Hi. I am new to the forum so this is just a bit of an introduction. I was diagnosed with Mild COPD (Emphysema) in 2018 and was asymptomatic and taking no medication until February this year when following a bout of Covid I developed a constant cough brought on by irritation and congestion in my chest which I still have, the cough is often non productive and dry but at other times with great effort it produces sputum which is sometimes clear and sometimes not, I have also developed the trademark wheezing particularly at night and some breathlessness when exercising. I am quite active and often walk 3 or 4 miles but find my lungs are having to work harder to take in oxygen. I am currently using Anora Ellipta 55/22 mcg inhaler once a day and a Salamol inhaler as and when required. Having spent so long asymptomatic, this is all new to me, I do understand that my condition is progressive but I am a bit concerned about the rapidity of decline in my condition. Thanks for listening.
COPD Progression: Hi. I am new to the... - Lung Conditions C...
COPD Progression
Welcome to the forum Superfly, hoping you get some replies soon.
I’m carer for my hubby Pete who has COPD, sarcoidosis, heart disease and chronic back problems. His medication is keeping him as well as possible. Take care x
Hi Superfly . You might want to make an appointment with your GP. I recently had covid. I had antibiotics and prednisone while positive. After the infection was gone I was left with something similar to you. I contacted my GP “for something that would help me cough it up” and he prescribed a second course of antibiotics and prednisone. I took the prednisone (which did the trick) but not the antibiotics because my phlegm was mostly clear - just hard to cough up.
Maybe your GP will have something in his bag if tricks for a post covid cough.
thanks for your reply, I have just finished a course of Doxycycline and was much better after 3 days but the symptoms have return since completing the course so maybe I need another course of antibiotics, I have an appointment booked for next week with GP
this was similar to me in January I thought I had a chest infection but then tested positive with covid the amoxicillin antibiotics with prednisone didn’t clear it and it went on until I got doxycycline. It was a couple of months before wheezing disappeared but I found out from respiratory team that when taking these drugs I should provide sputum sample as antibiotics won’t clear it sometimes. I just needed prednisone and I did not know you have to take for five days and then continue by reducing every three days so a course of tablets for 3 weeks. Having had Covid twice now I think it’s made my good worse.
Wellcome and good luck
Welcome to the forum. I think you need to talk to your doctor or a respiratory person. The aftereffects of this strain of covid do seem to take a long time to go away completely. I hope this means that eventually you will find your health is considerably better. Good luck.
Hi,
My experience is similar to yours. I was diagnosed with COPD four years ago. In the first six months I lost 20 lbs in weight, an awful lot for a skinny guy with a life long athletic background. I was given prednisolone initially for for five days. It worked like a charm. Twenty four hours after the first dose I awoke full of energy and so pleased I spent the day sawing down a large conifer hedge. Unfortunately, symptoms returned within eleven days. I was prescribed the same drug with a slightly increased dose for seven days. Again an overnight success and this time it has lasted. I have been asymptomatic for three and a half years.
I walk a minimum of two miles every day and often for several hours, plus a twenty minute aerobic session and strengthening exercises which can be downloaded from the Asthma and Lung website. My walks are between ,3.6 and 4 mph, depending on the terrain. Not brilliant, but I am eighty two.
I expect you know Prednisone and Prednisolone are different drugs and not just a different name. They are similar but work in different ways . It is important to identify the right drug for the particular infection, so may I suggest discussing a sputum test with your GP.
Good luck
So glad this worked for you and lasted , sounds like you are pretty fit and in a better condition at 82 than I am at 72 I always feel better when on Prednisilone as it relieves my rheumatoid x
thanks for your reply, the British Army march at 4mph so that’s not slow, I regularly walk 3 to 4 miles at a similar pace and do a weights session a couple of times a week, I used to do 100km over 3 days charity walks but not for a couple of years now, couldn’t do it anymore, I’m 70 but you are doing well at 82, I have an appointment with GP today so will talk to them about the Prednisilone
Sometimes we adapt to the condition without being consciously aware of doing so. I was officially diagnosed in 2002 but merely felt breathless or phlegmy on occasions. However when I lost my beloved Border Terrier in 2021 I lasted six weeks before my first hospitalisation ans subsequent oxygen prescription which I still have to use 24/7. Of course this might only be my own personal slant on the progression.
Research I have found seems suggests that if diagnosed with mild COPD and you have quit smoking and exercise regularly the Fev1 reading should decrease by around 1% annually, that’s how I would like to measure my decline but Fev1 is not monitored anymore which is odd as both the Gold and Nice Standards for monitoring the 4 stages of COPD use Fev1 readings
Is 1% annually the normal for ppl without COPD?
That's what I have read in various research articles but until I manage to have my FEV1 checked I cant confirm if in my case it is accurate, I am awaiting a Spirometry appointment at the moment but there is a 6 month backlog in my area.
I don't know if your GP has put you on Carbocystiene, a medication which thins mucus and make it easier to shift.
Hi, I’m similar to yourself. Diagnosis early 2022 / mild / fairly asymptomatic… From my understanding, for those like us with compromised lung function it can take months to regain your condition prior to infection and following illness… Just make sure you’re catching all the low hanging fruit, diet / smoking cessation / meds / exercise / supplements etc… If you feel you’ve got some impacted mucus, look at devices or techniques that create positive airway pressure (I use an AIROFIT) that can help to ‘rattle’ any mucus free… Also you might want to read up on some mucolytics to help thin down or move the mucus… NAC is very popular and available over the counter… I’m not a clinician so please do your own ‘due diligence’…
We’re all in this together… Good luck… Cheers, Adam
Thanks for the advice, my diet is pretty good, not perfect but not bad either, not smoked for nearly 20 years and regularly walk 3 to 4 miles and do weights sessions at the gym, not sure the inhalers prescribed are actually doing much good and have recently asked to be re referred to the hospital as my GP is pretty useless in my opinion 🤷♂️
My GP just threw me off a cliff with my diagnosis… a quick phone with no relevant info… I got a private referral to a pulmonologist who has been looking after for the last 2 years through his NHS clinic best £160 I’ve ever spent… If your not familiar with the private system I can PM how to navigate. Your GP might not give you an NHS referral, but there would be little justification for blocking you spending your own money, a worthwhile spend in my opinion… My GP gave me a puffer I guess as an automatic response to diagnosis, my pulmonologist said ‘if you’re asymptomatic, it’s your choice’ a pulmonologist I speak to in the US recommended taking regardless of symptoms or lack of… If you want me to PM you info re private referrals let me know, I can just copy and paste advice I’ve sent to users on the COPD foundation website…
Cheers, Adam
any advice would be useful, thank you
You may need something to deal with the after affects of covid from what people have said they can last a long time x
Hi Superfly1975, I have emphysema following Covid 3 years ago. The GP sent me for a scan and I was told Bronchiectasis, scarring on the lungs. They gave me Anora Ellipta. It got worse and after 18 months I eventually saw a consultant who sent me for more scans and tests. Now I have " moderately severe [grade 2] obstructive airway disease secondary to post-COVID bronchiolitis, radiological emphysema and post COVID minimal fibrotic ILD!
I'm now on Trelegy dry inhaler and my cough is always dry unless I have a chest infection. I keep being asked for sputum sample, but can't produce one. Luckily I have got onto the Pulmonary Rehabilitation programme, which is very helpful, with talks and exercise. They give you a phone number that you can call any time in the future for help. There may be a waiting list in your area, but it's worth asking your GP.
Thanks for your reply, I have a GP appointment today and Pulmonary Rehab is going to be one of my requests, I am really angry that once you are diagnosed you are sent on your way to get on with it on your own pretty much unless you pressure the professional's to be more proactive with treatment and advice, my GP keeps telling me my cough is due to Silent Reflux which I know it isn’t as I self referred privately to a ENT consultant who gave me the all clear throat and nasal passage wise, you will understand why I have no faith in my GP, I am soon going to seek an alternative GP practice.
Funnily enough, my daughter was under a consultant for years with a cough that went on day and night, who kept saying it was acid reflux. It was the respiratory nurse at the GP who tested her for asthma and put her on inhalers. Now the cough has stopped! She's about to get a new referral to a consultant.
I have broniectasis too and I rarely get infections .In that I am lucky as I got lots of info from another member who has since left, . but think she has rejoined so try asking if anyone knows about dry bronchiectasis . It does exist and consultants do acceot it . I expect it will be renamed some day as most things are .
the pulmonary rehab is useful but need to carry on the exercises at home too. Rehab this year we have a lot of time devoted to learning about the lungs and var.ious conditions . with models of the lungs and hea rt and showing how thry work .and discussions relating to our own conditions . much better than when i did t his course 5 years ago . And -we do get access here in cheshire to the local centre . this one is called brio > but have not tried that yet . my pronblem will be fumes from the chlorinated swimming pool nearby if doors are open as i react to chloros. I t was used a lot at work in microbiology lab where the lab benches were swabbed down with chloros at the end of the day.
( when working in respiratory dept also got to see lots of examples of really disgusting sputum before seeing next day what had grown on culture. ! )
.35 or so years inhaling chloros is not good for the lungs.
Hi Jaybird19, they talked about Bronchiectasis at rehab and I said I had since had emphysema diagnosed, but the nurse said you can have both and often have no mucus. The consultant has prescribed an Acapella device to bring it up but the nurse said she couldn't detect any in my chest is it may not help.
Welcome to the forum.x
Welcome to such a supportive and informative forum. You’ll receive sensible advice and encouragement, including from the Lung & Asthma online nurses.
Our GP practice has improved since COVID and now give either telephone or face to face COPD assessment.,
Also having done the Pulmonary Rehab course last year I feel more confident and can manage the condition better.
Also reassuring that following the Pul rehab I can contact the respiratory team any time.
Take care. 🤗
just an update, following a visit to my respiratory nurse and a FeNO test plus a blood test which showed raised ppb levels and elevated Eosinophil I have been diagnosed with underlying Asthma, a 2 week course of Predisilone and a change to a Trimbow inhaler have seen my symptoms much improved.
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