mild emphysema

[Orangecake1]

lifelong smoker aged 65. Just managed to stop smoking but now use vapes. Diagnosed with emphysema in 2021. Fev1/fev has dropped from 65 to 61 in 3 years. FVC is 85% predicted.

Get breathless walking. Can walk 420 metres in 6 minutes. Anyone know how quickly the fev ratio will fall/deteriorate? Medics seem vague on this.

many thanks.

[Biggles550]

As i was told smoking will degrade your FEV% faster than anything.

Although you have given up smoking i think the jury is still out about vaping , personally i found vaping as bad as smoking , but that could have just been me.

On the bright side your FEV% isnt so bad at the moment

[Orangecake1 in reply to Biggles550]

Thanks Biggles 550. I’m sure you are right and was just trying to convince myself that vaping would slow the progression. I know that smoking cigarettes exacerbates the problem.

Thanks again for your valuable input.

[Ergendl]

Try singing for lung health or playing a wind instrument to help strengthen your breathing muscles. Also ask for a referral to Pulmonary Rehab. These will help slow your progression.

[Orangecake1 in reply to Ergendl]

Thank you Ergendl. Would not wish to inflict that kind of noise on my wife! Pulmonary rehab and exercise is common advice and l should follow it.

Wishing all the best.

[Ergendl in reply to Orangecake1]

The least noisy version is blowing air through a straw into a glass of water.

Try to use your diaphragm to help you breathe. The easiest way to find that muscle sheet is to lie down on a flat surface (bed, sofa, floor, table or whatever you can get on and off without difficulty); place a heavy book on your belly, and try to raise and lower the book by breathing in and out alone. When you can manage that, you've found the best muscles to use to improve your breathing.

Incidentally, most people who attend my singing for lung health group say they can't sing, but only one is tone deaf and that is in higher registers. Most of us were brought up to sing in higher pitches when we had lower voices and couldn't hit all the notes, so we would naturally believe that we could not sing.

[Orangecake1 in reply to Ergendl]

Will definitely try the diaphragm breathing tip.

Many thanks.

[Alberta56]

It's good that you managed to give up smoking. Now try to give up vapes. (Easy to advise; not so easy to do.) I don't think anyone can predict how quickly your breathing will deteriorate. Live the best life you can, because a lot depends on your lifestyle. We're a pretty determined lot on here. We urge each other on, so please stay posted and let us know how you're doing.

[Hopeful1]

I gave up smoking years ago but am now addicted to the nicotine lozenges! Expensive (profiteering?) and probably too many "sweeteners' etc but better for the lungs.Well done giving up. I know how hard that is. Just keep going now. Good advice above.

[Orangecake1 in reply to Hopeful1]

Thanks a lot Hopeful 1. I did stop smoking for 5 years (a long time back) but mental health issues intervened and l started again. I’m new to this forum and several people have been kind enough to respond to my post.

Sincere good wishes to you all.

[Coughingalltheway]

Well done for giving up smoking. To be fair, all the negative reviews about vaping come from the USA but if you drill down on them, a) they include people who still smoke as well as vape and b) they do not control what's put into the devices unlike us. The NHS actually recommend vaping for smoking cessation so if it stops you going back to the ciggies, then carry on in my (and the NHS's) opinion.

As for the deterioration rate, we are all different and it will depend on your life-style plus whether or not you have any exacerbations as sometimes, your lungs won't fully recover to the previous stage after a serious one.

I chugged along for several years with mild to moderate COPD but I had my first exacerbation earlier this year which resulted in respiratory failure. My latest spirometry now has me down as severe even though I don't feel any different.

Giving up smoking and exercise are the key things to keep it at bay as much as possible. Walking is great by try to do some upper body strengthening exercises as well is what my respiratory team told me.

[Orangecake1 in reply to Coughingalltheway]

Thanks so much CAT for that thoughtful response.

I’m new to this forum. Wishing you all the best.

[Coughingalltheway in reply to Orangecake1]

And the same to you. They're a lovely bunch of people on here so feel free to post as often as you need or want. Good luck

[jackdup]

Did you get a copy of your PFT results as your FEV1% of predicted is the number they use to determine what stage your COPD is, so that number would seem more important that the FEV1/FVC ratio although the ratio is used to confirm COPD. While vaping can be an aid to quitting smoking I think the long term affects of vaping aren’t really known so hopefully you can give up the vaping as well. Inhaling foreign substances into your lungs is seldom a good thing aside from perhaps your inhalers.

[Orangecake1 in reply to jackdup]

Thanks for your reply. Think FEV1 is around 80 % of predicted for someone of my age, height etc.

I’m aware that this is probably an okay ish figure and consistent with mild COPD. Don’t think anyone knows how quickly FEV1 can deteriorate except that it doesn’t help if you continue to smoke or vape. Aside from being more breathless than l was a year or so back think l’m in decent enough physical health. Being more easily out of breath creeps up on you.

There’s a lot of very helpful and very stoic people on this forum. Thanks for all the replies and good luck to you all.

[jackdup in reply to Orangecake1]

That is excellent so hopefully if you can give up vaping and stay away from cigarettes your condition may not deteriorate at a rate faster than normal aging.

[Orangecake1 in reply to jackdup]

Thanks for that. Will try to reduce vaping first.