Newbie

[Pippers]

Hi, my 74 yr old husband's just been diagnosed with COPD... no spirometry yet as he's still on steroids, but with 30% lung capacity and lung age of 126 years the doctor's not in much doubt. He's also suffered with anxiety/depression for many years. As his carer I'll be grateful for any help/support I can get.

To start with, four days in he's finding it difficult to operate inhalers, partly due perhaps to his shaky hands... is this common, will it come, or should I encourage him to seek advice now?

[shadow4me]

How does the doctor know what lung capacity he has without spirometry xx

[O2Trees in reply to shadow4me]

Yes, just what I was thinking shadow4me.

[O2Trees]

Sorry to hear about your husband Pippers. There are different delivery methods for medication and you should both talk to your husband's GP. Try not to get too worried by the 126 year old lung thing - our lead respiratory nurse told me some years ago not to take notice of this, that it was a bit sensationalist. Mine is the same - supposedly - and Im still going strong. You should also talk to the GP about the anxiety and depression, very common with copd.

[Pippers in reply to O2Trees]

Thank you all for responding. He had a peak-flo test; maybe a compromise as spirometry was nine weeks away, I don't know.

The anxiety/depression goes back forty years I'm afraid. Perhaps it was thought necessary to prompt him to stop smoking... if so it's worked so far. Forgot to say that the bronchodilator is used with a spacer. Problem seems to be breathing in deeply enough to activate automatic release on the reliever then continuing to breathe in and hold, so yes, I'll check out alternatives. Cheers.

[Bjayr123]

hi pipers i have 28% lung capacity and i still go work full time but its just a number as for his puffers does he have an areo chamber which makes it easier for him to take them. if not ask the doctor for one i use one as it helps me get my breathing back to some sort of normality hope this helps

[Pippers in reply to Bjayr123]

Thanks a lot Bjayr 123, yes he does have a spacer for the manually operated bronchodilator; however the reliever, which he should carry with him, is activated automatically by taking a deep breath; this is where he's struggling as he can't breathe in deeply enough to active it.

An alternative manual reliever prescribed by a second respiratory nurse turns out to be the same one that was replaced by the automatic. . plenty of puffers, just not enough puff! At present he's persevering with the automatic, but were he to need it when out of the house it would be a problem. All very early days yet and a long way to go before we really understand what's going on, but this forum is proving very helpful. Thank you for your time.

[Bjayr123]

hope all goes well for you both