Working with copd

This is my first post on here so please bear with me. I am a full time maintenance manager at a busy hotel & have been told I have stage 2 copd, I get very tired by the end of the day. When I go to bed at night I fall asleep straight away. When I wake up at six o'clock I feel like I have just gone to bed & still feel exhausted . By Friday I am totaly exhausted . I have been thinking of cutting my hours to a three day week. Has any one been in this position and done the same & has it helped.

[Hidden]

Have read a few post and employers are not that keen so usually go's horribly wrong SO have tick cross all boxes AND never leave your job unless it's on ill health or state will not help if needed

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

Thanks, on an additional note I am only 18 months till I retire if I can last out financely & health wise until March next year I can claim working tax credit. They would also like me to train up an assistant to take over when I retire. I do not know how fast my copd will advance we will have to see.

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

Hope it all works out for you and sure ya got good few years in ya yet ...

[blancheallen]

I have stage 2 copd. I'm retired but do get tired. With copd we don't get enough oxygen in our bloodstream. So we also burn more calories faster than others. We have to eat smaller meals to get and keep engery up. You have to pace yourself. There's time that i can take on the world and then I'm down for a few days. We are our own enemies because we won't slow down.

You are going to have to pace yourself, eatright, take your breathing medicine. I am in bed now exhausted because i over worked two days ago, have not been eating right or taking my meds. I've had copd for years and now at 66 i still do my garden, clean my house go out etc. I just got a scare and know what i need to do.

We can live good lives just that we have to pace ourselves. Slow down. Everything that you feel is what copd is doing, you and i are not controlling it. I have level 2 and over working my body and lungs will be the end of me. We can live a normal life if we just do what we are supposed to do. Your job is to much for you seriously. I stopped working at age 55 and got married at 59. I am not going to have copd shorten my life sooner than need. So talking to you have helped me get back on track. In a nutshell copd makes you tired, weak, short of breath, because we need energy to work and it takes our energy when we work. But we must listen to our body. Your Copd friend.

[Hidden in reply to blancheallen]

I do find my job very hard and I do feel very depressed at the moment. I did also feel angry with my gp as I have been seeing him for nearly 2 years with problems related to copd but he did not seem very interested. It was not until the last couple of months it was diagnosed . This only happened because our surgery closed and merged with another to become a nice new medical center I then saw a new doc who got the nurse to give me spirometry tests and blood pressure checks since then I have seen them weekly to monitor my progress,they have given me all the inhalers plus emergency antibiotics they have also referred me to the cardiogist to check my heart and I can ring them for advice if I need to. So well done to them.

[Toci]

This is a bit of a 'how long is a piece of string' question as we all vary so much. I worked full time for 5 years after being diagnosed with 'end stage' COPD before taking early retirement on the grounds of ill-health. You will just have to see how you go.

[Hidden]

Hi welcome to the site. If you are able to do less hours at work and can afford it then yes it will help with your tiredness obviously. I found when working full time that doing only 4 days a week with Wednesdays off did help a lot. x

[scorpiolass]

Hi Mike, Welcome to the site. I retired from a busy full time & then some, social worker post (& commuting 70 miles a day) at 63. At the time I had asthma for a long time but was diagnosed with COPD 2 years or so before. The problem was, I kept getting really bad episodes of winter bronchitis & had a couple of years, where I was off two months at a time. Employers, do not like this but Occupational Health said, I had a long term condition that was covered by the Disability Act & agreed reasonable adjustments to my role. Make sure you get your disability formalised at work; it is important because if you have a sickness absence policy, sickness connected to your disability cannot be counted.

I was going to change to half time working but my husband got a job in our home town, so I retired & moved with him. Once retired I recognised how exhausted I was but after a year of resting up I began work, probably totalling 2 days a week & worked until I was almost 70. My advice would be keep going if you can but if it continues to be a strain cut your hours down. Take Care Margaret

[PastMeBest]

Hi Hidden welcome to the forum. You have been given some good advice by people who know what they are talking about. All I'll add is that you know what is best for yourself, don't do anything to make your condition worse. It isn't worth it.

Regards. John

[Hidden]

Just like to thank everybody for there replys. It's good not to feel alone.

[Titchy52]

Hi mic welcome to the site I had to cut my hours in the beginning now retired and enjoying my life x

[piggi]

Hi mic I have stage 3 COPD and work part time. When I was first diagnosed I really thought I would never make it to retirement age (I'm 57). I gave up smoking, started swimming, using the gym and I am a lot fitter now. I'm still stage 3 COPD but my body manages to use the oxygen a lot more efficiently. Being self employed, early retirement is really not an option and I can't claim any sick pay from anywhere either! Exercise has helped though - I'm not as afraid of my condition and I think if I grit my teeth I can manage now. There are people here with lower readings than me, still managing to work too. They are seriously awesome - and encouraging!

If it helps to know that there are people here - then - welcome - very much so. Keep posting - perhaps we can lift your mood a bit. Hope so. All the best xpiggix

[dwitt in reply to piggi]

My COPD is considered moderate I use Advair 250/50 & Spiriva. I am 69 and gave up smoking 2-3 packs a day habit at age 53 (a 37 year old habit). I take annual breathing test and seem to keep the disease at bay. Leg circulation is a bigger enemy besides medication - Plavix I require periodic leg artery scrapings and stents. My question many others refer to COPD as stage 2 or 3. What would moderate be - I guess 2.

[Hidden]

Hello Mick, a warm welcome to our Site. Having read posts in reply to yours I don't feel I can add much because they are all so positive and helpful. I retired at 67 but was only diagnosed a couple or so years ago with copd after being a heavy smoker for 50 years. I've had a few not so good days, but with the helpful advice and encouragement from members I am fine - unless I catch a cold from an outside source, and it will go straight to my chest, so keep a rescue package to hand.

All the best, and let us know what you decide and how you get on.

[Dedalus]

Welcome Mick

[Dmactds]

I am/was a woodworker building cabinetry, etc., out of my own shop and others which I think contributed to some of my COPD problem.

In any event, I continued working even after diagnosis as "early stage" and kept that up for as long as I could until I had my pulmonary collapse 4 years ago.

Since then I've only handled a couple of jobs out of my own shop..., nowhere else. All of which is to say, as long as you can, stay busy.

However, at some point you'll probably have to have an oxygen tank at least part of the time. Otherwise, you really should be properly diagnosed and take whatever inhalers/medicine that's prescribed. You didn't really mention your age, but it's important to begin paying close attention to your health matters from here on in.

Salude !!

[twopars12]

Welcome Mick, yes your main priority is to look after yourself therefore you do what you have to do even if it means cutting down work etc.

[Hidden]

Strange , I have been called to a management meeting tommorow to discuss my future with the company and whether I can continue to fulfill duties . This sounds funny to me