Hi guys sorry but I'm having a bad day I no people say figures don't mean nothing but it does mean something to me this was my result Feb 2020 before lockdown
VC=5.73L (best) 115% predicted
FVC =5.45L 109% predicted
Fev1 = 3.71L 93% predicted
fev1/fvc = 68% predicted
That will be 2 years in Feb next year for my age and hight I worked out my fev1/fvc should be 78% please can someone calm me down as I'm seeing the worst case here and I can ot help it my doctors and nurse say my lungs are really good ect and this decline buisness how much will I likely lose in the next 20 years I no how long is a piece of string I gave up smoking 2 years ago never had a chest infection trying to stay as healthy as I can I don't feel right working hard with the physio dysfunctional breathing ect and on more anxiety meds, not on any inhaler or anything but just don't feel right should I have symptoms this early on sorry for bothering you guys xx
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bryan45735
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Hi Bryan, try not to worry it's your anxiety kicking in again. Has something else happened to start you worrying? We can only do our best to keep as well, healthy and as active as we can and you're doing all that - well done on quitting the cigs 👌👍👏👊
Have you had the covid vaccinations to keep you protected against it? Peege
I forgot to say, those numbers are from ages ago when you'd only quit the ciggies for a few months. I'm sure they will have improved with your healthier lifestyle that you've worked so hard for. P
It could also mean you've caught a bug and may be coming down with a chesty cold. There's a horrible one going round they're calling the super cold. Do you take extra vitamins? At least through the winter might be a good idea. Hang on in there 🙏
Yes I just got over that cold it was cough cough horrible that didn't do my anxiety any good I thought it was an exsasabation had yellow phlegm ect but it all cleared up after a week, I do take plenty of vitamin c
Hi Bryan, if you suffer from anxiety it won't help you, and really well done for giving up smoking . If the doctor or nurse thought there was anything wrong I'm sure they would let you know. So please try not to panic you are doing everything right. Have a lovely day and take care 😊 Bernadette and Jack 🐕 xxxxxx
Im sorry yr having bad day.i cant answer yr query but want to say yr doing great taking yr medicatiions and continuing work on dysfunctional breathing.Ru able to go 4 a walk? It may help u to de stress a little and is gd for lungs,heart + mental health.x
It's just a battle all the professionals say how good my lungs are but I don't feel great it can't be put down all to anxiety it just feels like pressure in my chest but the physio says it's nothing to do with obstruction it breathing pattern disorder
Anxiety is awful and can cause very many physical symptoms.the proffesional physio,drs,nurses wont lie to u.think about adding walking + exercise in to yr regime to help with anxiety management xxx
I know from experience bryan that anxiety plays havoc with how we feel physically including 'not feeling right'.If you are managing to get out for a walk the changing season can have some effect on breathing patterns too.
Keep up the work with the disfunctional breathing which itself takes a lot of effort and practice.
Take heart in what the doctors have said about your lung health and Charlie_G's great reply but come here for support as you have today whenever you need to. Wishing you well xx
There is no fixed specific ratio by age, medically. It does vary - and also naturally decrease - by age, but medically acceptable numbers are defined in groupings, with under 18s expected to have a ratio around 80 to 85% as normal. For diagnostic purposes, adults are considered to have a normal ratio if it’s 70% or above. Generally speaking, even with progressive lung conditions the ratio doesn’t decline in quite the same way that fev1 and fvc do, and for many people the ratio often remains relatively static over long periods of time.
Your individual fev1 and fvc are good. Your ratio is only marginally below the lower limit of normal, and whilst it’s the best we’ve got, spirometry as a measure of respiratory function isn’t ideal. On any given day, there are numerous factors that can influence the results, ranging from how tired you are, to what you ate, and what’s on your mind. This is even more relevant when you consider that spirometry is not actually something you do once and get indisputable results: technique and practice are everything, so results should always be considered in light of that. That’s why children with lung diseases start practicing spirometry at the age of 6, doing it at every clinic and during every admission, so anywhere between 6 and maybe 20 times a year, but the only thing given weight is the trend over time. They don’t generally ‘trust’ the actual value until kids are into double figures age wise and have done dozens of tests to crack the technique. Once you’ve got the technique, the advice given is still to frame the results as on the day you did that test, your figures were at least that number or even higher. This is because false highs are virtually impossible, but false lows are commonplace for lots of reasons, and even more so in those that are new to spirometry. The idea that adults do one test and then have an illness diagnosed and potentially staged off their first ever attempt does my personal nut.
I’m not drawing comparisons, but to put the figures into some kind of context, my 13 yo has a ratio in the low 60s even when really well. Her well fev1 is in the low 70s, her fvc between 100 and 110. In spite of that, you wouldn’t really know she has a lung condition. Some of that is because she’s young, but it’s also because - as many members here with much lower lung function than hers will attest to - even if accurate, the numbers genuinely *aren’t* everything. Even if we take your numbers on face value and say you appear to have a very mild measure of obstruction, you can do a lot to help reduce any rate of decline - including the natural one we all experience, lung condition or no - by doing what you are: don’t smoke, live a healthy lifestyle, and exercise. Measures of lung function for many people with COPD and other obstructive conditions can be stabilised - or even improved - by aerobic exercise. As counterintuitive as it may sound, regularly getting breathless through exercise can/does reduce functional breathlessness for a lot of people, which is why regular exercise is strongly encouraged as part of disease management.
Last but not least. Dysfunctional breathing can have a very real, physical effect on breathing and how we feel: my daughter’s oxygen levels were dropping into the high 80s entirely as a result of DB associated with anxiety. Once we got her breathing ‘normally’, not only did it lower her anxiety levels generally, and her perception of her breathing feeling bad/being breathless, her well sats are now consistently 96%+. I’ve read a few of your posts, and anxiety is clearly a major issue in your life, but speaking from my own, extensive personal experience, it is something that can be overcome.
Those figures are great most people would want them. Fev1 over 80% is considered normal and you are 93%🤷♀️ Anxiety/ stress can cause all sorts of ailments perhaps you could concentrate on that ?
Thanks for the support guys, it's putting my mind out of this diagnosis, spoke with my gp a hour ago its was a scheduled appointment just to see how I'm doing, I try to explain im getting more out of breath than usual also next week I will be having my 3rd session with physio this time I will be walking on a treadmill and she will be watching my breathing pattern, my doctor once again said tonight that I will probably never need an inhaler my lungs are in good shape I've had this feeling for 2 years now if I didnt have these feelings that my chest is got tention or feels like I can't get a deep breath ect I wouldn't be ringing the doctors every 5 mins I must be going crazy
Try reading up on controlled breathing - i need and use this myself.it maybe useful to practise it so u can slip into it to stabilise yr breathing when walking,or when anxious.it may help u.i hope tomorrow is a better day for u x
Hi Bryan, I'm not really qualified to say anything, since I haven't a clue what my fevs etc are, ( I didn't know you were entitled to ask for them until I joined this site ) and my anxiety does not affect my breathing. Just wanted to wish you well. It's probably a silly suggestion, but have you considered joining an exercise class. Doing something with a group of hopefully friendly people helps to keep one's own worries at bay, at least for an hour. I'm seriously thinking of going back to the class I had to stop when lockdown started. It's a question of balancing the risk of covid against the benefit to one's physical and mental health. xxx
I agree with your recommendation of an exercise class. Yoga helps calm the breathing and seated zumba is good fun! The social aspect is as important too.
Hi Bryan So sorry to hear you are feeling so down. The main thing that l have learnt about lung problems is that it takes a long while to recover. It has taken me a long while to accept this. I have found that it helps to set small achievable goals. Wishing you well
Hi bryan45735,it takes time for you to recover from coughs and colds and with the weather changes damp,cold windy can all affect you .please stay positive as you are doing really well.
Good morning Bryan I was diagnosed with severe copd 2 years ago. And only have 38% feve 1 And I am doing ok. Yes I struggle with hills now but still get around ok on the flat. You have a long way to go to get to my stage. Just try to keep calm and stay positive. I appreciate its not easy. But listen to the doctors what they are telling you. Take care. Brian
Hi patk1 thanks for asking its approximately been a week since the doctors up my anxiety/depression meds and they have calmed me a bit I should have a full effect in 5 to 6 weeks also on diasapam x
Hello Bryan,Thank you for bringing this up. I do hope that everyone’s answers have helped. I really struggle with trying to understand my results. Recently I asked the practice nurse for a print out of a spirometer test in 2019.
If someone can explain what my FEV actually is, I would be so grateful.
Your FEV1 is the figure they use for COPD diagnosis, yours is 87% so normal. Don’t pay attention to the ratio as it’s at the LLN and you have an FVC that’s higher than normal. As a non smoker you have have PFT values that are nothing to be concerned about!
Hello ck101,Thank you so much for your reply. I’ve been diagnosed with COPD. The last spirometry test 2019 said my lungs were of an 84 year old, and I was 73!
I’ll wait until it is safe to have another test. I’m so grateful for this forum, as it has given such sensible advice and hope. Am really concentrating on better breathing exercises, more exercise.
Appreciate you have a COPD diagnosis so who am I to question this but Lung age provides no value, it’s well documented. The jury’s out on which provides more diagnostic value the LLN or a fixed cut off of .7 especially in those who are tall, have a normal FEV1 and are over 50 years of age. See below
It’s the ratio that’s diagnostic, not the fev1 or fvc: you absolutely can have obstruction and be diagnosed with COPD with values above the 80% threshold. Both the ERS and NICE maintain that to be the case. As long as there are typical symptoms such as breathlessness, if the ratio is decreased, then the fev1 can be over 100% and it wouldn’t matter.
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