copd

[Romolo55]

im new to this. i was in the hosp for a week. i work 2 nights a week and i get so breathless. my muscles are starting to hurt. is that from the o2 taking out of them? please help....

[punkyb]

I have wondered this same thing and will be happy to read the feedback. I am sorry you were in the hospital and that you get breathless. You are on oxygen right?

[Romolo55 in reply to punkyb]

my pulsox is at 94 unless im walking and then it drops to 88.

[punkyb in reply to Romolo55]

I am the same and wonder if I ought to use my oxygen a little more while walking about the house. But I have dropped as low as 84 that is when I become afraid. it is usually when I first come home from someplace and have to pee. Don't ask me what the connection is...ha!

[PollyP]

Hi, so sorry to hear of your diagnosis, although there is lots you can do to make life easier. I do get sore muscles just as you do and usually I get this soreness when I over do it! Unfortunately the inflammation produced by COPD does not restrict it to the lungs and affects the whole body. I am not entirely sure that it is the oxygen being taken out of them, tho perhaps it is the muscles not being able to use oxygen being used effectively.

The best ways to manage this disease is to keep as healthy as possible. Stop smoking of you do. Take any medication as prescribed. Eat really good quality healthy food. Ask you GP or Practice nurse to refer you for an assessment for Pulmonary Rehabiliation. Get exercising, there is a DVD available from Amazon or some exercises on You Tube. Use the BLF website and their helpline-they are wonderful and use this forum, there are many good folk on here to help you.

This diagnosis is not a death sentence and a good life can be had by good management and postive thinking. Keep well

[O2Trees]

When we have copd we use our respiratory muscles, and intercostal rib muscles much more than "normals" do. It takes up to 10 times more calories just to breathe for us, as breathing is no longer an automatic function; to varying extents we have to make it happen, depending how severe our condition has become, or whether we are in the middle of an exacerbation, or just more SOB than usual.

There is an oxygen connection which is that when our muscles get deconditioned they are not able to use what oxygen is available efficiently. This is why its important to follow Polly's advice and get yourself referred to pulmonary rehabilitation. While this will probably not improve your lung function test results, it has a well established evidence base to show improvement in exercise tolerance and overall shortness of breath.

Keeping your muscles conditioned will enable you to function much more efficiently and avoid a downward spiral where the muscles become deconditioned and you end up doing less exercise because it is so difficult, and the muscles get further deconditioned. Getting breathless (from exercise) once a day is a good plan but check with your GP what exercise is appropriate for you. We would all here recommend exercise but are not medics

[joyce741]

I find that my knees are sore in the middle of the night sometimes. I was told to take more fluids, but I find that difficult when your on a bipap all night that seems to dry you out

[Hidden]

So that's why I ache and pain more than I used too - I just put it down to getting older x

[Ergendl]

Yes, I've got a lot from this conversation too. For a couple of years before my COPD diagnosis last month I noticed I would stop breathing for a few seconds after I had exhaled and had to consciously breathe in again. The green and blue inhalers are helping, but my left lung seems to ache most of the time. My GP says it's just the intercostal muscles having to work more now. My joints are aching more too.

[rfcjackie in reply to Ergendl]

Thanks i have learned a lot reading the comments on this i was actually going to make a docs appoitment to see what problem was all my joints are aching even bending my fingers aye found it difficult getting out of bed this morning i also have polymythemia

[rubyred777 in reply to Ergendl]

Just wondering what your fev1 is? Hope all is well with you

Rubyxx 😊

[Ergendl in reply to rubyred777]

Feeling OK, Ruby. I'm not sure of my FEV1, but the Respiratory Nurse said it was at the bottom end of normal for a person of my age. I have been a trained singer for many years, used to controlling my breath to sing Handel arias and the like, so I would have expected it to be at the top end of normal. Now I have to take a full breath in over several beats - if I try to breathe for a phrase in one beat I end up coughing. And if I go faster than a stroll I end up very sob.

[Romolo55]

thanks so much for the info and i have quit smoking...i do an ecig occationally tho.