Copd

hyoercat, To read or not to read (info about copd on the internet). I confess that I have read so much that it is now my official national past time.  I was diagnosed a few weeks ago with mild copd. 87% fev1 and 67% fvc. Like you, my pulmonologist said not to worry that other things will get me first. I dont trust that statment as there seems to be so much information that contradicts that. what to you think?  Thank you injj advance.  LT

Hi Larry well that depends on whether you trust your doctor and us,  who live with copd, more than you trust dodgy websites.  If you must google for goodness sake use recognised sites such as NHS or this one.  

With an 87% lung function you are nearly not in the copd range as anything over 90% is just considered a variation of the norm.  Generally unless you are very unlucky it will not progress fast but smoking and not looking after yourself will speed the progression.   To put it into perspective the lowest lung function to survive at is 6%.  You would not be in serious trouble unless you went down to less than 50% and even with that many people live for a many years with a relatively good quality of life. 

What will affect you most is your attitude towards it.  You need to recognise that you have a chronic incurable illness,  stop smoking (I admit I am still struggling with this),  lead as healthy a life as you can,  then get on with your life.  You have many good years of living left yet.  Ok?  x

Hypercat, I am 59, I quite smoking 21/2 - 3 years ago. BMI of 29 though pretty fit for my age. I smoked 7-9 pack years. I eat well, work full time @ 55 hours weekly and am raising my 13 year old daughter by myself. Of course, I am burying myself in the pursuit of knowledge - probably like most do when they discover they have copd. I get rather depressed at times and other times, i get along fine. The knowledge of having copd casts what feels like a big, copd umbrella over me and I am living in the shadows of this "new life" with the fear of depreciating lung function and struggling the last years of my life.  I will begin inhalers soon. I am embarrased to go get my prescription as I have never had to take any long term meds in my life.  Larry

Hi Larry yes I do understand as when I was diagnosed 5/6 years ago I wanted to find out all I could.  I joined a couple of copd sites and got sent l   That's where I got most of my information and from recognised sites.  I certainly didn't google anything and everything from the net - this is a mugs game and as you have found out only makes you worry all the more. 

I think you are very lucky at your age never to have had to take long term meds and I think for you this is more than just very mild copd,  this is recognition of your own mortality for the first time.  .  This comes to all of us in time you know but you have to come to terms with it.  After all it is much better than the alternative....It is everyones dream to live to be 100 with nothing wrong with them and just to drop dead one day.  Unfortunately this isn't the reality for most of us and we do tend to accumulate illnesses as we age.   I am just grateful that I don't have anything which might kill me soon ie cancer or heart problems, or anything which interfers too much with my normal life.  

With your lung function the most you will get is slight breathlessness on climbing hills and steps,  you might get more chest infectons,  and you might feel a bit worse with them.  That's if folks.   Don't forget we all naturally lose a bit of  lung function as we age anyway.

I will pm you with the email address of another copd site I am on,  x

  

 

Having noted all posts on this thread, I choose to react to your comment. I see you are domiciled in BC. I reside in Kent, England, which probably has similar winter temperature ranges to Vancouver/Victoria. I am also very familiar with parts of the Rockies, Alberta and northern BC.

The point at issue, for me anyway, is to determine over time what bearing winter temperatures have on mild to moderate COPD. Also, can the effects be arrested and in some cases reversed?

As indicated on another thread I persist with 3 - 4 miles walking each day. In addition, at age 73, I continue with physical outdoor work on 24 -26 days each month. Performance on some days is better than others.

My only observation at this stage is that I feel better than in December 2014. It remains to be seen if matters improve over the next few months. I confirm, however, it is something of a battle getting started each day.

So in 15 years Martin you went from mild/mod to very severe despite giving up smoking and exercising?   That is a very fast progression and I didn't know it could happen so quickly - you must have been very unlucky!  I admire you for still exercising every day.  I hope you have many more years yet.  

Bev x

It obviously depends on what stage he'd reached when he was diagnosed and apart from that it's a very variable condition

He said he was mild/moderate at diagnosis.  

I totally second all that, except that the respiratory nurses & physio's at the rehab group I went to gave us all exercises to do EVERY DAY to improve breathing, not just ones for when we're breathless anr/or ill.

We were taught to breathe in a particular way and what I've found most helpful, to assess when it's time to stop whatever we're doing and rest - that was a hard one for me to learn, as I like to be busy.

Hi Jude,

Sorry I should have said that differently. I too was given exercises for daily use and still do them as part of my regular routine. What I was trying to say is that when I do get breathless for any reason I use these same exercises to help me relax and breath. To help me regain control of my breathing. 

And I too had to be taught when to stop and rest. You're right it is the hardest one to learn.

 

Thanks for the correction sandra:  yeah it's hard to convince myself let alone other people that you just can't "soldier on" with emphysema and I'm still learning.

I've had pneumonia recently for only the second time in a couple of years but this time I was able to stay out of hospital with heavy duty antibiotics and generally looking after myself;  last time I thought the chest pains were another heart attack & called an ambulance and then ended up in hospital for 3 days eating disgusting unhealthy food, noti able to have a shower because it didn't work and in a room with 2 old deaf men who yelled across to each other all day and snored all night and a poor old lady with dementia who talked incomprehensibily to herself virtually round the clock.   I'm better off at home I reckon, especially as the hospital was also so grotty it's a wonder I didn't catch something worse than pneumonia!

I know that downt the track hospitalisation will be essential, but for now I'd much rather not ......