Emphysema

It sounds a lot, but all those factors are important to judge what the best advice might be for your particular case.

Well done, you have clarified things greatly, and have just taken the first and most important steps to good health. Your smoking history makes it quite clear that there is some damage to your lungs, but you are young enough, PROVIDED you never smoke again, to look forward to eventually having a normal life expectancy.

Do not do anything else to damage your health, because a full recovery of health can take not months, but years, as you will see if you google the search term 'stop smoking benefits timetable'.  There are lists of benefits by time, which start from a few hours and go up to some 15 years of continuing lowering of risks for things such as diabetes, heart disease, lung disease, stroke and cancer.

For an example from this list, take where you are now, 2 to 4 weeks, and it says 'Cessation related anger, anxiety, difficulty concentrating, impatience, insomnia, restlessness and depression have ended. If still experiencing any of these symptoms get seen and evaluated by your physician.'  So you can see why you are feeling very down and stressed out at this time. It is withdrawal symptoms.

Most people say they have no problem stopping smoking, they have done it dozens of times !!  An old joke I know, but you now have the ultlimate incentive to make it stick: you KNOW you have damaged your lungs.

It is hard, and may I say that some people think using e-cigs will work, but in my opinion, you are just exchanging one addiction for another one. Yes, it is hard, very hard to give up for good, but it CAN be done.  Please do whatever it takes to succeed for your own sake.

Probably your doctor and pneumologist were kind of nonchalant about it, like its no big deal because your FEV1 result was 96% which does indicate you don't have emphysema / COPD but if you have been diagnosed and have no SOB and feel file most of the time, such mild readings is really nothing to be stressed about and in fact will not help your health at all.

If you have a definite diagnosis, be thankful that you have an early diagnoses and you have stopped smoking, its brilliant, you can as mentioned already lead a normal life and live to a ripe old age

Eat a good diet, drink enough water, avoid smoke of any kind, exercise regularly generally look after your lungs and your health, and you won't go far wrong.

Congratulations on Stopping Smoking.

If in the future you do start to get symptoms just go back to your doctor for checks.

Best wishes and may you live a long and happy life

V

Hello   Keep a smile on your face.  I don't know how old you are I do know this.  I have been out of the hospital about 4 weeks yesterday.  I returned home to Cypress from a trip to NC, Ga, and for 13 days I felt fine, just used my nebulizer but I NOTICED TWO THINGS.  My back (upper felt tight and by the 4th day my feet and legs were swollen to a point that I literally wanted nothing on them.  By the time the 29th of May flew on the Calendar we drove from Valdosta, Georgia  back to Cypress, Texas.  after 8 days I was in the doctors office with wheezing, coughing, and felt like I had run a marathon.  My pulse oxy levels  were not even 90 percent which sent me straight to the hospital.  I was in the ECCU for several days having CT scans with MRI with contrast... after the radiologist read them, I was sent to my room and the iv'S STARTED ROLLING IN.  This was my 3rd bought of pneumoccal pneumonia with sepsis and staff in less than a year.  My body is riddled....I had a broncoscopy on the third day and some cultures taken and genetic markers.  Come to find out I have COPD/Emphysema, Asthma, Severe Allergies and the lower lungs are completely gone....never to be repaired.  I guess I should have panicked but I DIDN'T and hopefully I won't (by the Grace of God go I)....it seems many years of smoking over 47 killed the lower portions of my lungs thus our retirement years are going to be quite a bit different than we had originally thought.  The doctors want me to move out West.  Well we have no family out west, we want to be back in Georgia....to be specific the Blue Ridge Mountains has been my husbands dream for years.  I cannot live in a bubble, but i HAVE QUIT SMOKING BECAUSE I KNOW THAT IF I DO SMOKE I WILL HAVE A LIFE EXPECTANCY OF ABOUT 6 TO 9 MONTHS.  WITHOUT THE SMOKING I MAY AND PRAYERFULLY HOPE TO SEE MY GRANDSONS MARRIED AND HAPPY.  There is no point in getting frightened, the packages warned us for years but we made the choice to continue smoking.  So now we have to deal with it.  You can handle this.  I started swimming underwater to build my lung functions up .  So every morning before noon I am in my pool doing laps.  holding my head underwater, diving, and exercising because i KNOW there is more to life than what man practicing medicine tells me.  I am grateful that I can breath without oxygen but I must be careful of heat, humidity, smog, smoke, refineries and all industrial things.  I keep my nebulizer and medications with me one portable and one to plug in.  I have only had to use the nebulizer 3 times since seeing the Allergist (which shows a flippant myriad of things I am so highly allergic to) and tomorrow we'll see if I can blow out the match.  My problem is not taking in oxygen, I cannot blow out....and that is serious...which causes the legs and limbs to swell and ache.  I am not out of the woods, but I am fighting with everything I have got.  My suggestion is to get comfortable with your doctors, know your body, mind and spirit.  Get involved in your own health and make yourself knowledgable....Because with COPD or emphysema you are at a high risk if you develope pneumonia or other diseases.  Know what your own immune system is doing.  Mine sucks, I pray yours is younger and that you can leave the smokes, and pollution out of your life for the rest of your days.  Just get aggressive, ask a lot of questions.  Remember this is your life....not the doctors or nurses.  You can say NO, sit down and let's talk...or get a new doctor.  I am comfortable in doing that...I am not intimidated by them.  God bless you and let's get on with living....S.M.

I got the ct scan results and there is emphysema. Not sure why my FEV1 result is within normal and can still have moderate emphysema.

Hi Ellipse

You say you were told there were probably some emphysema changes which sort of suggests you already have had a diagnosis yet you go on to say your spiro was 96% and you were scared when you read about emphysema !

Confused really have you not yet been diagnosed?

The results of a CT scan will confirm either way and show if there has been some changes in the lungs.

I expect your doc and pneumologist would be nonchalant with a 96% result on your spiro if that percent was indicative of your FEV1% predicted, this percentage is normal lung function.

Do have another chat with your pneumologist about your results and what course of action you are advised to take.

Keep everything crossed for your CT scan results.