COPD

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Heavy Metal Kids?

Various Stages of the Disease ?

Apparently you can stop it getting worse, but can't improve it.

Amazed myself by swimming 20 lengths in 30 minutes the other day 25m pool. I know that's slow but first time I've been swimming in 20 years. 50 years of smoking caught up with me.

On stage 2 myself

I didn't know there were atages mate. Must read up on it.

Thing is they told me at the hospital, that you must exercise regularly which keeps it under control, and stops it progressing, but I'm sure you know more than me about it. Been off the cigs a month, but couln't have done it without a vape.

Stick with the vape Kenny, after a while (if not already) you won't even think about going back to tobacco.
Quit tobacco nearly 5 years ago, and couldn't have done it without vaping. Tried hard many times before to give up smoking,
tried every remedy under the sun, till I got a 'magic stick'!
The improvement in my health is quite remarkable.

Thank, john', I will. Been 10 weeks now so the worst is over. No doubt I could not have stopped smoking without the vape's help.

Think I may have joined you guys. For the past few months, every night, wheezing and coughing. I still smoke and have done since 15 (40 years) and I think it has caught up with me too. I've not had it officially diagnosed but I don't think I need to (although I will on my next visit).

I'd be grateful for a bit more detailed information on vaping, exercising or the like. It may be a bit late in the day but as of today, it isn't the worst it could be... yet! I've read it doesn't improve and is progressive but actual results from you guys might be the incentive I need.

FROM AN OLD FRIEND  ;-)

Hi kenny

I saw your post.

What medication do you take for it?

I’ve got Carbocisteine capsules. Two at morning and two at night, they loosen up the phlegm on my chest so I can cough it up, and Spiriva capsules, one a day,  that I put in a small contraption which punctures the casing and I inhale the powder inside it.

When you got diagnosed with a COPD did you have to undergo breathing tests at the local hospital?   I did mine in Kings Lynn and did exactly what the nurse said, and when I was struggling to breathe out all in go with that tube in my mouth,  and I considered my lungs to be empty, I was about to take a huge breath in and she said ‘Keep going…. keep going.’

I was in there 45 minutes doing tests, including in an airtight cabinet, while she monitored it all on a computer, and by the time I was finished I was sweating.   

Who’d have thought breathing could be so hard? 

After all that, when I got to se the consultant about an hour later he said ‘You’ve only got a mild case of COPD. ‘

I said ‘It doesn’t feel mild when I’m shoving a lawnmower around the garden. By the time I’m finished my shirt is soaked with sweat and stuck to my back.’

He said ‘Consider yourself lucky you haven’t got a serious case of it then. It will never get better, but if you carry on smoking it will get worse.’

The father-in-law says he has been diagnosed with a worse case of COPD, but he only has only one medication, and it’s different to mine. I think he’s just trying to get out of cutting the grass or walking his dog.  And when I hear him coughing and spluttering (I rarely cough with mine)  I think the NHS are trying to kill him off. I wish them luck as it  would lower the workload of my mrs quite a lot.

Having tachycardia doesn’t help matters. If I’m resting and my heart isn’t racing, my pulse can be as low as 55 beats a minute. Then for no reason, off it goes and it’s up to 100 beats a minute and I haven’t even moved from my chair.

I’ve got a dodgy knee and can’t go on long walks any more. I spent many years walking all round Cumbria on holidays, but those days are sadly over.  I can’t swim, and don’t cycle these days, so cutting the grass is the only exercise I get, and it’s a really big garden back and front.  I generally do the back garden first, then round to the front and do that, but with no stopping or smoke and drink breaks.  It takes over 3 hours including cleaning the mower, and my pulse rate goes up to 140 and stays at that rate for up to an hour after I stop. 

By then I can’t sit down properly as my left knee seizes and my leg is roughly straight, and it’s really painful to bend my leg to sit  down. I  have to take my weight on my right leg and my arms. 

If I sit at my desk for a long while my left knee will seize up while my leg is bent, and I can’t stand up and take weight on it.  So every 15 minutes I have a walk around the garden to stop it seizing up. 

**** this ‘getting old’ lark, I was fit 20 years ago, and I was almost three stones heavier back then and out playing darts and supping pints 3 nights a week. 

It could be worse, brother in-law (five years older than me) has been diagnosed with prostate cancer, ex-brother in-law (one year older than me) has lung cancer, and has never smoked a **** in his life. Ex-wife’s husband (4 years younger than me) was recently diagnosed with cancer in his kidneys.

Regards

I'll get back to you Aspro

You dont have to Smoke to Have COPD ,Certainly don't help but by far from exclusive to Smokers ,my Mum had it never smoked ,many others like her.

Here is a little tip for anyone who suffer from COPD.
Raise the head of your bed about 4 inches above the base of the bed.This allows your lungs to  take more oxygen in to your body as you sleep.Imagine every single blood cell in your body travelling round your body with a little haversack on its back(this actually happens).When the bed is raised the lungs find it easier to take in oxygen while you sleep.this in turn makes the haversacks on the blood cells fill with oxygen.
next morning the person wakes up to find that he or she feels much better while breathing because every single  blood cell in their body has stored oxygen during the night while sleeping.the blood cells can store oxygen for up to 17 hours and the person who suffers from COPD gets their life back.
hope this helps.

5 years ago when I was feeling really rough with the smoking, really bad cough spells about 3 or 4 times a year, I went and had the COPD tests at my local surgery. As has been mentioned, it's a tough test... trying to blow up that cartoon balloon, lungs bursting, seeing stars, as the nurse forecast.
Luckily I wasn't called in for further treatment.

ps. haven't had a coughing spell for 4 years or more since.

Went for tests couple of weeks ago after bad cough and wheezing for about a year.

Sent to hospital for chest xray then back to doctors/nurse for the blow lung test thing.
1 breathing test then they give you some asthma inhaler thing, wait for ten minutes for the inhaler to work then do the test again.
Theory being should be a big improvement on 2nd test. Anyway no improvement here, COPD ffs but COPD is an umbrella term which could mean a number of diseases, the best of the bunch being asthma. Back to doctors tomorrow to get xray results and full extent of whatever copd I have.


Under 40 and never smoked in my life. After googling COPD last week, I'd bite their hands off (not literally) for it to be asthma

You dont have to Smoke to Have COPD ,Certainly don't help but by far from exclusive to Smokers ,my Mum had it never smoked ,many others like her.

True,but at least 4 out of 5 who get it are, or have been smokers. The lining of the airways gets inflamed and permanently damaged by smoking. The damage cannot be reversed. Around 10-25% of smokers develop it.

Rarer cases are caused by a damaging work environment, fumes, dust, air pollution and genetic disorders.

Haven't got COPD but I have sarcoidosis.

Quite a rare disease and the cause is unknown. It can occur in any part of the body but usually in the lungs.

It's actually more common in non-smokers (than smokers) which is unusual for a respiratory condition.

Wishing you all well.

Cheers mate,you too. I'm really going to do more exercise. Keeps it at bay, I've been advised.