copd aged 21

Hi Missy

so sorry to hear of your problems but if you have not already done so get to your GP ASAP. My chest problems started at the same age and they gave me back a normal life

I am so sorry you are worried but you do need to see your GP.  I had a cough for 6 months, non-stop, I was even on my hands and knees because it was making my stomach wrench and I thought I was going to be sick.  I coughed up blood but it was because I had torn something in my throat by wrenching all the time. I went to my GP who first of all put me on antibiotics and then gave me a note to take to the hospital for an Xray. I was diagnosed with Asthma, they gave me some steroids to settle things down and I was prescribed inhalers, and three days after using them I was fine.  The worrying is worse than the diagnosis because once you are  diagnosed with a certain illness, the treatment can then start.  Stop messing about and  first thing Monday morning ring your doctors, tell them you  are coughing up blood and they will put you in, no waiting.  If they won't, tell them you want a home visit, then they will put you in, do not take no for an answer.  I worked for the NHS with doctors for nearly 20 years and I know how the system works.  Good luck, the treatment is there if you see the doctor.

You have to know that you can't just sit back and be scared. Just like folks told me, you can live a long time with COPD...But you gotta take the medicine and start it asap. So come on missy24322 you gotta get to the Dr. And get tested properly. Nobody is gonna love you like you love you so go do it. Let us know when u do...tell us what you found out let us help you thru some questions u may have. But be sure and don't be afraid to ask the Dr whatever might be bugging you. Let us know.....ladyjack51

It's no good for your physical or emotional health to live with the possibility of emphsema hanging over your head:  PLEASE go to your gp and get a diagnosis.

If that is what you have, and it does sound like it. there are medications which can make your life much more comfortable:  I promise that, because I know from personal experience that my life is easier now than BEFORE I was diagnosed.

The stress of not knowing will almost certainly be making your symptoms worse:  PLEASE get yourself checked out ASAP,   

It's really sad that someone your age is so restricted, but remember it may not be emphysema, which in any case takes decades to kill you and can be managed, it could be something else much less serious.

Why on earth would this stop you having a boyfriend?   Quadriplegics in wheelchairs have relationships!   I don't know about babies, maybe, maybe not, but you won't know until you have a diagnosis.

PLEASE let us know how you get on, I for one will be thinking of you

missy24322 - Stop beating yourself up. And you are not alone.

See your local GP asap. You might discover that your condition is not as serious as first feared; it could, e.g. be pleurisy or a chest infection that is fairly easily treatable. Good to hear you have quit the smoking habit and better still to hear you walk a mile to work.

Chin up. 

Sounds serious but not COPD at 21. Premature babies often get given oxygen at very high concentrations which causes changes in the lungs. Look up bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) on this web site for details. I would have thought a paediatrician would have followed your progress for many years after your birth as you were so early. 

I know one young man with this problem but don't know much about his treatment except that he uses oxygen since childhood. But usually those kids are breathless from the time they are babies.

Sounds like you need to see a GP and then a lung specialist soon and get a diagnosis. Glad to hear that smoking has stopped, madness to continue. 

Having said that you may have something much simpler like asthma..... Go and get checked, being afraid won't get you any help.

Hey missy 22 year old here that also feels I have copd I have had a cough for a while and had odd occasions of blood init .

I had a breathing problem where my breath would get like cut off every couple of minutes and I get out of breathe everywhere I go I weight 8.6 stone so I'm really skinny not overweight and I walk everywhere so this fear came to me I'd gasp waking at night and I still sometimes do u have daily breathing problems and I'm exhausted from it but it all boils down to anxiety I haven't had a test for copd but my doctors haven't even mentioned it this fear is still in but it could well be with you that we both have anxiety causing these problems and the blood / cough us a nervous cough from amxiety I hope you do go and get checked out and let me know how you get on your not alone xx