Do you have problems with walking. Can you walk.?
I looking for people with Copd smokin... - Lung Conditions C...
I looking for people with Copd smoking, can't walk, problems with walking
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Sandrute2
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56 Replies
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Hello Samdrute2You have posted here a few times and I am sorry that there have been few responses.
I think you are struggling with English. The trouble is that we are finding it difficult to understand your queries.
Could you get someone to help you rephrase your posts?
All the best
K
Thank you. I am looking for people who smoked before and smoking damaged their lungs. And now they have problems with walking or can" t walk. Even young people.
There are a lot of members here who have smoked in the past and as a result have lung damage. What is it that stops you walking? Is it because you get breathless? The usual advice about exercise for those wuth COPD is to try to keep up a routine of walking gently. Getting breathless is fine but you need to have some professional guidance about how to gauge when you reach your limit.
We have a programme called Pulmonary Rehabilitation which is organised by physiotherapists. A huge number of members here swear by it.
Can you access that?
K
The doctors still did not diagnose. I visited them many times. They made tests. I told them I feel weak when walking. I would like to read about pulmonary rehabilitation.
If the tests for COPD (Spirometry for instance) are normal then there may be another cause for the weakness you experienced when you walk. Where are you?K
I am making a stab in the dark. I used to be a heavy smoker, and yes have very severe COPD amongst other chronic morbidities, all a result of smoking. One of them being Peripheral Arterial Disease (PAD).
I have a restricted blood supply below the waist as a result. This makes my legs feel as if they are made of lead, after walking a short distance I get terrible muscle pains, a kind of cramp, so bad that I have to stop walking and rest for a while. The pain is from the waste product from the muscles, produced from burning glucose to make energy, this waste product is normally flushed away in the blood stream, which is now restricted, so it collects.
Exercise, pushing past the point of pain can help and reduce the frequency of the cramps. It is always my legs that stop me rather than my breathing. I have been offered stents to help increase the blood flow, but the procedure can go very wrong resulting in amputation so I have declined the procedure.
It can also affect your heart, so if what is described is applicable then you must see a doctor.
Here is a couple of links to articles:
stanfordhealthcare.org/medi...
webmd.com/heart-disease/int...
How many years did you smoke. Did you inhaled smoke to lungs.
Regretfully I smoked for 50 years and inhaled.
Is possible that you did not inhaled the smoke every time. I did it every time. If you inhale the smoke it enters to lungs. And smoke goes out from nose. I think. Some people say I inhale the smoke but when I see how they smoke I say no.
Is possible that you did not Inale the smoke to your lungs every time. And is possible that your lungs are not very damaged.
I definitely inhaled. My lung lungs are in a sorry state I have seen my CT scans, my lung function was down to 28% when last measured 2 years ago. I also have lung cancer, in remission.
I think is good that you don"t have shortness of breath. It is possible thay you did not breath the smoke to lungs as I did every time.
But I do have shortness of breath and have done for 5 years. I puff and pant like a steam train. My oxygen sats are at 92% sitting down and on the maximum inhalers plus 70 pills a week.
How low can your sats get? Mine have been around 76 doing minor exertion.
A trip upstairs to the bathroom and back will take it down to 88/90. With mile walk it is naughty, can go down to 82, my pulse is more concerning running at around 140 and blood pressure at 160/90, the doctors just say "what else can you expect given your health". I have still not been offered ambulatory oxygen, because my sats actually recover very quickly.
I’m now taking a solid 3 minutes to recover sats to 92. May I ask how quickly you recover?
Morning, my levels weren’t as bad as yours but i was given ambulatory oxygen which is a massive help.I would ask again if i were you!
Stay safe..
When you say stats, are you referring to oxygen levels, if you are talking about oxygen levels, I have read they shouldn't go below 90 on a regular basis, if yours are regularly at 76 you need to speak to your GP or consultant pretty quickly.
I have a friend. A male who is close to 50. He is always saying his legs feel so heavy. He is a smoker. He refuses to have it checked out.
Give him those links, it may just help him to reconsider. I wish I had known before all my troubles came to a head.
I can only walk few steps n the stop
Do hope your ok 👍🏻 yes smoking will make you very ill 🤒 see or telephone 📞 a doctor 👨⚕️ if you can not breathe well when you walk 🚶♀️ as you need help and good medicine. Do hope you find help and look after yourself ☕️💤😊
Hi, Sandrute2. I have COPD from smoke and soot inhalation. When I first joined here I had problems walking far. I got very breathless. I also have damaged muscles in my right leg which make the lower leg feel dead after I have walked for a while.I improved this over time by going for a walk every day, and slowly increasing how far I walked and how fast I walked over time. I used a pedometer to help me, but you can get apps for a phone to count your steps too.
When I first started, I only walked about 1500 steps to 2500 steps a day, mainly pottering about the house. That was in 2015. Over three years I increased my steps to 10,000 a day, and I now manage that distance regularly.
If it is a struggle to walk at first because your muscles are weak, try doing some seated exercises where you swing your arms and lift your legs while your body is supported by a chair. Do a few at first, but several times during the day. That will build up your muscles and help your heart fitness improve enough to start walking more outside.
Do let us know how you get on.
Oh, yes, and if you live in an area with a lot of smoke or smog in the air, that will make things harder for you. So do let us know if you live in a city, a town, a village, or the country.
Thank you for reply. I live in small town like village. Does cigatette smoke damaged your lungs or other smoke. I walked long distances before but I had big pain in my body.
Do you still smoke ? cigarette smoke, or any other type of smoke going into your lungs will cause damage, and the older you are the worse it will be, if you are relatively young and stop smoking you can reverse the damage, provided you can get good regular exercise 3/4 times per week, and a good healthy diet, to help maintain a good body weight.
No I don't smoke now. But I smoked every day 20years. And every time inhaling smoke. The damage is big I feel. The doctors still did not diagnosed Copd. The keep telling me that it is anxiety. And I have big problems with walking. Feel weak. I thought before it is anxiety why I feel iike this. And smoked. And now I know that it is smoking
Why do you think you have C.O.P.D is there a particular reason, why do the doctor's think you don't ? have you had any tests done, have you had a CT scan on your lungs, for sure anxiety or stress can cause breathlessness, but you need a proper diagnosis if you haven't already been tested, other things cause breathlessness like asthma or bronchiectasis, but it's very important you have proper tests to see what is causing your breathing problems, the sooner you get this done the sooner you can get the appropriate treatment, and start feeling better. I was diagnosed with bronchiectasis early last year, before I was diagnosed I had been getting breathlessness for months not knowing what was wrong, I wasn't getting any treatment and was getting very anxious and stressed which obviously made me worse, now I know what's wrong with me I am getting the correct treatment, and I am so much better with managing the bronchiectasis. So I would urge you to go back to your GP and ask for a CT scan, and to speak to a respiratory consultant, because it's only a respiratory consultant who will know exactly what your diagnosis is.
I smoked 20 years every day and it damged my lung I feel. I have spirometry test and they told me its normal. I had x ray too. I asked ct scan and did not get. One time I went to doctor and they told me to go out and not come back. I visited again and say I have problems with walking. And doctor told me now I see your walking is normal. But they dont see me how I walk longer distance. I dont think that its anxiety. I recently could not walk around the building. Even my family dont believe I have lung problems. They only listen what doctor say that it is anxiety.
Dear Sandrute2, please try the suggestions I posted earlier and build up your walking again. Try to stop thinking this is what I used to do but I can't do it now so I must be ill. Just start with what you can manage and then build up on that, doing a bit more every few days.Because of leg operations, I have had to learn to walk again several times in my life, so I know it's possible to go from not being able to walk a few steps without help, to walking 5 miles easily now. But it was important to work on my attitude too, to say, I CAN do this. I have a friend who had the same operation as me and she has barely walked since because she let her beliefs defeat her.
Try to be a hero today.
How do you mean have problems walking if you mean do you struggle for breath the answer is yesI have copd but i think we all suffer breathing probs
This really cold weather kills me but ive been isolating for abt 7 weeks
i get out of breath indoors
wish you well care
One person suffer small breathing problems other big. I thought it is anxiety only. I did not understand that is shortness of breath. And I continued to smoke.
Ok i have given up smoking for 12 months now it has helped a bit but the coughing and breathing probs persist
I dont have cough and never had. The biggest problem is walking and I could not walk. And I don"t know how long will I walk. Sometimes I am very tired. When I go to walk I think about will I return home or die on the street.
I believe many of us who smoked and ended up with copd have had problems with breathing. Pulmonary rehabilitation is a way to get help. Your local surgery’s copd nurse will help. When I was first diagnosed I could not walk up a flight of stairs. But slow and steady exercise helps with the breathing.
Yes. My breathing not so good as I haven’t been able to get to a gym for a year now. I started on a treadmill by walking fir a minute. Next day 2mins and so on. Just keep trying to do a small amount each day.
Well Sandrute2 no simple answer to your post. Put possibly some facts to help you decide what to do next. Shortness of breath or walking difficulties can have many causes other than lung disease. Anxiety can affect your breathing too. COPD does not always make your legs tired but does make bending difficult as that reduces your breathing . Most of us have learn't ways to walk slower to reduce stress on the lungs. Of course some of us including myself have walking difficulties due to other health conditions which makes the strain on our COPD worse. Another problem is with COPD if you have the cough symptom many activities effect that and make it worse, the same with asthma. persistant anxiety is an illness that may need medical advice too. If you are not sure about your doctors conclusion then maybe its a second opinion you require. Do you take an inhaler at all ? because many people with anxiety breathlessness , panic attacks and what some of us call nervous asthma do use inhalers. If a diagnosis is most important to you then you would probably need a second opinion or an independent medical. Even people who are seriously ill often still walk but not necessarily normal walking, or distances. Well people get leg pain if they overdo it too. There is a big difference between low stamina causing aches and long term ongoing pain from muscles or joints. Have you tried keeping a diary of how your walking is effected or your breathing? I could go on for ever but it won't solve your issue, you must decide for yourself if you require a second opinion ect or treatment for the anxiety the doctor says it is .Best Wishes
Thank you very much
You are very welcome , I forgot to say I have diagnosed COPD , a long history of Asthma in my family and I have walking difficulties mainly caused by arthritis. I did use to smoke, but stopped in 2006.
I have COPD I can walk but I can't walk far without becoming breathless particularly uphill.
Do you feel a fear when you become breathless.
I do become a bit anxious at times then I tend to concentrate on breathing out fully. Have you been diagnosed with COPD?
No stll not. But I have big problems. I made tests X ray and spirometry. And doctors still did not found it. I think I dont know why. But I feel that my lungs very bad. I told doctor that for me is hard to walk. She told that people with lung condition is not hard to walk. I feel that very big shortness of breath.
I don't have any problems with my legs, it's just the breathlessness that slows me down. I hope you can find a diagnosis soon. Have you ever been a smoker? What was the result of your spirometry?
I made spirometry without bronchodilator. They told me that it did not reach something. I think that I dont knoemw how to explain to doctor. I smoked 20 years every day and inhaled smoke every time to lungs. And I dont think that after smoking so many years my lung ok.And were days that I could not walk. Was with very bad breathing. And they teling me that it is anxiety. I now looking for private doctor.
Maybe you should emphasise breathlessness on exertion. Not all smokers get COPD but lots of people with COPD have been smokers. Sorry you feel you have to find another Dr. Do you have a lot of chest infections?
When I have to walk I worry. I feel something not good is happening. Some days could not walk was very weak. I dont have infection. I just have too much saliva 4 days. It was too much I dont think is normal.
I see that you have had lots of replies with lots of information, far more than I can offer. I hope a new Dr can get to the bottom of this for you. In the meantime try to relax, I know that is easier said than done. Play some calming music perhaps. Good luck
Could you please tell me do you have copd of smoking and how many years you smoked. Thank you very much
Hi Sandrute
I have been asthmatic since 25, (unsure why) 71 now and have been a lifelong cyclist, competitive till 45.
Besides always cycling to my max level, I have always done breath holding.
Sit down first - then see how long you can hold your breath - I do this 10 times a day and can easily do a minute, then it's a challenge.
My peak flow now is 550, down from my peak of 680
I've been on Seretide since 40.
All the best!
Alps
Sandrute2• in reply to
Thank you very much
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