Copd

[Mahoney]

Found out yesterday I had copd ........ Can't stop crying I'm so so so scared ,the nurse says your asthma turned to copd here's a new inhaler and two leaflets see you in 3 weeks for a flu jab !!!!

[Hidden]

Do not worry to much abut it as you live will not change that much from asma all you got to remember it keep as fit as you can and eat healthy

[Louisiana]

Please don't be so scared and don't worry about it...you will make things far worse for yourself if you are frightened all the time. COPD is an umbrella which covers all manner of lung diseases. You try and get proper medical advice and ask them to explain it to you at the surgery - ask to see a doctor! Ask them to refer you to a Pulmonary Rehabilitation Clinic, which is one day a week for 6 weeks and you will learn everything there is to know and what to do to help you live a normal and healthy life (for many years to come). Good luck. Also see if there is a Breathe Easy group near you!!!!

[Katinka46]

I am a wee bit surprised about this comment from your nurse. Asthma does not turn into COPD. There can be long term effects from asthma but you would have been aware of deterioration for some time. Have been taking medication for asthma? If so it should have been controlled and not cause problems. Did this diagnosis come from the nurse or your GP? Are there any other causes for COPD in your lifestyle? Whatever the case the others are right: get more info from your GP. Take your meds and get the best out of your life.

K xx

[Mahoney in reply to Katinka46]

Well I did go to the nurse last year with the exact same problem and symptoms and she ( nurse ) said it was probally anxiety and stress ( I saw my husband fall down the stairs and knock himself out ) he's ok just a bit bruised but that's why she said I was breathless and yes I give up smoking about 15 years ago iv got to go back for a flu jab so I'm going to write everything down,I don't even know what iv got I know it's copd but as I know now that's a name given for a wide range of things and what stage I'm at x

[FarmerD in reply to Mahoney]

Hello Mahoney,try not to worry.I have very severe emphysema and can still do lots ,just have to take my time.Make sure you exercise plenty and have a good healthy diet.You probably won,t notice much difference to having asthma,maybe just a bit more breathless,check out breathing exercises on YouTube.When you next see the nurse ask to be referred to a consultant so he/she can explain exactly what is going on and put your mind at ease.Wish you the best of luck.D. Ps. Goggle as much as you like but Don,t Google lol.

[newlands in reply to FarmerD]

Hello farmer d soooooo good to hear from you hope your Ok

Take care

Dorothy

[medow]

Try not to worry Mahoney, there's heaps of people on here who are living with copd, my friends my has had it for years and is now 85 or 86, one word of advice is Don't Goggle, I did and worried myself silly about 4 years ago, do all the usual stuff we should all do, ie exercise, eat well etc (must try it sometime !) and come on here for support when you get the heebie geebies 🤓XXXX

[Mahoney in reply to medow]

Too late .. I googled it and working it out iv got 4 years left to live so I will definitely not be doing it again x

[Hidden in reply to Mahoney]

I feel very sorry for you if you have to Google stick to NHS choice that will give you the right in formation or BLF web site. You need to be seen by a respiratory clinic to get a proper diagnoses take care

[Mahoney in reply to Hidden]

Thanks

[Linda1853 in reply to Mahoney]

I googled it too. Every one that I have spoken to about (5 years) I worked out that I had left to live, told me it's absolute rubbish......Now I know it is rubbish, so please put that thought out of your head.....

I have learned a lot from this site and also one called MyCOPDTeam, please have a look at this site too. We have to learn from each other, keep active and eating the right things ( I still haven't managed this one yet lol ).

Hope your husband is fully recovered.

Take care

Linda

[Mahoney in reply to Linda1853]

Yea thanks I will have a look ,I need reassurance xx and yes he's fine thanks he can't remember a thing lol typical man xx

[Hidden]

Hi Mahoney, I do not have COPD but was in the same position as you, panic stricken when I was told I had Bronchiectasis. The best information I got and advice re meds was from a BLF Nurse. If you click on the Red Balloon you will find the phone number. One of the nurses will help you and put everything into perspective. just because they have given you a label you are no different from the day before except now you will be to start to control your symptoms. Kaye

[Mahoney]

Thanks for all the comments X. What's people's advice about spiriva I've when the best time to take it nurse said about 7 ish ?.

[Hidden in reply to Mahoney]

I used to be on speriva I took it as soon as I got up in the morning as I do with all my inhalers

[Mahoney in reply to Hidden]

Thanks

[Hidden]

Hello, please do not worry. My husband has had Copd for over 12 yrs and is still working full time! I answered an earlier post that may help with advise.

Did the nurse give you a spirometry test - it is the breathing test that defines Copd. If not go to your doctor and please get clarification. Perhaps a call to the helpline might give you some advise click on the red balloon.

My husband has been taking spiriva for a few years. He takes it once in the morning when he wakes and always before he does his teeth so he can rinse his mouth afterwards. Lots of love TAD xxx

[Mahoney in reply to Hidden]

Hya yes I had the test ...well tried I failed the last two I just didn't have any breath left and she says my lips were going white around the edges so I didn't finish it but she said she had enough xx ok I will start taking it in the mornin iv had it for two days I wish it would hurry up and take effect xx

[Bevvy]

Welcome and listen to others advice.

You should have had flu jab if you got asthma anyway so don't worry about that.

Also ask for pneumonia jab.

You need far more info than nurse given you so far. She naughty to give you just enough info to panic you!

[Mahoney in reply to Bevvy]

I'm going to go to the walk in on Thursday and give me head a good shake and thanks means a lot everyone's comments xx

[jackdup]

Did she tell you what stage you were or what your FEV1% of predicted is? It can take some time for the Spiriva to work. I know when I was first given it I expected I would feel some immediate results but learned later on it can take a month or so to get the full benefit. Some people feel some improvement almost immediately while others do not. I think to some degree it depends on what stage of COPD you have. I would suspect if you are mild it is less likely you will feel as much benefit as someone who has more severe COPD, or course I think it varies from person to person at least to some degree. If you take it for a few weeks and still don't feel any benefit talk to your doctor and perhaps they can try something else as what works for one person doesn't work as well for the next. Spiriva seems to be pretty common here. Anxiety can make your breathing worse as well so try not to worry.

[Mahoney in reply to jackdup]

No she hasn't told me anything like that just that iv got copd showed me how to use the inhaler and give me two leaflets to read I think I will make an appointment to see a doctor instead I was really bad yesterday and I know it is the stress and anxiety that's making it worse but I can't help it and I still can't stop crying x

[tamariki]

I had a chest xray and a spirometry test and then was diagnosed with COPD. You should have these test to see how bad your lungs have been affected, so the doctor can give you the correct medication . A nurse would not be qualified or have this information, unless you have been tested and the information is in your medical records. See your doctor and get him to confirm your disease.

[Dragonmum]

I got exactly the same treatment from an asthma nurse as you did Mahoney but I'm just a cynic - if I feel OK then I'm OK! There seems to have been a lot of this going on lately, asthmatic for years then they spring the COPD on you like some kind of re-assignment. I used to have a preventor (Seretide) and a long-term reliever (Atrovent). I was given Duoresp which made my chest wheeze like a barrel organ so I took it back with a load of hard-copy complaints I'd read from people in similar circumstances. I was also given Spiriva and Ventolin. For the last several months I have had no prescribed preventor and am still on what remains of my original meds - when they run out I do not expect to drop dead. Never google legal or medical unless you want to be scared to death!

[Catnip]

Greetings, Mahoney. "How long have I left?" How long is a piece of string??

COPD technically covers only emphysema and chronic bronchitis but all sorts of other lung diseases seem to have been lumped in there, when they aren't actually COPD... Still, that's a moot point and lung disease (whatever it is) is horrendous.

My fist diagnosis for emphysema was 30 years ago; I'm now at Stage 4 (very severe) and use oxygen for pretty well everything, but I'm still here, still getting out and about, still doing most of the stuff I want to do. Some things are now out of my reach, but I've adapted/reconciled myself to that. I'm never going to climb Everest, for instance.

What you _really_ need is a referral to a consultant or a specialist respiratory clinic where you will get the full raft of tests, a proper diagnosis and specific meds to help you along. Might I suggest that you visit your GP and request that this happens as soon as possible?!! Once you know the disease with which you are living, it'll be easier to cope. I think that that is the key: you are _living_ with a lung disease; you certainly aren't dying from it...

You will find lots of reliable information here; please don't consult Dr Google unless you need a laxative, brought on by sheer terror. it is crucial that you have the right information and that you live a sensibly healthy life. Life DOES go on!!

Cheers

Catnip

[Mahoney in reply to Catnip]

Thanks I went back to the nurse yesterday and had a flu jab I told her how hard it to breath and told me to take my sabutamol as many times as I need to ????? Which I'm a bit confused by as when I had asthma they told me only up to 4 times a day if needed more go straight to hospital and yes I think i know I'm never going to dance ( northern soul ) like I used to x

[Catnip]

Hello again! I use my Ventolin when I need it -- which can be very often if I'm doing something "energetic", even though I'm on oxygen; it opens the airways and makes it easier to get the oxygen into the lungs.

I reiterate -- you _need_ to see your GP and request a referral to a consultant/respiratory clinic. Honestly -- it's the only way to go, to get a good diagnosis and appraisal of your condition. Then you will be prescribed the most effective medication (there are lots of different inhalers out there) and, with a bit of luck (depending on where you live) you will also be offered more support than you have been given so far.

My best advice: pick up the phone, call your GP's surgery and make an appointment NOW. Don't put it off; don't google, don't have a cuppa first and think about it... I know all about procrastination, where my lungs are concerned. Had I had the guts to do what I'm "telling" you to do, my initial diagnosis would have been 40 years ago, not 30 -- and maybe I'd have stopped smoking sooner. Doh!!!

Catnip