Got diagnosis without scan from single breath diffusion test is that possible. Thought I would need a scan.
Advise please
Diagnosis mild emphasiuma : Got... - Lung Conditions C...
Diagnosis mild emphasiuma
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I was diagnosed with COPD at my local GP surgery and didn't have a scan or tests other than blowing through a tube connected to the Respiratory Nurse's computer. Because I have very little coughing or phlegm, it will be the emphysema component rather than the chronic bronchitis.
in reply to Ergendl
Does this disease progress some say yes some say no..very confused
in reply to Ergendl
Thank you does this condition get worse, what happens now
Ergendl in reply to
It generally gets worse, usually very slowly over time, as long as you avoid chest infections. Mine has actually improved with following the advice of others on this site, about exercise, eating healthily, singing for lung health, taking meds, etc. It's not an immediate death sentence, just a call to live more healthily.
My other half was diagnosed without a scan too. He did have an X-ray though because he had a cough that would not shift.
in reply to
Scared for my future at moment in denial.
in reply to
The diagnosis can be a shock but this is a long term condition and some of our members on here have lived with it for years and years. There is lots of advice around (especially here). If you smoke stop, eat a healthy diet and exercise if you can. Take care.
in reply to
Do you mind me asking how your partner is doing it's my quality of life as I work very independent
in reply to
He is doing really well. He walked to the shops yesterday which is about a mile and uphill on the way there. His main issue seems to be bending.
in reply to
How bad does this get
O2Trees in reply to
Hi Rayswife - quick thought. Most of us with copd have some degree of reflux and bending means gravity causes some acid to leak out of the stomach. If your husband tried squatting briefly instead, assuming he can do that, he might find it better. Alternately he could get one of those grabbers which pick stuff up from the ground.
But if this isnt relevant then please ignore 
in reply to O2Trees
Thanks, good thought! He usually bends before he remembers he shouldn’t do that anymore!
The usual way to be diagnosed initially is with a lung function test. Then this can be confirmed with a CT scan which shows the actual damage to the lungs, but a scan is not necessary for diagnosis.
It might be more helpful to think of copd as a long-term condition rather than as a progressive one. It is progressive but the rate of progression varies so much that it's impossible to know how you will be until you've lived with it for longer.
I was diagnosed with a lung function test at mid-range moderate. That was in 2000 and 19 years later Im now lower end of severe but still getting around, gardening, biking, going to community meetings, spending time with family and friends - generally living a good life. Getting your head round it is the main thing and not easy when you're newly diagnosed but you will get there. Keep in touch with us here
in reply to O2Trees
Oh so that's how the mild came about. I have googled and scarred myself. What is the importance of a fev1 please mine is 79 I think is that good bad.
in reply to O2Trees
Sorry whst is mid range moderate all new to me
There are 4 stages. The first is stage one which is mild and what you are. The others are moderate, severe, and very severe. You will probably never reach the lowest stages though so try and relax. x
Don't know if you're still reading your thread Hidden but fev1 means 'forced expiratory volume in one second' i.e. the volume of all you can blow out in one hard quick blow.
I'm sure I would have got worse if I hadn't accidentally found out I had a problem when I took the cable car to the top of Mount Teide in 2014, gone back to my GP to get it checked out and got a diagnosis. Then I read all the suggestions on here about how to manage my condition, and tried them out, like choosing not to commit suicide by sofa, avoiding infections, getting fit, eating healthily, taking my meds properly, avoiding my triggers, doing the PR course, setting up and running 2 weekly singing groups. The ones that work for me, I still do. The others I drop.
I took my diagnosis to be a wake-up call to live a healthier lifestyle, rather than rail at the medics for diagnosing me with a condition I had developed in part because of my previous lifestyle.
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