I know what ' normal' FVC levels are and, as I understand it, there's not a lot of difference between this and FEV6 but FEV1? What is 'normal', what is below average and what is 'critical'?
Why do the doctors/nurses n not explain these things, do they think we are all too stupid to understand?
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I don't pretend to be an expert but my understanding of FEV1 is:
FEV1 is the forced expiratory volume or the amount we can blow out in one second after filling our lungs. They look at how close this is to what would be predicted as "normal" for someone of your height, age, etc. Then they give the results as a percentage. So if you do a good strong blow and have healthy lungs you may reach 80% of what would have been predicted (which would be good). You may only manage to blow out 15% or less (which would be very poor). So your FEV1 % is a marker for the degree of obstruction in your lungs. Generally this is read as:
FEV1 80% of predicted = normal
FEV1 60% to 79% of predicted = mild obstruction
FEV1 40% to 59% of predicted = moderate obstruction
FEV1 less than 40% of predicted = severe obstruction
Auntymary xx
Thank you auntymary - I've never known what these meant.
Take care,
Chris
I should add that I don't view any of these as "critical" and that anyone with a very low FEV1% (mine is 14%) will tell you they still expect to go on living and to have a moderately good quality of life!
Am
Coming across this website, and your comment in particular tonight, has suddenly given me a huge boost in confidence (about going on a awhile longer - and also that all the techniques I have developed for myself over the years have been more fundamental to keeping me going than any medication (tho of course I do use a lot of conventional medicine at times).
For some 5 years I've managed quite an active life - socialising, part-time work, walks in the country, all the housework & shopping etc with an FeV of around 21-24 %. (I've felt so grateful to be able to do so because this sort of figure on the mainstream sites is as the quite low end of 'staging'.
Last weekend was a very strange experience for me. During the previous week (after quite a stressful xmas, I could see I was developing a chest infection and started on my usual regime which I've used for years (from my emergency suppies) amoxocillin 250, plus adding about 10mg - 15mg prednisone per day. This has up to now always worked - within about 4 days I start to feel better.
but this time, by the time day 4 came it was the bank holiday weekend (fri-sun). I realised I was getting worse rather than better, and the FeV was down at 11%. I took this seriously and if it had been a normal weekday would have gone to see my GP. But I realised I had the choice of taking responsibility for managing this myself for 3 days until a GP who knew me would be back - or going to the walk-in clinic (where no-one would know how carefully I could control my breathing to stay well) and I knew that at these kind of FeV level they would want to admit me and I would lose all control, with the added stress of being in hospital.
I have been ill all my life with breathing problems, and throughout my childhood and young adulthood had frequent, sometime lengthy admissions to hospital - I realise staff do their best and want to be helpful, but in all those first 20years nothing actually stabilised my breathing. When I was 20 I'd started university and already had 4 admissions to hospital in the first 16 months, I felt desperate 'this has to be different'. So after the 4th hospital stay of 2 weeks, I just decided I had to start taking control and from then on researched and tried out many ways to be more attuned to my own breathing and to look after myself. I didn't cure myself, and there were times of being very ill, but 'touch wood' in all these past 46 years I managed to take care of myself at home - and had supportive GPs.
So going back to last weekend - suddenly having 3 days at Fev 11%, and really focussing my energy on getting through this safely till the GP's opened on monday - at that the time it felt a surreal experience and something of a milestone.
So your post which talks of adapting to 14% as an ongoing level, and still having an optimistic grasp on living - I can't thank you enough, it's given me such a boost to having real optimism for myself, at least for another couple of years.
I do hope you are still around in the world - but if you're not, then how amazing to having left this little gem of a post out there, waiting for someone to find 3 yrs later.
And I fel great mostly!
Feel
Be wary! The practice nurse took mine a few weeks ago and I was CURED! Oh, she said, it's restrictive not obstructive! So there I was fully cured by the practice nurse!
Sadly, a week later mine were checked again (Nottingham Research centre) and it was back!
It would have been nice to have been cured but I never really believed it - the practice nurse hadn't got a clue and didn't know how to read the results! Hospitals, research centre & PR all know what they are doing whereas GP practices .... jury's out!
It can vary a little but if I am going to be cured I want one that lasts!
I have found that when i get lung function test done in hospital my FEV1 is always
lower that the test I get from my Practice nurse
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