new here and trying to understand gas transfer numbers

[positiveangel]

Hi My name is Christine, i am 56 years old, i was diagnosed with emphysema a year ago, i just had my last lung function test, and the dr said my gas transfer has dropped from 49% to 46%, what does this mean? i have trouble just walking a small distance, very depressed at the moment, i have also lost 5 people in the last 12 months my mum and dad and 3 close friends, so i dont think this is helping with my health, i dont even know what stage i am at my dr says severe, whatever that means,, but just wanted to introduce myself and i will read through some of the posts and hoipe to learn some more

[sassy59]

Welcome to you Christine, you’ve certainly been through a lot. I hope someone can help you with the numbers. Take care xxxxx

[positiveangel in reply to sassy59]

thank you so much sassy and thank you for the welcome

[Lilian226]

Welcome Christine. I don't know anything about gas transfers but someone on the forum will. So sorry for your losses, no wonder you're feeling depressed. You will get lots of help here. Lilian xxxxx

[positiveangel in reply to Lilian226]

thank you so much Lilian for your welcome xx

[camping-girl]

Hello Christine, unfortunately I don't know anything about gas transfer either, I know about FEV levels & the stages. So sorry for your losses, you've been through so much in the past year Maybe make another appointment with the GP (easier said than done I know) or the chest clinic at your Gp's Practice and ask them to explain, .take care

xxx

[positiveangel in reply to camping-girl]

thank you camping-girl, i am definitly going to ask some more questions now i know what to ask

[skischool]

Christine, welcome,a brief non scientific answer to your question is that when you have emphysema,which is basically damage to the alveoli in your lungs where transfers of oxygen and carbon dioxide take place the transfer of these gases become more difficult and less oxygen gets into your body.your transfer rate at 46% is not good but to use me as an example i am around the low 20's % and i still manage to lead a fairly active life all be it with the use of ambulatory oxygen on walking.i hope that gives you a little reassurance.............best wishes Ski's and Scruffy cat

[O2Trees in reply to skischool]

Hi Skis, isn't your low 20s figure your fev1? That's the figure normally used to stage your copd.

So Christine, in my experience it's unusual for GPs to give you a figure for gas exchange. Usually what they tell you is the result of your FEV1, which means forced expiratory volume in one second, i.e. the big blow you are asked to do at the start of your test. I may be way off here, in which case I apologise.

You say you don't know what stage you are at and you would need to know your FEV1 result for this. So a percentage fev1 result between 50%-30% indicates severe (stage 3). And an fev1 below 30% is very severe (stage 4). I always ask the technician for a copy of the results. You could phone your doctor or respiratory nurse and ask for this though some are less helpful than others but you are actually entitled to a copy of these results. Then it might well help you to call up the BLF helpline on 03000 300 555 office hours and they will talk it all through with you (and if I'm wrong about anything you've said, they will put you right).

The reason the gas transfer measurement isn't used to give you the stage of your condition is that gas transfer varies enormously across the four stages. Some people who are mild (stage 1) have poor gas transfer and have to use supplementary oxygen, while not everyone at Stage 4 (very severe) needs it so this could never be a consistent way of measuring severity.

Im so sorry to hear about the people you have lost. Grief can have a terrible effect on our health. If no-one has mentioned it, I would advise you to ask your doctor for a referral to pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) which is a course of exercise and education for people with various lung conditions, though most do tend to have copd/emphysema. Not only do you get information and exercise, which is evidence based to improve your functioning (i.e. you will be able to walk a lot further than you do now plus other improvements in functioning) and you will meet others with the same condition which can help you feel less isolated and depressed.

I was diagnosed in 2000 at 46% fev1. Now 18 years later despite being down to 32% I am still going strong with the help of ambulatory oxygen. Do come on here with any questions you have Christine - we are all stronger together. Take care

Ps: in case you've been reading all my edits, I think this is it It took me a while to get my thoughts clear but other members may well come on with something more helpful.

[skischool in reply to O2Trees]

jean, yes you are quite correct,although i do know the difference,my dclo is actually 30% so the two figures are not to far distanced from each other having an fev1 of 22% i was just trying to advise Christine of the basic problems that Emphysema creates with our gas exchanges.........love skis and scruffs

[O2Trees in reply to skischool]

Interesting Skis - mine are different. On my last lung function test my dlco was 68% while my fev1 was 32%. Offset's link to gas exchange article is useful.

[skischool in reply to O2Trees]

Jean,i think i have an almost pure Emphysema without any inflamatory conditions,hence all the damage is in the Aveoli and why there is such a correlation with my Fev 1 figures.as you say we are all different and others may transfer much better.makes for an interesting world :)....skis and scruffs

[positiveangel in reply to O2Trees]

thank you so much 02Trees, i will definitly ask my my gp next week, as i have a appointment, and he is amazing, so now i will know what sort of questions to ask, and also ask about pulmonary rehabilitatiin, which the doctor has never said this to me before, i know i am a bad patient because i smoke, but i fully intended giving up as soon as they told me my diagnosis, then i had mum die within a few weeks then dad and so forth, its made it really hard, and thank you for replying

[positiveangel in reply to skischool]

thank you for explaining to me, i get puffed out just walking a short distance, but i think thats because of my heart condition on top of it all, at least i know a little bit more now thank you

[skischool in reply to positiveangel]

one of the wonders of the site is that we can all pool information and help each other Christine........take care and best wishes Skis and Scruffs x

[positiveangel in reply to skischool]

thank you skischool for your answer, its all so confusing, but i am sure i will slowly learn

[Lmax]

Hi Christine - like you I am fairly new to this site, but I have found everyone really helpful and caring and very positive in their responses to my own situation and I'm sure you will too. Best wishes..

[positiveangel in reply to Lmax]

welcome to you too then Lmax, yes everyone seems lovely

[Caspiana]

Hello Christine and welcome to the forum. I'm sorry about your losses. That's an awful lot to go through.

Take good care.

Cas xx 🌹

[positiveangel in reply to Caspiana]

thank you so much for your welcome and your kind words Caspiana

[Shirleyj]

Welcome christine, you will pick up lots of advice and help on this site x

[positiveangel in reply to Shirleyj]

thank you Shirley for your welcome xx

[CELAT06]

Hi Christine, welcome to this wonderful, caring site. I’m afraid I don’t know anything about gas exchange, it’s never been mentioned to me, but plenty of other people will, I’m sure. It may be an idea to see your doctor or specialist again and ask them to clarify it for you. There’s no wonder you’re feeling depressed with all you’ve gone through, I hope that things will get easier for you soon. Take care X

[positiveangel in reply to CELAT06]

thank you CELATO6, for your welcome, yes seeing my gp next week to see if he can put me on better antidepressants, just not coping with everything at the moment

[Dedalus]

Hello and welcome Christine. I am so sorry for your recent losses. Hope you got the answer(s) you need Christine. This is a great forum and you will find a lot of support, as well as answers to your queries x

[positiveangel in reply to Dedalus]

thank you for your welcome Dedalus

[Offcut]

msdmanuals.com/en-gb/home/l...

Might explain it a bit more.

Be Well

[O2Trees in reply to Offcut]

Good explanation Offcut

[Offcut in reply to O2Trees]

It did not explain it in docterygook but normal human language.

[positiveangel in reply to Offcut]

thank you Offcut, i will read this

[mskpjb]

Hi Christine and welcome to the club. You're bound to be feeling a bit low after the losses you've experienced. I hope you're soon feeling brighter. Take care, Sheila xx

[positiveangel in reply to mskpjb]

thank you Sheila

[positiveangel]

Thank you so much to all you lovely people for being so warm, welcoming ND CARING, i REALLY APPRECIATE ALL YOUR ANSWERS AND RESPONSES XXX

[positiveangel in reply to positiveangel]

sorry hit the caps button

[Hidden]

Kittiecat here Bless not sure what gas exchanges means but I'm severe I'm 58 makes me stage 3 empyhsemic haven' seen my consultant since year get an appointment with doctor get him to explain wish u well hun

[Hidden]

Hi Christine,

I am the same age as you, Christine, and i have just been diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer.My breathing is very poor now, and I'm planning to get a stair lift as I haven't been able to climb up the stairs this last week.I don't know what the gas transfer is? However I bought a pulse oximeter which gives me the oxygen levels in the blood. I think a healthy reading is 95_100. I was told mine should not go below 92. However, it doesn't go above that and after a short walk from lounge to ki tchen, it drops to 80/ 82.

Can anyone knowledgeable about these readings please advise us if you are able to.?

Thank you, Clare

[Johdol in reply to Hidden]

Yes I can. I was told I have copd and heaven knows what else!!!!! For quite a while I couldn’t walk from my bedroom to my bathroom without hugging and puffing badly I am 77 the pulmonologist only one of 4 doctors ran tests he scheduled a sleep apnea test and inhaler twice a day with rescue inhaler as well I was told I have sleep apnea and was put on a machine by the way I take prednisone am anemic my blood oxygen was below 90 take bp pills fluid pills and so on a week after sleeping with cpap machine my breathing upon exertion was close to normal blood oxygen level 94-97 I do suck on oxygen a few times a day right now I feel like a new woman I hope it continues good luck

[gaffers]

There seems to be a great deal of confusion here concerning fev1 etc.

Fev is a mesure of obstruction and elasticity of the lungs and is useful in monitoring the progression of most forms of copd.

BUT if you have pure emphysema there is virtually no obstruction to measure, and so fev 1 becomes meaningless, it is for this reason that in cases of pure emphysema dlco or gas exchange is used, this is a measure of how much oxygen is extracted on inhalation and how much carbon dioxide is exhaled, this is a much more accurate measurement than fev1 but usually can only be done at the hospital (doctors surgery's are not equipped for it.)

Personally my gas exchange is at 39% my diagnoses of severe emphysema is confirmed by my ct scan, and yet my fev1 is at 110% expected i.e. little or no obstruction, yes i get s.o.b. but in general my health is good the only real downside is that my condition is monitored by my doctors surgery who are not able to measure if my condition is deteriorating since spirometry in my case is almost pointless.

There are some who will find it difficult to believe but yes it really is possible to have a perfect fev1 score and still have severe emphysema