Back from consultant

[gillwigan]

Went to see the consultant to day, did not get to see the one i was supposed to be seeing so i saw a different doctor instead .

Now i was refferd to the Throatic consulant by a cardiac consultant because i have Emphysemaia my blood pressure was sky high and so was my pulse, the cardioligist sent me for loads of test and put me on 200mg of tildienla a day to get my blood pressure down which i am still on, he said my heart was fine so was sending me throatic because my pulse was high my FEV was 58 and he was concerned for me .

So back to today it's the first time i have ever seen my consultantlant who failed to communicate with me or listen to me , he said you have been sent from cardiolgy and you have emphysemia , then he read my notes and said what is the problem , i told im very breathless when im active , he got an oximeter and stuck it in on my finger he said good reading , i repeated it's when im active so we go for a short walk down the corridor , we get back I'md im breathless with a pulse of 115 , my husband trys to tell him my oxygen levels drop when my pulse calms but he seemed to ignore this and said oxygen is ok .

He then says i will will make you a six week appointment to see consultant you should have seen today and goes into the room next door, the nurse appears and my husband informs her that he is not happy with my pulse being over 100I' when im active she brings the doctor back in, he says cardioligst says your heart is OK , yes he did so there is another reason my wifes pulse is so high says hubby, the doctors says yes but it soon falls , my husband says so my wife cant be active because anyone with a pulse over 100 is in danger.

He now brings in a diffrent nurse in and ask her to perform a blow test to measure my carbon dioxide levels its a blow were a little ball blow in a tube when you blow , result was 23 they were looking for 25 tI'm27 so im below normal , when i arrived i had a blow test my FEV said 43, the doctor then said i need a full lung function test and in the meantime to relax , he and the nurse then said how about rehab to which my husband said nobody with a pulse over 100 when active should be exercising, they looked at each other and said well lets get the lung function test done first .

So now i must wait for the test and to see consulant i should have seen today which is six weeks, i felt let down today as i have been going through various channels for 12 mths to reach here today , i feel if my husband had not spoke up for me over my pulse rates things would not have gone further unless someone from here can tell me diffrent and that this normally happens then im not a happy bunny .

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It is common to have a higher pulse rate with COPD. My own has improved since diagnosis. It is now usually around 92 - 96 at rest. When I exercise I aim for at least 120 bpm, otherwise there is not going to be much benefit from the cardio point of view. It is frequently higher though - around 127 - 135 (exercising). Once you are all checked out as long as you don't have heart problems then exercise as much as you can if you want to improve your heart rate - or SOB for that matter. Don't panic too much, remember there are people with one lung running marathons, and people with severe COPD walking marathons and half marathons. It is entirely up to you how much you do or don't do, but this is a use it or lose it disease. Spirometry results can vary from day to day and with time of day, they will go up and down by a few points. Try not to worry too much and good luck with your tests. Parvati.

[gillwigan]

Thanks guys you have put my mind at rest something the consultant didn't do .

[jojam]

It is good that you are getting Lung Function Tests. Please dont worry too much about your pulse rate, at one stage mine was over 100 bpm when at rest! I have improved this by regular exercise & now hover around 85 to 90 bpm at rest. When exercising or generally active it can go as high as 140 bpm. I have been assured by my Respiratory Physio that this is safe.

Let us know how you get on with your tests

Best wishes

Jo

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Pleasing to see that you have found the answers to put your mind to rest when we did exercise with age uk the man told us age had a link to safe heart rate. He had a book with the information in so he could keep us safe.

Kind regards Ethel