emphysema diagnosis

hi, i have just joined up to find out more on emphysema. and living with ...

as forums i have found can be a great source of help and direction, when dealing with maladies. thanks

[stone-UK]

Hi

Welcome, emphysema is one of the two conditions under the umbrella term COPD.

Emphysema is damaged to the Aveoli wall, resulting in poor gas exchange and air trapping causing varying degrees of breathlessness.

There are four stages detected by a spirometer test.

Athough the condition is incurable, it can be managed, early intervention gives the best prognosis.

Giving up smoking is essential to slow the progression down, exercise and a sensible diet will help you lead a fairly normal life.

I am stage four, just about to go shopping and a drive on the moors for few hours.

Fire away with any questions there are lots of members with good advice,

[Hidden in reply to stone-UK]

thanks, i have been diagnosed with moderate stage. discovered by accident under scan investigation for something else. and was sent to a pneumologist last month and did what i think is spirometry tests. (i live in France so sometimes, understanding whats going on is a little difficult in french.. ) however i had a pleurectomy in my early twenties for emphysematous bullae, and thus, i am now connecting these two bits of info into one haha. many years later. so it would appear i have had emphysema a long time. (i have stopped smoking also......). ok i will ask questions as they arise. and read through other threads.

[mrsmummy]

Hi and welcome to the forum.

[bobbyfloyd]

hello Karentaliesin, I also have emphysema and asthma, have 20% lung capacity, sounds bad but i take everyday slowly and try not to get to tired, going out in car a big help takes my mind off it, diet is a must, read up on it, plenty of water is a must, great advice on this site, had a lot of good advice here, hope this helps, keep well,

[Leesea]

Hi

Welcome to this site, an enormous help!

I am just curios how they diagnosed emphysema!?

Chest X-ray or purely spirometer testing?

Nice to meet you

[Hidden]

hi to all, thanks for the replies and welcome.

Leesea - in july i had an angioscanneur . like an Mri/CAT scan (french eng tranlation not sure of) basically because i have blocked arteries - aorta and iliacs etc etc and am followed up every 6months for that.

On that scan results they saw in the lower left lung a mass of what they called emphysema. 6.5cm and the next thing i know is that my angio consultant had arranged for me to see a pulmonologist - (pneumonologist) - lung fella, a couple of weeks ago. without asking me, or before i had received the angio scan results; i was just phoned up out of the bleu!!! and told to turn up at the hospital ... was well freaked for 24hrs. where they did pulmonary function tests. (spirometry i believe) and told my what is likely to be in eng, fev1, ??? to be 60%... that is how i got diagnosed with it. i also informed the consultant that i had, had a pleurectomy for emphysematous bullae, 1982. and he said thus i have had emphysema a long time.... told me to stop the foradil and miflasone, (not that i used, once a year maybe) and given me an ultibro inhaler and im not too sure if im supposed to use that daily or as feel needed .. am awaiting to see my GP (who is away till sept19th ). to chat thro all the present situation plus the need for more stents..

so i did stop smoking and since that, iv'e had the most horrendous pain lower left back, im not sure if its me kidneys, emphysema mass, or the chronic bad back i have; i used smoking and meditation as a pain killing cover up, rather than take pills and potions, and now i am in alot of pain and hoping as week four of non smoking closes some of it will ease off. again awaiting to see my GP not the locum, to ask these questions and see whats what. with that pain.

in 2011 i had a lung complaint ie couldn't breathe, wheezing etc due to damp and moldy where i was living. and was sent to a pulmonologist whom told me i had asthma. and gave me aerosols bronchodilator and a steroid etc for that. which i used occasionally as needed fairly infrequently once the original attack was done. and i have to say i didnt follow up on it much, nor be particularly worried about it. i am not always the most compliant of patients, where medical treatments are concerned. unless i feel it is necessary

A couple of times ive been the local gp with a chest pain /infection?? since and once given antibiotics. however i have been quite breathless for the past year or so, but put it down to being very unfit these days due to other health issues... and or pollen counts. i now live in a very countryside area. so ive no

idea really just speculating as one does, end of day how and why is

not so important as to how i go on from here.......

so thats a potted history of.. a day in the life;

Karen x

[tavymaid]

Hi Karen fingers crossed the Drs can get to the bottom of it and hope your feeling better soon esp as its been a very long time for you.You were very young when you had your Pleurectomy.I had a pluerectomy on the 1st Feb this year after having a V.A.T.S operation which failed can i ask does the discomfort ever go away sorry to ask esp as you came here looking for answers for yourself its just your the only person iv heard thats had the same op xx

[Hidden]

Tavymaid, yes the pain does abate eventually, but its a pretty painful op, i cant remember how long it took. and the skin feeling (i was numb as well as in pain lol) that feeling also starts to return after about six months post Op. hang in there, xxx