Why does Emphysima get worse ever though you stop smoking, always thought if you don't do anything to harm the lungs they wouldn't get worse, however the damage is done and they won't repair.
David 1968
EMP-why does it get worse even though... - Lung Conditions C...
EMP-why does it get worse even though you stop smoking?
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1968
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23 Replies
•
only thing here that counts is things would be worse sooner if you make the wrong choices on quitting smoking the control is in your own hands control it with diet meds and exercise.
freemd.com/copd/prevention-...
Hi
Thanks for the advice found the link very interesting, I had stopped smoking in 2010, went to the doctors for something unrelated, was sent for a chest xray and that's when they said I had Emphysima (diagnosed march 2011).
Only just getting Speromity results tomorrow (done the test 20th July 2012). I thought it wouldn't get any worse, doctor aint very helpfull, will change doctors after I get my FEV results.
David 1968
• in reply to1968
Do let us know how you got on re spiro results David . P.
1968• in reply to
Hi
Just in and just had the results, totally confused.com.
Spoke to doctor at my local surgery on the phone today he is a chest-lung expert, he said it was very mild Emphysima and said if you don't have any symptoms then not to worry? never mentioned any follow ups-meds-jags etc.
When I look at this result FVC FEV1 FEV1/FVC VEXT I have no idea what to look for.
I'm I looking fr a % result somewhere.
David 1968
Bernie first diagnosed in 2000, luckily the lung specialist gave him a booklet, with a color chart of sputum, shows when you have an infection. Most important is the color of your sputum . Dark green u need to see doctor who should give u a sputum test. We try to keep free of colds etc and anyone who has one. hope this helps. then u can get the correct antibiotics or steroids.
Hello David 1968,
I'm sure if you rang the BLF helpline someone there would be able to explain the results to you 
• in reply tooarsome
great link, thanks
when i was diagnosed in May 2012.I was told that if i stopped smoking the progression of the disease would be slowed down considerably.I stopped smoking immediately yet i feel much worse than i did when i was smoking.I now feel as it is just a waiting game to move from moderate copd (which is where i am at moment ) to severe copd.How long that takes i have no idea.take care.
I've been stopped about 4 years. I'd been diagnosed with COPD/Asthma before that and was taking no notice of the 'stop smoking' messages. Then I went along to a 'Smokefree' session in a community centre I was working in at the time, weekly sessions with trained NHS staff. I stopped quite easily after only a few weeks of going there, and didn't go back on the decision.
But, that was a trigger point for actually getting worse - and PLEASE, don't be put off. With the ciggies I may not have made it this far - you have to weight it all up and decide for yourself.
Once the tar and gunk cleared off my chest, I became a target for the little bugs that couldn't get past that stuff before - I had chest infection after chest infection, and still getting them on a regular cycle. That has been my bugbear.
Yes, the damage had already been done and, a bit like an old Ford Fiesta Mk1, it was only the rust holding me together and keeping me going. Clear out all that bad stuff and you start failing the MOT more often. The anti-biotics and steroids, along with inhalers and other medication, are doing the odd patch-up job that keeps me on the road!
The odd lick of paint (clothing, haircut) now and again is hiding the fact that the framework is rotten and needs regular TLC to slow the eventual rot.
Like an old Fiesta, we all have to go sometime. Some of us look after our vehicles better than others, (non smoking) passengers may remark on how better the car smells without the stale smoke hanging around and you will still get the bursts of high speed, although the overall horse-power is well below what the engine started out with...
... I used to know nothing about cars, until I started these sort of comparisons. The 'big end' may be holding up well, there's the odd dripping of fluids at times and the head gasket could do with some attention as well.
Hopefully, this old banger has some miles left to run yet.
Ah this made me smile Gordon. It's so good to have you back!
Giving up the ciggies is hard and I also found I felt worse. I gave up smoking in April after smoking for 40 plus years and before I was diagnosed with severe copd in May. I am now using the inhalators and find them to be a great help. Ive not yet likend myself to an old banger but Gordon you do make me laugh. Im waiting now to go on p.rehab, at end of Oct and hopefully learn more about copd and how to manage it better also been told am likely to be good candidate for operation to remove the lower part of my lungs that will ease the condition. As its a progressive condition and everyone different its hard to say how quickly it will progress but doing all the right things is bound to help. xx
Your story is much like mine Ioda but I stopped smoking in April 2011. I can relate to what Gordon says as I too have had loads of chest infections and emerged from last winter a bit worse for wear. However, onward and upwards, I wont smoke again and I am desperately trying to look after myself and do the right thing.
I stopped smoking in January 2012. At that point I didn't have any breathing problems. I felt great for about 6 weeks, then I started to get breathless. Although I was terrified, I went to the doctor and they diagnosed moderate COPD and mild asthma.
I can sympathise, because everyone says how much better you will feel when you quit smoking, and I felt worse and still do. BUT, my doctor has explained that if I had a cigarette now, my airways would open up again and I would breathe freely, but it would also continue doing the damage it did for the 30 years I smoked. Also, it would only have been a matter of time before I became chronic or severe and that would not have been masked by the smoking.
I don't know whether he is trying to reassure me, but my GP (who specialises in COPD) has said that if I follow my exercise and healthy eating regime my lungs will not deteriorate any more than they would do with natural ageing. So I try to do aerobic exercise daily, maintain a sensible weight and eat healthily (I'm not going to say anything about the wine!)
He arranged for a whole suite of tests to check my heart, cholesterol, diabetes, liver and kidney function and all of these were fine.
To cap it all though, my husband also gave up when I did and he can blow 800 on my peak flow meter, run without getting breathless and feels much healthier. Sometimes life is just not fair lol.
Lynne x
• in reply toLynne1955
Hi Lynne, well done for quitting. Your Doc is right, I am told - the decline is at the normal rate after quitting . As I am about to quit smoking, I am concerned about getting worse in the short term rather than continued worsening caused by smoking, if you understand me.... did your airways close up then ? there is a chemical in cigs that opens the airways I know.
1968• in reply to
Hi
I was told in March 2011 abut my Emp however was sent away and told not to worry about it for 10-15 yrs.
Went back to docs in July this year with something unrelated and he then suggested a breathing test, had it and then was told I had mild Emp, stopped smoking 18 months ago and that's when I started having issues, just thought it was my insides clearing 25yrs worth of smoking out.
Now I have whezzee when I over do things, slight tightness in my chest now and then, trapped burpy wind upper chest sometimes and a slight clear out cough in the morning.
David 1968
Lynne1955• in reply to
For the first 5 -6 weeks after I quit, I felt a lot better for it. Then I had breathing problems. I didn't have them at all when I smoked, so I can't really compare.
Good luck with quitting, it's not easy but I did it with Champix which worked for me. I am now on Spiriva for my COPD and it has made a huge difference to me as it seems to have opened up the airways again and is specifically for COPD.
Lynne
• in reply toLynne1955
Thanks, Lynne. Am trying acupuncture to help this time. Spiriva is good for me too, so hope airways will keep more open when quitted. here goes soon then ! Rotten for you - quitting then being diagnosed.
richard didnt start smoking until he was 21, when he stopped doing sports he decided to adopt the weed. he smoked heavily though he did try several times to stop, once for 8 months, then he started smoking the "odd" cigar, unfortunately that turned into 20 a day so he went back to cigs cos it was cheaper. when he was 47 he had a stroke and the year after he had a carotid endartorectomy and was told had he not had the op he wouldn't have seen 50. He hasnt smoked a cig since his stroke on 1st june 1990, but his chest started giving him trouble round about the mid 90's, he thought it was asthma, now we know different, he had emphysema and now ipf. so if giving up smoking isn't the answer, what is?
Quite simply - the answer was not to start in the first place.
If we could all rewind our lives and correct one mistake we made in the past, how many of us would have not taken that first puff of a ciggy?
I'm told that the 'giving up' part is supposed to help me survive longer. The damage has been done, but I can keep myself going with the inhalers and so on. What bothers me more is the way I sometimes feel, no job, no money, no car... No energy, and when I do have, it soon burns out and lapses into chest pain and coughing.
It seems more like a penalty being imposed for spending so much money on the darned things over the years.
Back on the car theme, I've reduced the wear on the bodywork and adjusted the emissions but that's because I've had to re-classify the vehicle as being over 50 and it had had a smoky engine most of it's running life. Now it's not going as far as it used to 'cos I'm worried that something will drop off it and I'll not be able to get it fixed properly. 
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