Asthma and emphysima : Newly diagnosed... - Lung Conditions C...

Lung Conditions Community Forum

55,609 members • 66,308 posts

Asthma and emphysima

•

5 years ago•1 Reply

Newly diagnosed scared as I read it is a progressive disease. What to expect

Read more about...

Asthma

The ability to reply to this post has been turned off.

1 Reply

•

Gazza015 years ago

Hi there. I too have recently been found to have emphysema. I'm 55 and it was found on a ct scan which was for something else. First thing to say is if you are a smoker you need to stop right now, no question. Emphysema is lung damage caused by smoking and means your lung function exchanging gas and oxygen wont be as good as it should be. If you stop then the damage will stop as far as ive been told..

As for the progressive side of things that i think is more about lung function gradually reducing, which it does for everyone. The trouble is that may you have reached a stage

where you are feeling this with shortness of breath etc. So where someone who has never smoked also loses lung function everyday they wont notice it as smokers use up there lung function twice as quick. I have read and have been told by GP's and asthma nurses that emphysema is present with most people who have smoked for any length of time. it basically means structural changes in the lungs. It depends how its affecting you on a daily basis. Make sure you exercise daily, i think something that makes you breath deeply and makes your lungs work is preffered to just ambling along on a gentle walk. I cant tell you how petrified i was when i was told and that carried on for months. Worse thing you can do is search the internet. It was weird when looking on the internet all it showed was a death, but my gp was not worried at all and said as long as you stop smoking and take some exercise you'll be fine. I guess we'll see which is true as time goes by. One thing to remember though. many people on forums are there because they are having a bad time.

there are many more that are living normal lives and will continue to do so. You may be surprised as time passes at how many people in your own area have copd, and you would never guess. There are also millions of people with copd that are being treated for asthma.

on that note have you had spirometry yet. even though i have some emphysema it was also found that i have adult onset asthma so many of my symptoms are asthmatic. Rather than searching the internet for answers and finding only dread, talk to one of the nurses on BLF. they will hopefully put your mind at rest. And remember if you are still smoking you have to stop. Yo must also keep away from second hand smoke. no smoking in the house by anyone else either, even if you have to fall out with people over it. I still crave cigarettes most days but it's just out of the question now. 10 months later the cravings are still there but so weak that they are easy to ignore. Be careful where you get your info from. it's always doom and gloom and a lot of it is put out there by people offering help and cures. We will both struggle as the years progress, i think that's so do what you can to keep what you've got left of your lung function at its best. You can only do what you can do. There are lots of things in the pipeline for this now, as copd is being recognised as one of the worlds major health problems. I had a friend die of lung cancer just 9 days after diagnosis. all he had was a cough, makes you think. Get your flu and pneumonia jabs and avoid people with coughs and cold like it's the plague. Since i found out and went through a month or two or terror, i have found four people who i often talk to in the street have the same thing and have done for years. they take their inhalers and carry on. Remember to that anxiety has a big affect on breathing. You'll live!