis, scleroderma, Langerhans cell histiocytosis, NSIP, DIP, RBILD, chronic aspiration, sarcoidois, congestive heart failure, drug toxicity. DVT and PE should be now added to this list!
The DVT and PE diagnosis in my case was made by Erica Herzog, M.D., PhD, Yale Pulmonary Clinic. She questioned the cause of my left leg swelling and ordered ultrasound that revealed DVT.
Keywords: Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis; deep vein thrombosis, pulmonary embolism; warfarin, prednisone,