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42 and frightened

Posted , 12 users are following.

wendy19977
wendy19977

Hi there. I'm new here and i'd like a little bit of advice if at all possible. I gave up smoking at new year, just over two years ago. My dad died from emphysema when he has 60, and i always said that if i ever got a cough that reminded me of my dad i would quit. It got to the point where i was coughing myself to sleep each night, and i realised this wasn't just a cold that was going away, so i set myself a smoking deadline of new year (this was in the autumn) and did just that. Well 90% of my cough went away virtually overnight, but i was left with a niggly throat clearing thing, which wasn't too much hassle. Felt pretty good, and pleased with myself. So anyway, a couple of weeks ago i was doing a meditation app, and the instruction was to take a deep breath and hold it. It kind of took me by surprise, and the next day my back was hurting. So i made an appointment for the docs and she booked me in for a chest xray and prescribed me a peak flow meter and some ventolin. 3 times a day i have to do a best of 3 reading, take two puffs of ventolin, then twenty mins later do another best of 3 reading. After three days of doing so i'm feeling constantly breathless, worse than i ever did, i still have that pain in the left side of my back, and i am sure now that indeed i have emphysema like my dad. I feel like crying all the time yet i'm putting a brave face on for everyone. I don't have any kids, and my boyfriend still smokes in the house. I try not to be around it, bit it's only a small house and difficult to avoid. He didn't see the long horrible death my dad had, both his parents are still fit and healthy. My morning peak flow reading is 350 and the other two (noon and night) are roughly 370 with hardly any difference from the ventolin except i think its giving me a dry throat. I guess my question is, has anyone else had COPD from age 40 and still lived a long time? How bearable is it? Because my dad carried on smoking quite far into his (he gave up when he went on oxygen) i'm finding it hard to expect anything different than he got. Also is it possible for the peak flow tests to be making me breathless? Thankyou for any advice, i'm so down right now i just don't know what to do. I'm dreading the xray results, i should get them some time next week. I've read loads on the internet, and alot say it doesn't get too much worse if you quit, but then everyone on the forum's experiences suggest otherwise. I'm scared and confused, thank you in advance

5 likes, 33 replies

33 Replies

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  • jay7196
    jay7196 wendy19977

    Posted

    Hello Wendy. There is another thread just started, for  "fed-up" - who has a later stage COPD.  Maybe you could go over there as a few people are discussing this horrible innness ?  Good Luck Wendy -- Jay
  • rizla01
    rizla01 wendy19977

    Posted

    Hi Wendy.

    Firstly well done on kicking the habit. You are NOW well on the way to improving your chances of a better life.

    Now the next stage is to Google COPD and show some of the best results to your B/F in order to convince him that your LIFE is at risk with any further inhalation of the irritants that are contained in Fags. If he isn't happy then that is sad for you as he will be a victim of your problem, but it will be a choice that he has.

    Now, you CAN continue albeit with an encumbered life, for many many years yet. most sufferers die WITH COPD - NOT from it. 

    Sadly, you will need to greive the loss of your previous life and understand that many things that you took for granted will one day, not be there for you to enjoy but you are still young so nothing to stop you from getting the bike out or going to the Gym and pushing the boundaries as much as you can. The more you do whilst able the more you will be able to do when old(er).

    Research time will pay dividends so let google be a close companion for a while and remember that we are all very annoyed at being chosen.

    Big ((Hugs)) from me, anyway.xx

     

    • wendy19977
      wendy19977 rizla01

      Posted

      Thank you so much for your reply. I'm so angry with myself that i ever smoked, i regret every ladt one right now so bitterly. I really did think that i was going to last to be a jolly little old lady. Not any more. I'm so sorry for being such a downer, i'm sure you've got better things to do that listen to what must seem like trivial problems. I used to jog but i got tendonitis which won't go, but i will find some exercise to do, even if it's only walking. Thank you for listening
  • fedup2
    fedup2 wendy19977

    Posted

    Hi Wendy,you were at the doctor and she didn't mention copd or emphysema so i hope you have a chest infection,you didn't say you were coughing up sputum,that is also a very good thing.Also you are only 40.I well understand the tears and I opened a forum today as I am also scared and very confused and  you are right, the internet says one thing on one site and another on a different site.I hope you get good  results and I don't think you have left things as long as I did.Either way I will be thinking of you and I wish you all the very best.Take care of yourselfresults and I don't think you have left things as long as I did so you may just have caught everything in time.Wish I went as early as you
    • wendy19977
      wendy19977 fedup2

      Posted

      Thankyou for reading, and understanding. I had read your post, but i feel so down i didn't feel like i could be any help. I do have a cough, but it never coughs all the way up, if that makes sense. I know this sounds daft but even if she says i don't have it i won't believe her. It's an axe i've always been waiting for, i took the death of my dad badly, he'd always been my hero. Believe it or not, i'm generally a happy person but not at the moment. I'm not even sure that getting diagnosed early is actually any help, as they seem pretty helpless to do anything apart from make people more comfortable. I wish i could do something to help you. 
    • fedup2
      fedup2 wendy19977

      Posted

      Hi again,I understand your cough,but if you are at stage 1 or 2 I believe and was told that giving up cigarettesvand doing pulmonary rehab would halt progression.My dad also had emphysema but did not die from it,but like you I thought it could never happen to me.Listen we would all love to be able to take this pain from oneanother but it is great to be abke to chat about all the stuff   that is on our mind,you know I cried way kess today as I was busy readind and replying to all the kind people who took the time to reply to my post.It means so much to think that there are people out there whovare in thd same pkace but take the time to help others.Take care and my fingers are crossed for youthat is on our minds
    • wendy19977
      wendy19977 fedup2

      Posted

      I hope so much that that is true. Thank you so much for giving me a glimmer of hope, i know i am wallowing in my own self pity when others are way more worse off than me. Your replies have really helped me pull myself together when i've been crumbling. Thank you a hundred times over X
    • tara77076
      tara77076 fedup2

      Posted

      Hey are any of you still on? I am 28 and was struggling to breathe from Christmas. No it is NOT covid.. It is getting worse and worse by the day despite inhalers. I did the Spirometry and it was 79.... I am so so so scared. She called it mild obstruction and said it it gets better this will be asthma if not then COPD. If I DO have this at 28 then what is my outlook? I have a three year old son and I am losing my mind over this day and night. I am so lost and scared. I didn't think COPD came on all at once? I did the genetic testing and it was good. I did smoke for a long bit shamefully.. from 13-25 and then vaped up until two weeks ago as I stopped. Once I seen my numbers and she mentioned COPD I was done.. I could not even go back to smoking. Is there hope in this? Is is normal to be constantly short or breath or feels constricted all day and night even with inhalers? Or is THIS ALL just anxiety like my primary thinks? Ugh I am so lost.. the chest xray was clear and my oxygen is in 99-100 range so I am not sure WHAT caused this out of nowhere..

  • mary_ann00359
    mary_ann00359 wendy19977

    Posted

    Dear Wendy. 

    Good for you for quitting the ugly habit. I smoked for 37 yrs but gave it up 23 yrs ago 

    if you are looking for some sage advice I would tell your partner he cannot smoke in the house. Second smoke will damage your lungs as if you were smoking. Also if you are looking for an exercise that will help your lungs start a swimming program. Believe me these two suggestions will help. If yourpartner won't smoke outside you may have another decision to make   

    All the best,  Mary Ann from new Westminster BC. Canada. 

    • wendy19977
      wendy19977 mary_ann00359

      Posted

      Thank you so much. I understand that advice completely, it is something i've considered too. Also there is a swimming pool where i work, i've never been because i don't want my colleagues to see me in my bathing costume, i may have to reconsider that. Thank you again
  • kevin69896
    kevin69896 wendy19977

    Edited

    If you pack up smoking, and keep away from secondary smoking your emphysema will not get any worse, but once you have it it will not get any better either. Let us know how your x ray results go.
    • wendy19977
      wendy19977 kevin69896

      Posted

      Hi Kevin, i've read this too, and i hope and pray that it's true, but i've read lots of peoples stories over the last few days, and some say they gave up smoking as soon as they were diagnosed and they still progressed. It's so confusing. I will definitely let you know what my xrays show. Considering its such a big killer there seems to be so little hard and fast information on what to expect. I still don't know if it's possible for these peak flow tests to cause this sudden breathlessness. I guess my lungs are not used to blowing all the time like that so its possible, but i've never seen anyone mention it in all the other pages i've visited. Thank you for taking the time to reply, i really do appreciate it
    • wendy19977
      wendy19977 kevin69896

      Edited

      I got my xray results today, and i'm told that my result was normal. I'm 70% relieved because this must mean even if i do have copd, it must be at an early stage. I have another appointment to see the doc, and will still ask for spirometry tests, as i know they can detect signs before xrays can. If the doc says i can't, hopefully the hospital will let me pay to have it done anyway, i won't rest until i see those results. I still don't know whats causing my breathlessness and the pain in the top of my back, but at least i'm not as far along the road as i feared, although i'll always be waiting for it stll. I'm wondering if i need counselling for this fear. I'm going to take the excellent forum advice and make a LIST before my appointment so i don't forget anything i want to say. Thank you to you, and of course everyone who took the time to give me advice and made me feel so welcome. I feel kind of guilty coming in with good news, but also i'm hoping a (hopefully) good luck story might give you a smile :-) 
    • alan29322
      alan29322 wendy19977

      Posted

      Hi Wendy i am new here and yet to post .I have had asthma since i was 18 i am now 51 i can tell you that during my experience of peak flow measuring at my docs it used to be taken on the result of three blows . Recently though one blow is all i get . But to cut to the chase yes if you use your peak flow metre a lot it can irritate your airways i find that it makes me feel tighter certainly and sore also . Hope this helps regards Alan .
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