I am almost 68 and have had COPD for about 6 years. I am quite well unless I exert my self. My husband has carers as he is very disabled. A couple of the carers have told him that I will defiantly need oxygen as I get older. I am not worrying about it now as I think about the moment.
Is this true dose everyone end up on oxygen?
Hi
Not guaranteed, oxygen is reguired if your sats continue to drop below 88% at rest or during exertion.
Oxygen is given to protect your major organs.
Welcome Irene. These carers have no way of knowing - about your or anyone else for that matter. No doubt they've seen people on oxygen, but everyone is different - many do need oxygen later on but some don't.
If you want to keep an eye on your oxygen saturation, you can buy a pulse oximeter online or in places like Asda. They can sometimes be out by a couple of per cent so check it with the one your doctor will have, or your respiratory nurse, then you can adjust as necessary. As Stone has said. your O2 sats shouldn't go below 88% and preferably remain above 90%, especially when at rest.
Ive had copd for 15 years and have sometimes used ambulatory oxygen. But after building my muscles up with pulmonary rehabilitation (which you should ask your doctor about if you haven't yet done it) and doing several workouts each week, I have managed to come off it in all but very hilly terrain. All the best 
That's brilliant 02 ! You must be delighted.
Irene C , even just going on our members here, there's no way all of them are on oxygen. My advice to you ( same as 02) would be to keep yourself as active and healthy as possible.
Thanks BJ, I am delighted of course. But irritatingly today I've started to go down with something after 10 months with no exacerbations at all. And just before my 70th birthday, and two weeks before moving house. Sod's law.
How are you?
10 months was a good run so hopefully you are now in much better shape to weather this bout.
I saw my cons this morning for the second time in two weeks. He had me on the admission list but after examination and discussion, we both agreed that I'm making progress and want to give the new oral and nebulised antibiotic combo a chance to work. My sputum tests will decide matters and if the Achromabacter is still present in the next tests, then I'll probably need more IVs. But not today
And I finally feel a shift towards wellness. It's been a struggle since November but I hope, I'm finally getting there.
Hope you are well enough to enjoy your birthday and to survive the move. Good luck !
Thanks BJ, and to you with continued shift into better health.
You take care
That's fantastic news BJ, & sounds very encouraging. Good luck for the next sputum tests!
Thanks Hanne ! I must send one in, in the morning and another a week after the Moxifloxacillin stops, so that's Wedensday week. The sputum amount has reduced overall ( though there's no guarantee ever that it won't all start up again). The big hope is that the Colomycin might control it. The pain in my upper and lower chest has stopped and the sob is improving too. So I'm cautiously allowing myself to be optimistic. How are you doing ?
Well BJ, it so happens I'm just starting an infection. Was going to start abs tomorrow AFTER dropping sample off at lab but can feel it building so have started this eve. I've put one in fridge but probably won't grow anything after 12hrs 
BUT - otherwise I've been doing well, thanks for asking. Colomycin really suits me, so far. Long may it continue! And the recent addition of Spiriva has improved the asthma side of things immensely.
Is it really possible to get so fit that one's oxygen needs go down?
Hi tanarg - Ive managed to almost eliminate O2 use, although walking is still very hard for me, i get very breathless and have to take frequent rests. But generally i don't desaturate except on hills and my town is quite flat and the purpose of the O2 is to protect our organs, not to avoid breathlessness. For reference, Im at copd stage 3, fev1 37%
After the pneumonia, see above, it took me about 6 weeks to get from using the concentrator full time to just using ambulatory O2 for walking outdoors. I then did a PR course and built up a schedule of workouts at home for when the course finished - two PR ones, and two shorter but more intense ones and now i hardly ever need the O2.
At PR I only needed the O2 for "stepping" and for walking up and down, not for the more non-aerobic exercises with weights. Gradually i didn't need it for stepping and now manage the 3 minutes so that at the end I am usually at 89/90% and it comes back up very quickly.
I got to not needing the O2 for walking (even though its still hard). What made the biggest difference was adding in the two shorter workouts to the two PR ones i do at home. There was a quick improvement after that.
At present Ive taken a bit of a break from the workouts as Ive moved and have had decorating, garden clearing etc to do. Having been active every day, far more than for years I assumed that my O2 would be fine when i returned to the PR maintenance session i attend weekly. But no, when i get to the end of the stepping my levels are 88%, and i desaturate to 86 as soon as I've stopped. Im also more breathless with all of the exercises. The message seems to be that you have to keep going with whatever schedule you set yourself. And for me I definitely need the aerobic exercise to stay fit.
Muscles tend to waste with this condition, so i figured that if i could get them strong enough then who knew what could happen. But the muscle wastage is a continual problem needing continual exercise. Ive always exercised a lot, and lifted weights too, so that has stood me in good stead. Sorry this is so long but hope it's useful. Regards.
Edit: forgot to say that everyone is different and has different challenges so i guess this wouldn't be possible for everyone. Ive just been lucky I think.
Hi,I was diagnosed with Copd& emphysema a year in march for me.I was put on it then,so not sure.my oxygen level when I wasn't on oxygen was in the 70's that's why I have oxygen. I panic when I go to dr,just getting ready wears me& up moving to do my house cleaning & I have oxygen on.so think it just depends on the person. Hope everyone can have more good than bad days.we would all be good to go then.they'd not make anymore money on us if we weren't sick.lol.hope a cure one day.
Hi donitasue, if your 02 levels were in the 70s then I suppose it's a good thing that you were given oxygen. Does it help you with breathlessness ? Getting ready to go anywhere is very difficult when you are sob ( short of breath). Try to allow yourself loads of time and just do things slowly and avoid rushing. I'm not on oxygen at present but always get it when I go into hospital.
Are these carers medically qualified to make such sweeping statements? If not they shouldn't be saying it. If I were you I'd ignore them.
The carers aren't medically qualified they have been to look after people with copd. They tell my husband, who keeps telling me that I am more ill than I think I am!
That is really out of order and very unprofessional of them. Personally Id want to be complaining to whichever organisation sends them to your husband. Everyone here will tell you and we are all different in the way that copd presents itself so you can pass that on to your husband. Having a good lifestyle - good diet, exercise as much as you can - helps slow progression of the condition.
If you want to you can get the details about what stage your copd is from your doctor - it is worked out from your lung function tests. But even then, people with the same results can function very differently.
Your attitude of living in the moment makes good sense, and being positive and not wearing yourself down with worry will stand you in good stead.
I hope not. I was diagnosed mild around 6 years ago too and I have no intention of ever being on oxygen! x
It never ceases to amaze me how suddenly members of the public, which they are, become medically qualified overnight. I get similar at work, I only have to cough and out they come telling what I need and what I don't. I have learnt very quickly to nod, smile and say ok. It makes them feel so much better and in control Take care, keep as well as you can, and only listen to those that really know, if you are really worried or concerned speak to a health professional that you trust. xx
you should tell carers that they are not doctors !1
Oxygen levels
Oxygen delivery
Oxygen abroad 
