help!

[suziey]

i am a 20 year old female and have been diagnosed with early emphysema! im scared, anyone know my life capacity?

thanks in advance

[Hidden]

How long is a piece of string Suziey? As long as you look after yourself and make good lifestyle choices there is every chance you will have a long and heathy life. Do you know your lung function? If it is early though it is going to be high which is good.

You are very young to be diagnosed with emphysema so you need to ask your doctor for an Alpha1 Deficiency test, this is a very simple blood test. It is rare though and it is genetic. Because of your age they should automatically do one, but if not ask for it.

Oh nice to meet you and welcome to the site. x

[yorkie70]

Hi Suziey. Welcome aboard you will find lots of help and support here. Coughalot1 has summed it up very well. Cheers from the LoS.

[Colours23]

The generation I am in no one knew much about anything ,not like these days with Internet all the info we have . There seems to be a epidemic of copd ,maybe docs are covering themselves and going forward to at least diagnose the possibilitys ,check it out yourself as you are so young. Good luck.

[lynisa48]

Sunis firstly welcome, as said by others you need to find out your lung function,if as I suspect the emphysema is mild your life expectancy could be as normal, if you have not see a consultant ask to see one and get your questions answered,please do not look on the Internet the information is to general and a lot of people including myself have been scared by what we read, so good luck with seeing consultant keep us posted

[Offcut]

Welcome

As all have said that the expectancy is a question that even fit and healthy people cannot guarantee to get an answer to. I understand it has come a great shock but if you want answers speak to your GP or specialist that is what they are there for. The internet is a great source of info but there is a lot of sites that will give the worse case scenario from people without the condition and based on hearsay!

I have had lung problems for most of my life and I am 59 and three quarters now! I have had problems since but I keep a PMA and try to enjoy today with what I have.

Be Well

[peege]

Hi, welcome to the site. You must feel very worried.

Coughalot is right, you should be having tests for the Alpha 1 Deficiency. You are too young to have emphysema from smoking or occupational hazards. Perhaps you were brought up in thick 2nd hand cigarette smoke?

The sooner you find out the sooner you can get sorted, I think it would be a really good idea if you can ring the BLF helpline 03000 030555, Mon- Fri office hours. They are marvelous and will guide you on what to do next and how to do it. They also have excellent publications on COPD, Alpha 1 and other lung problems with advice on how to stay well.

We are mostly older than you here but what we've all learnt is that we must be proactive in getting the best medical care.

I wish you all the best for your long future - oh, and if you do smoke please quit asap then avoid others fumes, dust and pollution. P xx

[Biddy_ALUK Partner British Lung Foundation]

Hello suziey,

Welcome to BLF and health unlocked.

As peege said, give us a call on the Helpline, our nurses are here to answer any questions you have. Don't bottle up any questions you have, just give us a call.

Regards,

Biddy

03000 030 555

[casper99]

Hi Suziey, It was scarey when we were all told we had this disease. Even more so at your age but, I personally believe that all of us COPD sufferers had early signs in our youth and that it only became apparent when we started being less active through age. That meant, we didn't find out until the disease was more advanced and unfortunately, after we had been happily puffing our heads off, oblivious.

Now, docters seem to be taking people's symtoms more seriously and are getting them tested instead of packing them off with a blue inhaler as they did me years ago.

This is a good thing, because it gives people the chance to stop smoking and halt/slow the disease down.

There are also, new and better treatments coming out all the time which you are mild enough and young enough, to benefit from.

Follow all the advice given on previous posts and you will soon be back to getting on with your life. xx

[Jolyn]

Welcome to the site suzie, I agree with everything coughalot says...you will get lots of good information from many people here and the British Lung Foundation helpline is always avaible with lots of help. x