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new condition,old lungs

12 years ago•18 Replies

hi just clicked on this site,and thought i'd give it a try.a brief outline of me,i.m 51,and have suffered with servere asthma since 17,been in and out of hospital all my adult life,been on constant steroids 40mg daily now for 15 yrs plus,and six month ago was told i have copd,which is different to my asthma ,as it can not be reversed,and no one can tell me how quick/or slow this will take effect,i have oxygen therapy at home, and numerous other inhalers /tablets.so for the first time in a long time of dealing with my health,i am lost as too what to do /or expect,and not ashamed too say a bit frightened too ,any thoughts, please.( I am also diabetic,on insulin,due too my intake of steroids,) thanks

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poeticlady

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18 Replies

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valm12 years ago

Hi there you will get a lot of good advice on here, people will reply to your post, just thought I would say welcome shattered tonight speak soon Val

poeticlady• in reply tovalm12 years ago

thank-you

12 years ago

Hi Poeticlady,

May i be the first to say welcome. Try not to be frighten as copd is something you can live with as long as you take care for yourself.

Dont go on the basis of how long have i got, it will vary from person to person, be positive, and life is that little bit easier.

Your not on your own, the gang of people in here are always on hand to listen / give advice and perk you up when your down

Speak Soon

Muckster

poeticlady• in reply to12 years ago

thank-you,i am a very postive person most of the time, i,ve had too be,and have lead a full life to the best of my ability,but this is a new challenge now

poeticlady• in reply to12 years ago

thank-you glad i found this site

12 years ago

Hello Poeticlady. Glad you found the site. Try to stay positive and ask, ask, ask about anything that you wish.

As to time scales, we all vary so much that this particular question is impossible to answer. It depends on your stage when diagnosed, how well you respond to treatment, how well you comply with your meds, take exercise, eat well, etc and how often you have a chest infection - so many variables. Many people that I know have had COPD for 20+ years and are still plodding on so look forward with hope. I mentioned on another post that the early days are by far the worst. Hold on, find out as much as you can and look after yourself.

Auntymary xx

poeticlady• in reply to12 years ago

Hello auntymary,thank-you for your reply,well i was told i was moderate stage 2 i think,but because i am all ready on alot of maintence drugs for my asthma,i'm already on the top self of treatments,my main concern,is that i am going into coughing fits,in which i litrally can't catch my breath for what seems like a life time,but proberly no more than 30 seconds ,its like my air way has been cut off, is this common in copd ??

1968• in reply topoeticlady12 years ago

Just read your question, see this site is full of good people with great advice, stay positive and keep well.

Don't read into the negitive COPD Emphysima sites/advice they didn't read good to me.

What I did find is great advice from people on this site, I had looked at other netwok sites but clicked with this one.

Ask a question and it will be answered with people with life experiance in COPD.

Emphysima is a disease however with the correct advice-mind set and healthy attitude you can live long and have a happy life.

David

1968

• in reply topoeticlady12 years ago

Many COPDers cough, especially in the early stages after diagnosis when many are still smoking or are newly stopped. I was prescribed carbocisteine capsules (2 x 375 mg, three times a day) to loosen the phlegm and make coughing up easier as, like you, coughing left me gasping. Maybe you could ask your GP? Have you also been referred to see a respiratory consultant? If not I would ask about this as well as a pulminary rehabilitation group. Many COPDers are prescribed some of the meds that asthma sufferers use, but there are others which specifically help us, such as a Spiriva inhaler and the aforementioned carbocisteine. Good luck.

poeticlady• in reply to12 years ago

hi ,yes i have ,had these meds,although the carbocisteine is a new one for me,like i said in my first post,i have had many many years of severe asthma attacks,due to gene,s and allegies,also been too pulminary rehab etc,were as before my nebulizer could give me some relief as regards my asthma,it isn't helping much now

poeticlady12 years ago

thank-you

12 years ago

Welcome poeticlady, I am assuming your are already under a respiratory consultant, I hope you are being seen regularly or that your GP surgery has a respiratory nurse in residence that you can access quickly when you need to.

Ask your GP or consultant for referral to pulmonary rehabilitation, a course where you can learn much about managing your symptoms better and ways to slow down the progress of COPD.

Please check with your doctor or respiratory nurse about what you are experiencing with the coughing, any cough that is ongoing should be something your doctor is made aware of.

Outside getting a cold or lung infection, I don't cough unless my airways have narrowed or air quality is poor, some people have a lot of mucus and that is something patients will be coughing up regularly, if this is your problem the PR course can help you with techniques to clear this.

Good wishes.

poeticlady• in reply to12 years ago

thank-you you are all so helpful,i am under a specialist due too my long term asthma,but have also under gone rehab etc over the years,i don't seem to be coughing up mucus ,and my nebulizer is not really helping me at moment,i do have oxygen at home,but it doesn't help when i have the coughing fits,

dinnyrayner12 years ago

Hi Poeticlady , welcome to our community , i agree with the previous posts , there are a lot of experienced people on this site and , in my opinion , you will get good advise . I have Asthma , bronchiectasis and emphysema , i also have diabetes although i am on tablets not insulin . I have had bronchiectasis since i was 2 yrs old and acquired the other 2 conditions over the following 20 yrs so as you can see it is possible to live with these conditions and the better you can look after yourself the better you will fare . It is important not to give up hope , no matter how you feel one day , the next might be better and there are always more and better treatments being produced xx. I too get the closed airways problem when i cough hard and even sometimes out of the blue for no apparent reason , i just keep still and concentrate on breathing , it's like trying to breath through a flat straw , i suspect it is an asthma attack but my consultant said she had no idea what it could be and that if it took me 2 minutes to get a breath in ( which is a rough idea of how long though i must say timing it is not first on my list ) i would pass out ???? . If you get an answer to your 'attacks' perhaps you could pass them on to me as a suggestion for my consultant . I hope all goes well for you and if you get frightened (whuch i expect we all do at times ) ask for support on here , they are mostly great xxxx Dinny xxxx

dinnyrayner• in reply todinnyrayner12 years ago

ooops i forgot to say i am now 57 yrs old so have had this problem for 55yrs .

poeticlady• in reply todinnyrayner12 years ago

if i can find an answer for us,i will definetly let you know

poeticlady• in reply todinnyrayner12 years ago

thank-you,yes it is the coughing bit that is concerning me,feels like its my final breaths when it happens,and like you i also have bronsititis (can't spell it ),the specialist said either i aquired it when i had a bad bout of measles as a 4 yr old,or due to my peanut allegy???,i am use to dealing with being out of breath,due to the constant asthma attacks,but i am concerned that i am not getting much relief from my meds at moment

KingoftheCocktails12 years ago

Hi poeticlady.Try not to be afraid.If you are able to get about a little go and join your local Breathe Easy group.You will find lots of friendship and understanding.Contact the BLF to find out where your nearest group is.I wish you well.

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