Hi I was first diagnosed with COPD 9 years ago and it has been stable in all that time. FEV1 always between 74 and 78. Yesterday at my annual check up and spirometery test my FEV1 was 60, this is a significant drop in 12 months. However my GP offered no possible explanation but has given me a letter to take to my local hospital for an X-Ray. I stopped smoking 12 years but having a X-Ray still scares the hell out of me. Didn't sleep a wink last night.
I should add that I have had no exacerbations in the last 12months, no infections, not even a bad cold. My breathing hasn't changed I can walk several miles at a reasonable pace without getting breathless , unless going uphill but even then not enough to make me stop and rest.
Has anyone had a similar experience? Your thoughts would be very welcome.
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Green68
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Hello green68. If i were you i would go by how you feel and not the test results. You sound really well, if its playing on your mind get your doc to explain the results. I would keep doing whatever it is thats keeping you well, and enjoy your good health. Love burs xxxx
Thank you Burs, my GP isn't the best communicator and I made the cardinal mistake of looking for possible answers online, I should have know better everything pointed to the worse possible cause.
We all use dr google lol, and scare ourselves silly. Its taken me a long time and a lot of anxiety to realise that i know my body best and if i feel well then i am well !! Love burs xxxx
Thank you the information is very interesting. I was diagnosed by my GP and have never been referred to a specialist. Following a bout of pneumonia 9 years ago, which was slow to clear I had an X-ray, the results where sent to my GP who even before I had a spirometery diagnosed COPD, they prescribed both Salamol and Spiriva inhalers, neither of which I have ever had to use. Several members of my family are asthmatic! Again thank you
Hello Green68, your story sounds familiar. I am diagnosed as COPD by a top professor at Glenfeild Hospital.Following numerous tests but like yourself I come from an asthmatic family and recall my mum having a similar cough to mine but never smoked in her life was diagnosed as asthmatic. Xrays don't normally confirm COPD but can confirm if some other lung condition is present. Don't worry it is usually done to reassure you that things are no worse.
I don't mean to sound horrible but do you know how much Spiriva costs the NHS? well its over £50.....and the other medication is also expensive. If you are not going to take the medication you were given DON'T collect your prescription. (end of rant!)
I don't, had only one prescription for spriva when first diagnosed 9 years ago (it expired) as I didn't feel that I needed it and definitely didn't want to take something I don't need I have never asked for another prescription. As for salbutamol I have had probably 3 units in that time but only because my GP insisted I have on hand if I do ever need. As for the cost, as a ex NHS employee I am fully aware of the cost of unused prescription medicines and do not condone anyone taking/hoarding what they don't need.
Interesting article and very true, I often wonder how close to correct diagnosis lung conditions are as some have similar symptoms . I am supposed to be mild COPD but still prescribed three inhalers, and like Green 68 come from an asthmatic family, but I was given the tests and saw a top professor at Glenfield for diagnosis reassessing patients could result in changes and possible legal consequences don't you think. Although some patients would be pleased to get a correct diagnosis. Appologies to Green68 for posting comments to you via is post.
You should go, better to know and get help ASAP than leave it to get worse. What shook me was I wasn't expecting it, been absolutely fine no exacerbations, been feeling fitter than I have for a while which I still cannot get my head around. You'll be fine, keep us informed
Thank you Olivera for your reply I try to be positive but the result was so unexpected that it knocked me for 6. The irony is that I stopped smoking 12 years ago but was only diagnosed with COPD 9 years ago, which again came as a shock. I think part of the problem is that last year I was made redundant and as a result have been stressed but also less active than previously, I'm sure this has played a part in the changes to my FEV results. Thank you for your support it is much appreciated
Both my consultant and our respiratory nurse say that they look at the person not the numbers. They say that some people who should be dead according to the numbers are out jogging every day!!😀I was told this after a dip in my own results a year ago.By my October check up they had improved again.You sound fine to me!
Hi Green68. Is it possible to get retested? It does sound strange. I was tested at GP surgery in February and then had lung function test done with specialist in hospital this month. There was a 9% difference in the results in just 4 weeks. The specialist test at hospital gave the higher percentage. It’s worth a thought ..
Thank you for your reply and for the suggestion, at my GP practice the spirometery is done by a practice nurse, I had to wait over 3 weeks for an appointment this time despite COPD being a "priority" but I will try to contact them Monday, thanks again
I thought that's what was said but not now absolutely sure, the practice nurse who did the test looked "surprised" by the result, showed me some graphs and figures on her PC. She spoke to the GP after I left, I was phoned to say I needed to go in to pick up a x-ray request letter signed by the GP. I have to phone our local hospital radiology dept. for an appointment which I'll do Monday
BLIMEY GREEN68 , ! YOU REALLY HAV'NT GOT ANYTHING TO BE SCARED ABOUT ! , THESE DAM FIGURES RAISING THEIR UGLY HEADS AGAIN , LIKE THOSE RIDICULOUS " STAGES" WE HEAR SO MUCH ABOUT FROM CONTRIBUTORS , WHICH REALLY ARE JUST A MATTER OF OPINION AND THEREFORE = MEANINGLESS - ITS HOW YOU FEEL THATS IMPORTANT , COPD IS NOT A DEATH SENTENCE , AND I SAY THAT ,NOT BEING ABLE TO DO MORE THAN HALF WHAT YOU CAN DO ! , I'VE HAD IT FOR ABOUT ELEVEN YEARS NOW - SLOWS ME DOWN ABIT , THE MUCUS PRODUCTION DRIVES ME NUTS AT TIMES , OK , SO DOES GETTING OLD !!!! ARE WE GOING TO HAVE SILLY THEORETICAL FIGURES TO JUSTIFY THAT, AND WHICH SCARES THE HELL OUT OF SOME PEOPLE .... !!! ....TO HELL WITH THEM I SAY ! , I WENT TO AN EXHAUSTIVE " TEST " SESSION SOME TIME AGO AT A FAMOUS LONDON HOSPITAL , EVEN TO THE POINT OF BEING SHUT IN A CABINET WHILST AIR WAS BEING PUMPED IN AND TAKEN AWAY ETC - LEAVING ME SPLUTTERING SOMEWHAT ETC ETC !! ...I FELT LIKE FRANKENSTEIN' S MONSTER = FIT TO BE BURIED ! .... AND THE RESULT OF ALL THIS =. A HUGE COMPUTER PRINT OUT OF HUNDREDS OF FIGURES ETC WHICH MY CONSULTANT HAD TO INTERPRET . WHEN I WENT TO SEE HIM AFTER ALL THIS , A WEEK LATER, I HAD BUT QUESTION TO ASK .................=..................." AM I STILL ALIVE ? " !! , AND HE REPLIED = YES, VERY MUCH SO " . SO GREEN 68, TO HELL WITH THOSE DAM STATISTICS , AND ENJOY LIFE .....- LISTEN YOUR BODY - IT WILL TELL YOU ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW - NOW I'VE GOT TO PUFF MY WAY TO THE BOG !!!= GOOD LUCK - " YOU HAVE NOTHING TO FEAR , BUT FEAR ITSELF " ......
Thank you, not so much the numbers that freaked me out but the need for a chest x-ray because as it was said to me they "need to know what's going on inside my lungs" but I will take advise from yourself and everyone else here and will keep telling myself to listen to my own body. Thank you
Thank you RedSox for your support, I do agree about keeping a positive attitude. However I think that a lot of people have no one to talk to and over time even the smallest worry becomes all consuming and this forum provides the only outlet some have for those worries and fears. I think life in general in this country (UK) is becoming more gloomier for a lot of people, but let's not go there. On the upside the chest x-ray I had showed no change since the last one I had in 2012, I am starting to wonder just how accurate the machine at my GP's is and wether or not it is regularly and properly calibrated. Again thank you for your words of support.
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