Smoking with a lung condition. Watch the webinar!

[Athar]

Last night we held a members webinar on Smoking with a lung condition. The webinar was presented by Ren Gilmartin and was full of useful information

Have a watch and tell us what you think about the recording and the issue in general

youtube.com/watch?v=FvZrXZU...(Not working as expected?)

[Hidden]

Hi,just finished watching it.I thought it was quite explicit,without getting to deep!

Very interesting,& I feel sure,would surely encourage smokers to give up!

Cheers Wendells.

[Lynne1955]

I've just listened to it and it was really interesting. I finally gave up with Champix and it really helped for me, as did going along to the nurse weekly while doing it.

The life expectancy bit was good too and it looks like my curve is ending about age 80-85!

It also confirms we are all different so I sort of understand why I feel so different to some others with the same FEV1 reading.

Lots of great questions too everyone

Lynne xx

[sillywitch]

Just watched this whilst puffing on an e.cig it,s my first day, but not first time attempting to come off the damned fag!

This time I,m more determind & I,m bookmarking this page so I can watch again when I have the urge to quit quitting

Thank you to the team for posting this for use

Karen

[Puffthemagicdragon]

Interesting and the " does emphysema get worse after giving up smoking " question did get answered. However, now I have conflicting reports from members on here who have had emphysema for 15 years and theirs hasn't got any worse. I've had mine for 2 years and there has been no change except I'm more in control of it now.

[Lynne1955 in reply to Puffthemagicdragon]

I agree, but even the expert on the webinar said it can vary between individuals. I know my specialist says it depends how early it is caught, when smoking is stopped, exercise, healthy eating, avoiding infections and other health conditions. He reckoned if I do the right things and with a fair wind, I should do OK, but who knows.

All I know is I don't give up easily and I am trying to stick to all the things he said I should do. It is true that I seem much better than others on here at the same level, so I think it's all a bit of a unknown quantity still.

Lynne xx

[Puffthemagicdragon]

We come as a pair Lynne ! I seem much better than others on here who have been diagnosed at a lesser level than me. I don't have any bronchitis though and I think that makes a lot of difference.

[libby7827]

Hi Puff, I think it's unlikely you would notice a worsening after only two years from diagnosis. For a start, you must have been breathless before you were diagnosed, then you were given medication which would have alleviated the symptoms so you would, for quite a while, felt better than previously. If you aren't smoking then the progress of the disease will be fairly slow. Also, on the plus side for you, I recall that you have a physically challenging occupation which will help enormously. As Lynne says, exercise and a healthy lifestyle can only be beneficial. I was diagnosed many years before experiencing a noticeable difference. I led a fairly normal life, working etc., until I got what I thought was a bad cold but developed into some weird strain of pneumonia (after I'd had the pneumonia inoculation a few years previously), and it took my lung capacity down a few notches and never did get back to how I'd been. I was stupid though, I didn't give up smoking until 3 and a half years ago so have no one to blame for my present condition but myself. When I first gave up, within a couple of weeks I was so much better, I had a new lease of life, but unfortunately I seem to have gone downhill in the last 12 months or so, but staying fairly steady day to day. Obviously, the lower your lung capacity becomes, the more noticeable the deterioration is. Libby

[music in reply to libby7827]

hi libby.. may i ask how long ago you were diagnosed and to what stage you were at the time.

[libby7827 in reply to music]

Hi, I was diagnosed around 93/94 and for quite a few years its progress was very slow. Back then you weren't told was level you were at, or I wasn't anyway, so presume it was mild. I know I was still ok in 2000 because I moved into this house then and had to decorate every room myself, wallpaper, paint, etc. I did start struggling a bit a couple of years later, walking on inclines etc., although stairs weren't really a problem for some reason. I would imagine then I would have been moderate. In about 2006 I'd been taking part in a 3 year clinical study for GSK (just breathing tests) and about a year into it was when I had pneumonia, once I'd recovered and was taking part in the study again they told my lung capacity was down to 24% which was a shock, it had been around 33% prior to the pneumonia. I was still getting around though, driving and shopping, albeit slowly! I had stopped smoking for a short while after leaving hospital but started again after a couple of months and still carried on smoking for a couple of years. Only gave up 3 and a half years ago. Saw my consultant last week who said I was now at 20% (which was what I'd gauged I was at) and end stage. I can do very little now. I'm lucky though, I don't have anything else wrong me with me apart from osteoporosis and I don't have any symptoms from that (it's being treated). So, just be sure you stay off those cigs!! Libby

[music in reply to libby7827]

thanks for this info libby. i think for someone who only gave up smoking 3 and a half years ago and you were still getting around with your lung funtion at 33% i hope i can keep going like you have.

i am 56 have moderate COPD have packed up smoking and still work part time but still worry a little whats down the road

[libby7827 in reply to music]

Hi Music, if you have given up the cigs and are moderate, the chances are that you will have many good years left if you keep yourself fit and exercise those lungs! I was working til working prior to having pneumonia at around 33%, it was the sudden drop of another 9% lung function after the pneumonia that floored me. When it's a slow progression our lungs gradually get used to it a lot easier. Don't worry, you've got many years ahead of you yet. Libby

[music in reply to libby7827]

thanks libby..must admit i still have a few beers sometimes and thats when i really want to smoke but i know i never will go back to them

[Puffthemagicdragon]

Hi again Libby. I used to get puffed out when I smoked but not breathless. Even at my age, then I was 60, I was doing amateur surfing with my daughters. I gave up smoking when I was diagnosed with angina. I stopped there and then. About 3 months later I was walking to my local shop and got about 50 yards up the road and found myself gasping for breath. I can understand if I had moderate emphysema not being noticed while I was smoking but to get diagnosed with very severe emphysema I would have thought my breathing when I smoked would have been quite bad. I even ran 200 yards on Victoria station to catch the last train with my daughters. Ok, I was puffed out but I wasn't short of breath. People say it's coincidence but surely having very severe emphysema it would have been noticeable when I was smoking ?

[libby7827 in reply to Puffthemagicdragon]

Hi Puff, it is amazing you were diagnosed for the first time at very severe, I would imagine that's pretty rare! I would have thought that yes, you would have noticed being breathless long before you were diagnosed. It's incredible you are doing so well and the fact that you are still doing a job that requires physical exertion has to be a major factor in that. Just goes to show how different we all are even though we have the same disease! They say very severe is 30 and below, but I'm at 20. Say you were at 30 then that's a third of lung function more than me, which is relatively quite a lot. But even so, it's amazing. Whatever you're doing, keep it up! Libby

[Puffthemagicdragon in reply to libby7827]

My FEV1 is 26% predicted. I do believe not having bronchitis helps. I do get more mucus if I have an infection though. I try to get on with things as normal and admit I do get a bit annoyed when I have to take time to do something. Swearing under my breath sometimes helps !

[Dorlock]

Thank you for answering my question, the reason why lungs become worse had not been explained when I was given information that would help me stop smoking.

Sticking with the basics makes the webinar open for all with the important facts clearly shown without having medical know how.

Well done I have saved this in my favourites.

[peege]

This is great for a confused, undiagnosed, almost newbie like myself.

I smoked a little as a student then started again for a few years in 40's stopping 10 years ago (smoked 4 or 5 a day).

Diagnosed with asthma 7 years ago though it's never really been a problem until I started getting pneumonias, pleurisy and chest infections 3 years ago.

The web thingy was very informative, all the information your GP would never have time to explain.

I shall get 2 of my children - who smoke - to take a look in the hope that it will save one or both. Big thanks to BLF

[Hidden]

Can't get the video to work grrrrr