Do you sometimes find it difficult to decide whatever is ailing you at the time is just another aspect or symptom of COPD or that it might be something entirely unrelated?
I have mornings when the simple act of getting up and dressed is virtually beyond me...and evenings when I want to sleep so much that Himself needs to wake me up at ten o'clock to use the nebuliser...
Sometimes eating a meal has me totally exhausted...even though I have tiny portions of whatever it is...
I'm rarely actually hungry...but then there will be times when I have to stop and have a piece of toast because I feel a bit queasy...
It does effect different people in different ways I know that...but it's the roller coaster which is difficult...one day up and raring to go with only a small amount of effort...the next fast asleep until almost lunchtime...
Forward planning is a joke...deciding we'll go out on Tuesday will only happen if I feel up to it...
And my diet is abysmal...that certainly can't help. It's hard to eat properly when you've no interest in food. Especially when it's an effort to eat even a favourite dish...
But another evening I look forward to supper and eat more...
I think you'll probably say it's normal...don't like it much though.
Sounds pretty normal vashti. Pete is ok one day but not so great the next day. Planning anything is not easy and usually done on a wing and a prayer. Xxx
Ha ha ! I find the same and if I didn't have to get up to feed the cats in the morning, I'd probably just hibernate for three or four months in the winter. Squirrels have the right idea
Hi vashti Had a wonderful consultant years ago he saw me for my myasthenia , once he said to me "we mustn't blame everything on your myasthenia ". and I do think we tend to blame all that goes wrong with our body on COPD when maybe it isn't
Take care Vashti
Dorothy🐱🐱🐱🐱🐱🐱
You just said it all Vashti. Bronchiectasis plays the same games with me.
Hi Jennifer Hope you feeling better today. The sun is shining here so hope we really into Spring now. I agree with you not good to think too much. Hope the sun is shining in your lovely part of the world and it keeps bright to keep us all cheerful. Love Moi x
It's good to hear from you Moi, I appreciate you thinking about me....wonderful news that Spring is with you now.
On top of the blooming world today thankyou ....I'm not down for long. ..... sun shining and 52 F this afternoon. Got a lot done in the garden, cleared a path and found some celandines, crocus and snowdrops growing. Started to clean out the grooves in the decking but had enough now....I'll get the pressure washer on it tomorrow. My neighbour helped me to get a 12ft tree trunk out of the grass ..... shows you how much rain we have had all winter - the trunk which was used as a bird table - minus the top which fell off recently ...was standing in 18" of water.....I was going to plant a weeping copper beech there but am having second thoughts.....might be better to plant a weeping willow! A ruddy seagull has just squirted it's lunch all over one of the windows so that's another job. Merlin has brought his toys in now so looks like he and I will just maybe have a bit of shut eye for ten mins.
Yes, it helps if you know your limitations doesn't it?
It's such a huge garden and with it being such a miserable three months I'm tempted to get out on the first good day. Do you have a lot of gardening to do?
Definitely not Jennifer ! We have a front and back garden and a very large side garden but it's just grass and a few mature trees that I love. My husband plants up flowers in pots for the patio in spring and summerand he always does a whole line of sunflowers. So container/plant pot is the only gardening done. My son cuts the grass, thankfully. So it's all geared to easy maintenance.
It sounds lovely, plenty of space for growing, and you have help too from your men.
My garden is mainly trees, shrubs, hostas, ferns and anything else that likes to drop in and take root, either by accident or swaps. I do have a lot of grass, the area covered by this is shrinking year by year to make room for other stuff, but I bought a big mower after my husband died which is great. I don't want a pristine lawn, just somewhere for Merlin to play, and as a backdrop.
Wow you have done well am very impressed. I need to start on the pots in the garden and am still thinking about it. It looks nice and sunny but cold about 10 degrees here. I love weeping willows they remind me of my childhood. If you have a seagull making a mess you must be near the sea. Lucky you. Enjoy your day so pleased you are on top form. Love Moi x
We've just been outside - it is so mild and still....43f, just like a summer's morning, blackbirds singing and the band of blue lightening up the eastern sky...I'm about a couple of miles from the sea here, far enough to grow trees, but some of them get a bit windswept! I have to talk to someone about a weeping willow - one would do well on my waterlogged garden and should be far enough away from any drains - yes making dens under the trailing branches, lovely memories indeed.
Lovely thanks sun shining here too. Off to the gym and swim then shopping. It's show week so start of our local dramatic play tonight. I am doing props so stressed out just hope I last the week.! Happy Tuesday to you too hope the week continues to be a good one. Love Moi x
Your so right Vashti it's pretty normal, I don't like it either. Try to think of the positives, mmm well you've always got an excuse not to go somewhere you don't want to go coz you may run out of oxygen for one thing! No cooking with gas (fortunately we have gas) Maybe we should start a thread on the positives xx
Same here. Can be wafting around full of euphoria in the morning and by after dinner, a prostrated wreck. But looking at it a different way, lung disease makes you so accustomed to feeling unwell that being unwell just passes for normal. My sister always says to me 'how can you stand it' and I hardly know how to answer her. The truth is that I've become so used to it that it doesn't bother me as much as it bothers her. Being a bit sob, a bit tired, a bit sore and a bit weak is now my default setting and when it's only 'a bit' I think that's great Anybody else identify with this ?
I sure can identify with what you've said, only I couldn't put into words as well. The 'default setting' is so accurate as to how I feel most of the time, a brilliant anology. Thank you for voicing my feelings so well.
Thanks Christine ! Do you also find you just become accustomed to it ? In fact I'm not only accustomed to it but grateful that things aren't worse. I can function quite well on the default setting but when we get into the really bad sob, intense pain and legs like jelly, then I'd give anything to be back on default. Sounds weird doesn't it but I suppose we all just have to cope as best we can. Hope you're doing okay at the moment. I'm doing fairly well for the last two weeks. Take care !
I know what you mean by becoming accustomed to it, and just getting on with things. Only problem is that people get used to you coping, and often don't realise how bad things can be, our fault I suppose, as we often don't open up enough. Not too bad at mo, actually managed a walk in park this afternoon with my granddaughter . Going to try put a pic on later. Hope you doing ok,
Vashti As usual you say just what I have been thinking about for a few days. Been quite short of breathe the last couple of weeks my GP has increased Fostaire for me but doesn't want to step on the consultants toes by doing much more so have to wait till April till I see her. My weight has dropped again to six stone, like you food does not tempt me and if I eat to much at one sitting I feel very sob afterwards . I was taking the supplement fruit drinks but they don't seem to agree with either the Theophylline or the Azithromycin not sure which it is . Tiredness overwhelms me sometimes but that is my own fault as I keep going even though I know I should sit down and rest.
I fall asleep after breakfast of two toast, after small lunch, and after teatime meal. Don't feel any benefit for it and still sleep six hours at night. As with you after a small achievement managed one day I am too exhausted to do hardly anything the next. Seems a lot of us are the same. Hoping the longer days will give us a boost.
I have mild COPD but I have the same problem. As soon as I eat something in the morning I fall asleep. In my case it may be the diabetes. Or Bi-polar. I tend to be brighter later in the day.
Got a nasty cough at the moment, following a bad cold with fever. Tried to phone surgery several times this week, but they weren't answering. Was gasping for air at night for a few nights.
It is difficult to plan ahead, when you never know what the next day will bring.
So many things affect us, be it breathing, gastro reflux and many other things.
Things seem much worse now, we can't just get over things quickly now.
Similar, except I have longer energetic periods these days but it isn't always so. I feel a bit of a wimp saying I feeling poorly & its a head & chest cold. People are at work with them for heavens sake but then again the colds are on top of other things.....
for nearly a year now, I have planned ahead again but mostly for breif periods, so I know I don't have to carry on for long if I am unwell. Holidays, we limit to 5 days max; we got fed up with me going down with an infection but I have been great until lately. I think you do a lot Vashti, planning, sorting, writing, keeping us all entertained.
Yes Vashti. Your feelings are quite a normal symptom of COPD. Strange disease - up and down all the time. Worst in the intense cold. Am looking forward to the warming up of the weather process.
Planning is a big problem. I agree that one day you feel you could do just about anything but then that day comes and you wake to hardly raise a smile?
It is the "you need to exercise more? But you cannot!" Is my constant reminder whatthe mind wants the body does not want to play.
I totally relate to all you have said of daily life with COPD but I like you am conscious that there can be other causes for some things. We and our medicos need to take care not to overlook other possibilities sometimes and not immediately blame every symptom we ever have to COPD.
Yesterday was fine. I could actually do some things. Fortunately, I do have an appetite but sometimes, unfortunately, have to wait until I have the energy and breath to actually make and eat something. Today, just getting out of bed to feed my cat, was so breathless, I could barely move. Had to just sit and try to get my breath while Tara glared at me. Eventually, I staggered into the kitchen and fed her. I hate the sheer unpredictability of this horrible disease .
Hi Vashti, know exactly how you feel, I could stay in bed all day and read, food would not bother me until I felt sick and had to have something to eat, nothing seems to trigger my appetite.
Up until recently I used to have lots of PJ days but got embarrassed if visitors came or parcels were delivered so I bought some loose joggers an a couple of oversize tops so I can still be comfortable without getting properly dressed.
Showering is almost impossible so I bought some Bath in Bed Wipes I put them on the radiator to get warm first otherwise take my breathe away (the little I have anyway).
Just go with the flow.
take care
polly xx
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