COPD sufferer

I agree with 2martin63346...that far off is way too far to be accurate anyway and shame on your Dr. For even telling you that! Girl, the medicine they have now is amazing and if you dont smoke anything you can halt the process substantially...as well as make huge strides to even be better than you were. So exhale sweetie...that's BS. Ladyjack51

No idea if that is correct denise6363, I would say 2-5 years life expectancy is a bit of an unknown,  but if you try and stop smoking this will surely increase your chances of living much much longer and in a better state of health.  If you can try to access a pulmonary rehabilitation course, this will help you understand the illness more and help you avoid further lung damage as well as enabling you to manage your symptoms and greatly improve your overall wellbeing.

I have been diagnosed 10+ years my lung function has improved since stopping smoking, I have remained active and avoid where ever possible any lung irritants and people who may be infected with a cold or the flu virus.  Eating a good diet to help keep the immune system boosted is also very important.

Good luck and very best wishes to you for a long and happy life.

 

Denise, i fully understand the 2-5 years. I was diagnosed ten years ago at age 37, I now have a fev1 of 34%. I no longer smoke(havent done for 4 years now), am not overweight,exercise daily and have a good diet, still my fev1 continues to decline. I use the puffers and a nebuliser, do everything they have told me to do. last year i was also told an estimated 2-5 years by my pulmonologist. I did get a second opinion with another top pulmonologist, the result was the same. Their reasoning, in short, as copd progresses the heart begins to work harder,as mine is doing, i have also developed hypertension.My cardiologist also agrees. these things are co-morbidities and can have a large influence on a persons prognosis. In saying that i must stress that everyone is different as will be the course of their copd. I hope this has helped. dont forget annual flu vaccination is important as is pnemonia shot(if you havent already had it).