Hyperinflated lungs

[Katoune]

Hi everyone, new here, I'm in the UK. I recently had a chest x ray and was very surprised to here the results I am asthmatic, I do smoke but have managed to cut fine to 6 roll ups a day, I had done this before my chest x ray. Saw the Dr 2 weeks after the x ray and he just said my lungs are hyper inflated and mentioned copd, no further tests, nothing, just said its irriversable and to stop smoking which I was wanting to do anyway so now it's even more important! 8 just wondered if anyone has managed to reverse this lung issue? I have seen the radiographer report and no mention on copd, I am fit, walk 3/4 miles every morning at speed with my dog, don't get short of breath. Since I cut done smoking I have started to bring up mucas from my lungs I am wondering if they have just been full of mucas which could have caused the air trapping? I've been doing lots of research on natural ways to clear lungs etc and have started mullein tea twice a day which seems to be helping.I rarely used my inhalers , my asthma has always been mild except for the odd flare up, I'm now taking my inhaler as directed twice a day to open my airways while I try and clear my lungs, that ks for reading and hope to hear some similar situations to mine

[peege]

I'm no expert & don't have copd although many members do have it with or without asthma. From what I've read here over the years it's important to try to keep the lungs clear of mucus as bacteria can grow quickly causing infections. Everyone is different it seems, some lungs recover straightforwardly but some take longer.

The most important is your quitting the cigs - you're nearly there 👏 👏 👏!

I'm sure others will be along soon with their tips on staying as well as can be. Once years of gunk has cleared you'll get even fitter 😃.

Don't forget, if you feel unwell go to the gp to get lungs listened to, they should be encouraging and supporting you . I dont know about inflated lungs but you could look it up on the NHS website. P

[Katoune in reply to peege]

Thank you so much for your reply 😊Yes I can't wait to get rid of all the rubbish in my lungs, it only started breaking up when I cut down the smoking so didn't realise my lungs were so full, I know it's going to take a while to clear them will be quicker once I've totally quit, just trying to get my mind around fully stopping 😁 the x ray results were a total shock to be honest as my lungs don't feel much different to how they were 30 years ago, I guess living with asthma you get used to it, I was only sent for a chest x ray because of my weight loss , think I will give it a couple of months and then try and see the Dr that reffered me for the x ray because the one I saw with the results told me nothing!

[Patk1 in reply to Katoune]

Hello& welcome to the forum.Do see that dr,to get a clear diagnosis.sounds like Yr already working hard to keep fit& well.as u know,stopping smoking is imperative altho u have done well to cut down.on aluk website,u can read up on lung clearance techniques - acbt( active cycle of breathing technique) - is very helpful.i do it with postural drainage - one side for a period,thn other. I also use percussion- gentle taps on chest + around rib cages.it does help

[Katoune in reply to Patk1]

Thankyou, I will do some research on that breathing technique, I have been doing some breathing exercises the diaphragm breathing etcWill definitely be going back to see original Dr in the new year, I'm not happy with mine just dropping a bombshell on me and not really telling me much else or referring me for a proper diagnosis

[Patk1 in reply to Katoune]

There's a nurse helpline mon- Fri, ALUK if u want to talk to them0300 222 5800

[Ern007]

Hi, I stopped smoking well over 20 years ago, I had COPD and still smoked,. I had had a nasty cough for a long while. Stopping smoking did not help at first, in fact my cough went worse - As for mucus that did not get worse as I recall.

You are smoking roll up tobacco - Well is no tips they will be damaging, even with tips rolling tobacco is strong.

I have a friend who got COPD she smoked and she never stopped - She is really ill now. It also made my mother very ill, at that time there was not the same warnings.

Really you need to stop. even smoking not many, can lead to smoking more. Stop smoking get rid of the gunk and you really will notice the difference, You are fit you say now, you really want to make sure you stay - Fit..

Good luck

[Katoune in reply to Ern007]

Thankyou, the smoking will go, I do use tips but I know my lungs will be so much better without , I gave up for 4 yrs in my 40's and ended up on steroids after because my lungs were so inflamed after stopping, once I got over that I rarely needed an inhaler again, so stupid to have started again but I can't undo that, I just need to get back to being smoke free

[Ergendl]

Try diaphragm singing to help get up the junk in the lungs. I run a singing for lung health group every week, and it improved my COPD diagnosis from moderate to mild, but it could not undo the damage.

About six months after I stopped smoking in 1985, I had a day case medical procedure where I was upended. In the recovery ward, I was coughing up mucus for over half an hour. The nurses said it was because stopping smoking had loosened the gunge, and gravity did the rest.

I gave up those last few hand rolled cigs by not smoking until midday and then smoking as much as I liked. When I was used to that, I moved the time to not smoking until the six o'clock news. When I was used to that, I set the date, 1st August 1985. No regrets doing that, though it was hard at the time.

[Katoune in reply to Ergendl]

That's really interesting about the singing for lung health! I'm at the beginning of my research journey, I tend to get totally obsessed with anything medical relating to health etc.I had cut down to 6 roll ups before I found this out and was so pleased with what I had achieved, just finding it hard to cut back further but I will succeed, I'm thinking of trying hypnotherapy because my smoking is almost ocd like, only at certain times with certain drinks so it's breaking those mental obsticals more than the actual nicotine addiction

[Ergendl in reply to Katoune]

I broke those habits by changing the habit. My favourite fag was at 6pm watching the news after my evening meal, drinking coffee. I changed to drinking tea, and made sure after my evening meal I got up and did the washing up.

I also immersed myself in all the negative propaganda I could find about smoking, looking at pictures and reading articles about the damage done, every day, as if my life depended on it to get stopped and stay stopped. Which it did, and still does.

[Katoune in reply to Ergendl]

This is what I've been doing, I dropped my midday day cig yesterday, instead of my mind saying i can't and I need that one i told myself I don't need it, which I don't, didn't have the lemon and ginger tea that I normally have with it, so now I'm down to 5, but everyone I smoke im so aware of my lungs now. The hardest ones for me will be my 2 morning ones with coffees, but I will do it. Luckily I rarely durnk alcohol now which was always when I smoked the most so that makes things easier. I've started diaphragm breathing, didn't realise how much concentration it takes!

[Ergendl in reply to Katoune]

Diaphragm breathing takes a lot of concentration at first, until you get used to it, and then it becomes more natural. A bit like learning to drive a car. Keep trying, and you will get there.

[Badbessie]

I believe in honesty especially when it concerns myself. I had hyperinflated lungs on admission to hospital with pneumonia. It is a clear sign that your lungs are damaged. Inhalers can help but will not stop progression the only things which will help are stoping smoking, exercise and watching your weight.My lungs did improve and the hyperinflation reduce but only after stopping smoking. Removing mucus is good and can help but unless you deal with the underlying cause of the damage it can help symptoms but nothing else.

Basically what I think I am trying to say is that inhalers, teas and clearing mucus etc may help short term but unless you stop smoking the reality is your lungs will continue to get worse.

[Katoune in reply to Badbessie]

Thankyou for your honesty, I know smoking has to go compeltley from my life and I am very aware of it now, luckily I don't have any weight to lose and I haven't had any symptoms of a lung issue other than my normal mild asthma which bus why it was such a shock to find out the results of the chest x ray, i don't get coughs, colds, chest infections etc, not short of breath, whatever going on its very mild and obviously will be helped greatly once I do stop smoking, a bit of a wake up call really, I have read that asthma can cause hyperinflated lungs aswell as copd, I have no idea how long my lungs have had this issue as have never had a chest x ray to compare it to, glad I found this forum though 😊

[Badbessie in reply to Katoune]

I never had symptoms either until I reached a tipping point. Then things went downhill very fast. Lack of symptoms should not reassure you. By the sound of it you have been caught early and have a chance to correct your lifestyle. I caught bilateral pneumonia and nearly died as a first warning. I would not recommend that way of changing things...lol

[Superzob]

I have asthma, COPD, bronchiectasis and hyper- inflated lungs, and never smoked, so I suppose it can happen to anyone! I agree with Patk1 that you should get a proper diagnosis in order to get the right treatment, which is the most important thing; a detailed spirometry seems in order. Symptoms can be a bit deceptive as, like you, I don’t wheeze or get out of breath, even though I have only 53% lung function; it varies a lot between individuals.

It seems that my asthma came from hay fever and the COPD from the untreated asthma; hyperinflation is the body’s mechanism to increase the surface area of the lungs when they are obstructed. The asthma component of your breathing is reversible; the COPD is not, but can be treated. Now that you’ve stopped smoking, your lungs should deteriorate at the same rate as a non-smoker (all lungs lose efficiency with age, but the rate is generally faster in smokers).

Hope you get a definitive diagnosis soon and can start the appropriate treatment.

[Katoune in reply to Superzob]

I don't even know for sure if I have copd, Dr was so vague, the radiographer report didn't mention it either just hyperinflated lungs, I definitely need more tests, I also have hay-fever which is my biggest trigger for my asthma but has improved as I've got older. I was prescribed symbicort but hadn't been taking it because i rarely needed my ventolin, only recently realised how full my lungs were of mucus now that it has started breaking up, it's all left me a bit bewildered really, and a bit scared of I'm honest 😔

[Superzob in reply to Katoune]

Quite understandable - imagine my surprise when I was diagnosed with 53% lung function, and my only symptom at the time was incessant winter “colds” (which I now suspect was rhinitis)! But, if it agrees with you, I think you should take your Symbicort regularly- it worked for me, though I do get more noticeable lung mucous from the bronchiectasis.

The problem is that lung function tests are not carried out routinely in the UK, so these things are often missed until you get symptoms (which, as in my case - and possibly yours - are not that obvious). I suspect that I might have avoided the bronchiectasis symptoms if it had been caught earlier, and I’d been offered an inhaler. That’s why, in my opinion at least, the earlier you start treatment, the better the prognosis.

[Katoune in reply to Superzob]

I'm not very happy with my Dr first time I've seen him and he knows I'm under alot of stress due to caring for my mum full time who is terminal and instead of helping me he has just told me my lungs are damaged and it's irreversible with no follow up or further tests to see what the actual diagnosis is.I haven't heard of bronchiectasis before, I'm off to Google that now!

[Superzob in reply to Katoune]

I can see you can do without the additional stress, which is obviously not knowing exactly what the problem is and how to treat. Coincidently, my GP diagnosed me with COPD before I had actually had the tests and confirmed by a specialist; she even prescribed a suitable inhaler, though I subsequently needed to change it because of a reaction. I was lucky to see a specialist quite early and get repeated spirometries for years; others on this forum have been less fortunate and often need to keep pressing to get the appropriate tests.

However, it is entirely possible that your GP is correct and Symbicort will be effective for both asthma and COPD, so I think it’s worth using it regularly until you get the full diagnosis. If you react to it, there are plenty more dual inhalers on the market, so you should find one that suits.

Bear in mind that diagnoses are designed to get the right treatment - they don’t change you as a person. If you’re functioning OK at the moment, then that’s not going to change with the diagnosis, and any treatment should slow down the progress of disease.

[Polly-PV]

You don’t need me to add to the others recommending you jack the fags Katoune!! All I can add is that there is a great group on Health Unlocked called Quit Support….they were instrumental in me stopping and staying stopped (that’s the tough bit!). I’d also highly recommend Patrick Holford’s ‘How to Quit without feeling s*#t’ book. Good luck!

[Katoune in reply to Polly-PV]

They are going! Dropped another one yesterday so down to 5 but everyone i smoke I am so conscious of what is going on in my lungs, they all need to go, don't think it will be long now, joined a gym yesterday aswell to start strength training I quit smoking for 4 years in my 40's how stupid of me to start again 😭 I'm going to check out that book too. Thanks for the recommendation 😊 Will look for the quit support too

[Alberta56]

Welcome to the forum. Good luck in quitting smoking.