COPD and always tired

[Jay1973]

Hi, I visited my doctor about a month and a half ago as I hurt my shoulder and while I was with her I thought I may aswell mention how breathless I get. Was given a peak flow to use for a month then had to see her again. I was told I had asthma and given a brown and blue inhaler and was asked to make an appointment to see the nurse ( as soon as possible ) for a spirimteric test, at that point the nurse told me I was borderline COPD and changed the brown inhaler for a purple one. I'm seeing the doctor again on the 13th, how worried should i be, should I see her sooner? I work full time and can often work 12hr shifts 5 days a week, when I'm at home I have no or very little energy, im yawning non stop and all I feel like doing is sleeping. Is this just coincidence ? I don't know a lot about COPD, I'm no spring chicken but I am only 39.

Jason.

[Hidden]

Hi Jason

I haven't got COPD and im a couple of years older than you however I work full time too and I think being tired is kind of part and parcel of lung disease. Our bodies have to work harder to do what in the main comes effortlessly to well people - therefore its only natural you feel tired.

Good luck - I am sure someone better qualified than me can offer some better advice but that's my theory anyway!

[elian]

Hello Jay

I have COPD (have had it for 12/13 years now) but I'm also what is known as a CO2 retainer. As the carbon dioxide levels build up in my bloodstream this gives me a feeling of exhaustion. To combat this I have to wear a mask each night, attached to a BiPAP machine with extracts the CO2 from my system. Did the nurse take a blood sample to check on your oxygen levels or was it just a peak flow test ?

I do wish the medical profession would realise that just saying "you have COPD" is not good enough !! More information and advice is needed for patients with this disease, if only to stop them being worried silly.

Having said all that, I manage my condition quite well but, as Gordon says, it does tend to slow you down somewhat.

Oh, and you ARE a spring chicken when compared to some of us

[Hidden]

I get tired from my own bad habits, like not being able to stick to regular times, part of tht is related to the work, what I have to get done, whatever way it takes, and if it works out that way, means I have to work all night.

But once tired it's hard to catch up on lost sleep and to shake off the tiredness, me anyway, I cannot sleep all day, even if I'm tired, as I ache then and feel even more tired.

A thing to remember though is - as a general rule, like even a healthy person - sleeping too much, lead to a person getting more and more tired and at a certain point, no amount of sleep makes you feel better, you just get hooked on sleep, and you never feel properly awake.

[mogli712 in reply to Hidden]

great place for information on tiredness that effects many lives stop-being-tired.com/medica...

best wishes

[Hidden]

i get very tired - some days i get up at 8.00 and asleep on the sofa by 9.00.

you may need to get the doctor to check you are not suffering from sleep apneoa - a lot of people with COPD get this.

Basically, because you are having trouble breathing you "wake" - not a full blown eyes open job but disturbed sleep.

hope this links explains it better than i did

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/196...

[Jay1973]

Thank you every one for your info x