Emphysema at 30. could it be wrong?

hi, thanks for your answer. they also heard my lungs while i breathed and they were normal. so i guess it might be the very beginning of it? could those bubble which expand due to emphysema be due to something else?  i am worried cos i googled it. and i read horrible things like 5-10 yrs life expectancy. 

if it is emphy, does the progression depend on us? like, our life styles and avoidance of smoking etc..or just luck?

There is no reason for you to have emphy. as you dont smoke and you dont have alpha. I dont see any other reason here for you to have something like emphy. 

Do yourself a favor and stop googling this. There are folks here who smoked pack/day for 3 or 4 DECADES and who've been diagnosed with either form of COPD for 1 or 2 decades. Some STILL smoke. I'm not a doctor but my guess is that you have a much better chance of death from an auto or bus accident in 5-10 years than you have from any lung death in the same period.

It will be hard to wait to get this clarified. Any time you start to worry, perhaps it will help to form a mental image of ducks quaking as they peck Dr. Google to death.

is there anything else which looks like emphy on a ct scan and can confuse the docs? i googled it but you know..google is not very good for answers.

if it is emphy, i will get a few decades of life right?

LOVE YOUR RESPONSE!!!

i stopped googling. i shouldnt have done it to start with. i read all these horrible stories about transplants etc. but i guess it depends on life choices. i dont smoke and i exercise so i hope i get a couple of good decades. im hoping its something else which looks like it. 

I am hoping it is something else too.  Even if it isn't you have still got well more than 2 good decades!  How does 5 grab you?   Many people aren't diagnosed until the severe stage and these are the ones who might get lung transplants etc.   

To give you an example I was diagnosed at 54 as mild,  I am now 63 and still mild!    Some of it is more luck (in my case so far) but others do it with a healthy lifestyle.   x   

 

did u have any symptoms? 

i have none. they heard me with a stethoscope and they said the lungs sound perfect. do u always get symptoms with emphy? even when mild?

also, could something else  look like emphy on the ct?

Hi Teras.

Do you have a child lock on your computer ? If so, use it and add your self to the banned list of sites ( DR GOOGLE ) !!! He has an awfull lot to answer for including people taking there own life.!

Wait for a complete diagnosis and even then stop driving nails into your own coffin. You are far from ready for that yet.

IF the xray only showed the TOP section of your lung, it is very unlikely to be enphysema as it normally affects the LOWER part of the lung lobes.

There are a lot of tests that can be carried out to prove this one way or the other, the problem we keep hearing on the forum is the reluctance for both doctors and some specialist to undertake them. This varies from country to country as does the treatments being given.

At present ( as far as I know ) we do not have the technology they had on " STARTREK " to just take one look and know whats wrong. So, calm down, stick to these forums, look, learn and listen to those that DO live with COPD. I am 73 nearly 74 and I still have a sence of humour and I am still hear talking to people just like you.

If you really are that worried, ask them to give you an MRI of your lungs, that way they really will know and so will you.

Regards  Robert.

Well I don't know whether I have emphysema or chronic bronchitis both of which come under the umbrella of copd as my nurse/doctor won't tellme but I think it's because they don't know.

The symptons I get in the early stages are getting breathless when going up hill and steps and worse chest infections when I get one. It takes longer to heal and I feel quite ill with them.

Don't forget though I am more than twice your age and this comes into account too. 

I don't know the answer to your last question I'm afraid as I have never had a CT scan.  x

i will quit my job to go back to where my parents are to have a full scan etc. the xray didnt show anything. its the neck ct scan which picked up the beginning of my lungs. so maybe all of them are destroyed? though i would have symptoms if it was so advanced i guess. 

does it always give symptoms? what makes me more worried is the fact that they told me emphy looks only like emphy on the ct. so im not given any other option. i dont know if they are dump or if its true. cos i refuse to google now :P 

If all of your lungs were destroyed, you sure would NOT BE TALKING TO US ON HERE. UNLESS you have found a way to communicate from the other side.

WAIT till you get the scans done and a GOOD lung specialist to examine them.

As hypercat said, we are a lot older than you and we are still around.

Regards Robert.

im quite nervous as the docs said I have "the disease of a 90year old" . but could it be something else,?they said no. but I want to ask if emphy can resemble something else on a scan?

Oh boy you are cracking me up. I know this person is very worried and we are all on here trying to help. But it sure is good to laugh. It makes you forget your ills for a while!!