Puzzled

[Alicekj]

Hi, everyone, I'm new here. As you can see in my profile, I quit smoking in the 80's, but I was still diagnosed with emphysema in 2015. I'm puzzled as to how that can be after so many years of "clean living."

[Hidden]

Hi nice to meet you. Obviously enough damage was done to your lungs when you smoked. It is very common to be diagnosed many years after you have quit smoking. It happened to the actor Leonard Nimroy (Spock) as well. There are quite a few on here who also developed it a long time later. x

[O2Trees]

Hi Alice, no wonder you are shocked - it happened to me, I was diagnosed about 15 years after I stopped but your dx is even longer after quitting. Sadly it happens. When I smoked I told myself i would quit when I was 40 as the smoking education at the time was that if you quit, your lungs would return to normal after 5 years of not smoking. So I took a calculated risk but it didn't pay off Now Im 70 and still going strong. It's good that your dx is later - if you eat well and exercise often you should be able to delay any progression, and even limit it altogether.

[Katinka46]

Welcome to this group, Alice. Can't comment on your condition as I don't have it, but a lot here do. And they are a superbly helpful and supportive bunch. What I have gleaned from reading other people's posts about COPD is that everyone is different. And there are many who have managed to stabilise their condition. The biggest thing that seems to help people is exercise and not being frightened of getting breathless. Have you been referred for Pulmonary Rehabilitation? Most people here who have done it rave about the benefits.

All the best

K x

[sassy59]

Welcome Alice and l would have thought that quitting smoking meant all would be well but sadly that's not the case.

My husband Pete was diagnosed in 2010 with COPD having quit smoking in 1991 when diagnosed with sarcoidosis. That seems to be how it goes sometimes.

Enjoy using the HU Forum and nice to meet you. Xxxxx

[sassy59]

P.S. Nice photo by the way. Xxxx

[Jaynair]

Welcome to the group Alice x

[knitter]

I stopped smoking over forty years ago....I guess the damage was done before then.

I am sure at one time the thinking was after fifteen years of not smoking the lungs were OK again. But I am glad I stopped when I did ...I could be in a worse state otherwise.

But I have asthma / COPD and hyper inflated lungs now....and a new appointment to see a consultant.

Welcome to the group, plenty of advice here and fun , music, stories, pets as well.

[FreshFlowers3]

Hello Alice.... I have recently been diagnosed with emphysema, very early stage. I also quit smoking several years ago... I was a 3 or 4 cigs a day for many years. Not a heavy smoker at all so I was shocked to be diagnosed with this disease. Eating a healthy diet and excersise is very important to staying healthy. I am not as short of breath and I'm not wheezing anymore.

[casper99]

Hello Alice, welcome to the forum. Yours is a familiar story on here, on the good side, it shows how much stopping smoking slows it down. Lovely photo xx

[Dedalus]

Hello and welcome Alice - COPD is not always as a result of smoking

[Nottobad]

Welcome to the group Alice xx

[Dragonmum]

Hello and welcome Alice. Many people with COPD/emphysema/asthma have never smoked a cigarette in their lives so don't beat yourself up. I remember a TV prog. many years ago which stated that if you had smoked for even a very short time you had already "Sowed the seeds of lung cancer" so I thought there was no point in giving up. Like most of these daft statements that has been thoroughly de-bunked. " What is for you won't pass you" was a friend's old saying and I think she had it nailed. Of course quitting smoking is the single biggest thing to help our lung function - but the very air we breathe is full of pollutants so we just have to come to terms with it. Emphysema is very do-able, with the right inhalers etc. and of course you've now found the best treatment of all - the people on this forum!! Hope to hear lots more from you soon. Lovely meeting you.

[Pietba]

My pulmonologist showed me new studies. Due to pollution, chemicals, spray painting and other external factors, up to 30% of people developing Emphysema nowadays never even smoked. And yes maybe I would not have got it if I did not smoke but who knows? My mom also had bad lungs her last years and she never smoked.