copd?

[starskyd]

I have had asthma since birth and bronchiectasis. Ive never smoked...an tbis be classified as COPD

[mrsmummy]

Asthma, bronchiectasis and COPD are all very different conditions which have different treatments. Having said that, it is perfectly possible to have them all at the same time. The only person who can tell you for certain is your doctor, after performing tests.

Welcome to the forum.

[starskyd in reply to mrsmummy]

Thankyou..Been told different things...needed clarification

[Hidden]

Hi starskyd. Not in the UK. Here, only chronic bronchitis & emphysema are classed as COPD. That's been the case for some years now, though some older GPs have yet to catch up & still call it COPD. I always put my GP straight on that because bronchiectasis is a completely different condition. In the US though, for some reason bronchiectasis is classified as COPD! Very confusing.

It's not smoking-related. As I expect you know, there are many different causes. I have it because of lung damage caused by childhood pneumonia and severe asthma. Some here are like you and have always had both*

*Actually, re-reading your post, I'm not sure how long you've had bronchiectasis. If it's a fairly recent diagnosis, you might find this booklet helpful, it provides a good overview chss.org.uk/documents/2013/...

[starskyd in reply to Hidden]

Ive been diagnosed since 1995

[Hidden in reply to starskyd]

Snap!

[starskyd]

Booklet useful thanks...most of this i do. chest clearance non smoker nebuliser etc, it is embarrasing but ive lived with it for years..Has got worse. I also have gastric reflux which doesnt help...

[Hidden in reply to starskyd]

Blimey, snap again! Mine's got worse & the gastric reflux is causing me huge problems at present, it seems to have got a bit out of control. Do you sleep tilted? Recently I've found this to be essential. This is a helpful post from zube-UK healthunlocked.com/blf/post....

[starskyd in reply to Hidden]

I do try and sleep with head raised. Its good to know others have same problem.. It is an illness and no cure..I have epilepsy, high blood pressure and suffer with panic/anxiety attacks...This time of yr coughs colds etc lethal for me, then summer hayfever!

[Hidden in reply to starskyd]

I don't have those things, but I do have aspergillosis, Meniere's, adrenal insufficiency, blah blah all very tedious. Let's hope that saying, "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger" has some truth in it eh? We all creak on

[Shancock]

Me too, terrible reflux, asthma and chronic sinus. I recently had a CT scan which showed a very diluted oseophegos so now I'm seeing a specialist and having some tests soon and will probably have something called Linx surgery for it. It's where they put a very small bracelet of magnetic beads around the oseophegos to keep it closed after eating so the gas does not keep coming up and causing coughs and heartburn etc. May be worth talking to your doctor about as it's very successful apparently.

[Hidden in reply to Shancock]

Hi Shancock! Would you mind keeping us posted on the Linx procedure? I'm nowhere near ready for surgery yet but my reflux has suddenly got dramatically worse so I'm exploring all options.

[Shancock in reply to Hidden]

Yes of course, I'm waiting to see the specialist first, will prob be after Xmas now I imagine and then they'll be a few tests, so when I know more I'll post.

[Offcut]

A lot of Doctors use COPD as a general term for lung issues. I have RLD but also Emphysema which would be classed as COPD. The RLD is fibrosis from a severe infection and treatment.

Info below:

lunginstitute.com/blog/the-...