MY PFT RESULTS FROM 2015 TO 20212

[DENNISAMERICA]

JUST WANTED AN OPINION AS TO MY SPIROMETRY RESULTS WHICH SOME ARE JUST THE BASIC TESTS AND SOME ARE TOTAL WITH LUNG VOLUME RESULTS... I am not sure what stage copd i am but i am totally fatigued every day and hack up alot of mucus 24 /7... any opinions please..... i do have also a peek flow device and usually i blow between 425 and 505 ... i am 60 years old still smoking for the past 46 years but still trying to quit

[Badbessie]

I smoked for roughly the same amount of time before giving up. Like you I had been trying to give up for a while. Sadly what finally stopped me was a dose of bilateral pneumonia and sepsis which made my lung function far worse. I cannot comment on your figures as looking in the past is no prediction of what will happen in the future especially if you carry on smoking. In all honesty until you stop smoking and make some basic lifestyle changes like starting to exercise more figures mean nothing as one pulmonary infection can change everything. Personally I would recommend you put everything into giving up smoking which I am sure in your own mind you know needs to be done.

[Hidden]

I’m not medically qualified in the slightest, but I’m confident in saying your figures are not typical for a diagnosis of COPD. The conditions that make up COPD are obstructive conditions, to have them you have to have obstruction on spirometry as indicated by the fev1/fvc ratio. The cut off varies very slightly with age, but an obstructive ratio would generally be considered to be in the region of anything less than 0.7 - 0.75 or 70 to 75%. However, unlike fev1 and fvc where higher is better, a higher ratio can also indicate an underlying problem, and your ratios would appear to be on the high side from my own understanding. It can also be falsely elevated as a result of poor technique, though, specifically not exhaling to the end of the natural breath, in which case your other figures would also potentially not be reliable. Either way, I would suggest that you speak to a medical professional, as I think this needs exploring: you do have abnormal spirometry, and some of it is suggestive of having obstruction, but the absence of a reduced ratio means it’s not the normal spirometry you would expect to see in someone with COPD. Out of interest, what medication are you on, and do you find it helps? Have you ever been seen by a respiratory specialist? Have you had a CT scan in recent years?

Stopping smoking is really difficult, but whatever your diagnosis or staging of underlying disease, it is the single biggest thing you can do to help yourself. I know you know this, but it might be worth exploring the options for support again. The only way I managed was via vaping: I’m not endorsing this as a method to quit for someone with an existing lung problem, but it is broadly supported by the NHS, and if the alternative is to continue smoking, then it may be worth considering if you haven’t already. I’ve been cigarette free for 7 years, nicotine free for 6, and vape free for 5 and a half.

[Badbessie in reply to Hidden]

Definitely agree with how difficult stopping is. Vaping is the method I used and them quit that.

[Katinka46 in reply to Hidden]

Thanks for the explanation. I was puzzled and curious as the FVC is less than predicted, and gas exchange down. Kx

[DENNISAMERICA in reply to Hidden]

i get a ct scan every year since 2015 and it shows mild centralobular and paraseptal empysema... and i have albuterol inhaler as needed but i rarely use it...... the constant coughing and globby mucuas and extreme fatigue is my biggest cincern and symptoms

[Hidden in reply to DENNISAMERICA]

I’m going to maintain that you need to speak to the docs. Some of your figures firmly fit with your existing diagnosis, but to the best of my understanding, the consistently high fev1/fvc ratio doesn’t fit with emphysema of any description, so either there’s something else that perhaps needs addressing, or your numbers are squiff due to technique or some other non-lung reason. I’d hope if that was the case, though, that someone would have picked up on it by now and sorted it out, not just let you continue doing the same thing for years. At the very least, in your shoes I would definitely want someone to explain to me why my spirometry results don’t show an obstructed ratio when currently diagnosed with a condition that only causes obstruction. As I said, I’m not medically qualified, but there’s something here that just doesn’t seem to add up, and whilst it may well be completely unrelated, given that you’re struggling with your symptoms, I think it would be sensible to have that conversation with someone qualified.

If it turns out I’m completely wrong and they say those figures are normal with your emphysema, I’m being very genuine when I say please msg me and let me know: knowledge is power, and I’d hate to continue responding to others with an incomplete or incorrect understanding.

[DENNISAMERICA in reply to Hidden]

Thank you for your responses... my Lung doctor bacically said that my numbers are going down since 2015 and that i am now moderate copd.. He also said I have emphysema and chronic bronchitis... What bothers me most as i do not get to our of breathe is this daily crazy fatigue and the coughing mucus attacks... He didnt say much about the ration being high...

[Ergendl]

Before I gave up smoking, I stopped smoking until lunchtime and then smoked as much as I wanted. When I was comfortable with that, I stopped until 6pm and the news. When I was comfortable with that I named the date and gave up completely. I also did a lot of work looking at my favourite times to smoke, and planned to do different things. For instance, I loved to have a cig with a cup of coffee after a meal, so I got up and did the washing up instead, and changed to drinking tea. It worked for me where stopping dead didn't (and there were no vapes or nicotine patches then either).

[MoyB in reply to Ergendl]

I've never been a smoker but know from many (including my husband who gave up over 50 yrs ago but still fancies one now and again - he doesn't dare!) how difficult it can be. Your way of doing it sounds pretty good to me, especially the part about working out what times you need to smoke and what you are doing so that you can avoid the trigger moment. Well done for quitting and for what seems to me to be such a good approach.

I'm wondering if I can adapt it to eating! The weight has piled on since I had a couple of lots of Pred back in the autumn after which my appetite returned big time. Lol! xx Moy

[Ergendl in reply to MoyB]

It can work for eating too. It may also help to do research into all the additional problems being overweight causes and will cause if you don't do anything about it, to help keep you motivated. The good old carrot and stick: If I lose weight, I breathe better, walk around more easily, clothes fit me, etc. If I put on weight, I run the risk of diabetes, bowel cancer, knee and hip operations, clothes don't fit, etc.

[MoyB in reply to Ergendl]

Great advice! xx Moy

[Offcut]

patient.info/doctor/spirome... This should help.

[MELNEL]

Hiya ☺️ I agree with everyone, stop smoking would be definitely a priority for you. Pop into pharmacy Boots and sign on for stopping smoking, there give you free advice and medication to stop, patches, inhaler, chewing gum and more. There really helpful. The only thing you should bring is, that you want to stop. I struggled with lots of stuff, I couldn't vape I was coughing constantly after a puff that I actually got sick. So I tried it for only 3 days and it really put me off. Chewing gum was the best option for me. Try to talk to your GP to get pulmonary rehabilitation, it should start again soon 🙂 hopefully LOL 😋

As for your tiredness, I have the same when not doing enough exercise, you get tired very easily and have a snooze here and than. Try it for only 1 week go for a walk, just walking slowly. If you do that you will feel the difference that you actually don't need lie down for a snooze. It helps a lot

I am also very poorly with walking ATM very tired all the time, but the weather is now starting to get sunny and it helps me to go out for a walk.

Please take care of yourself 🙏😃 best wishes 🌺🌹🌺