I'm new here...

[Arkangel]

twenty years ago, I was diagnosed with asthma and somewhere along the way the diagnosis changed to COPD without me really being aware. Recently I had a twisted hiatus hernia and stomach contents entering the lungs led to pneumonia. Since then my breathing has become much more difficult. I use two inhalers, Fostair and Aclidlinium powder. I have ME/CFS too, so it's difficult to know whether the increased weakness is solely from the COPD. Has anyone any advice on coping mechanisms please. I am so tired.

[joyful4u]

Hi, welcome to our group. I too have asthma & emphysema. I hope you have a good pulmonary doctor who will test you to see what stage your copd is plus manage your meds. Mine has been mild for 3 years now. At first it was a hard pill to swallow but with time, I've learned to accept what I have & do my best to drink a lot of water & exercise, especially walking daily. This mind change helped lessen my fears & panic attacks. Reading up on all the past posts will give you a wealth of information, advice & support. I hope you do well. I'll pray that you do. Terri

[R2B_Joe Partner]

Welcome to the group! One thing about feeling weak- I am assuming that you had a hospital stay while you were battling the pneumonia and recovering from surgery. Keep in mind- health care professionals (I am not a professional) have told me that you will need at least 1 week of recovery time for every day spent in the hospital due to de-conditioning. Finding some way to walk, at what ever level possible, will be very important to your well-being. Making a commitment to what ever exercise you can will pay dividends!

I will defer info on medications to our Respiratory Therapist and director of Education (Michele) since she is qualified to provide insights there...

[Arkangel in reply to R2B_Joe]

Thank you R2B_Joe, you have reassured me, I expect to recover so much quicker and of course, that is not going to happen. My main problem is not being able to exercise because of the ME. I do try to walk a bit around in the house and to climb (on hands and knees) the stairs at least once a day. Otherwise I am very grateful for the stair lift. I was nearly 7 weeks in hospital - so I suppose I must be patient!

[R2B_Joe Partner in reply to Arkangel]

A good friend of mine (who also happens to own a gym and is a body builder) has 3 things he tells people trying to achieve fitness goals: Believe in yourself, trust the process, and practice patience!

We are here to support you through it all!

[R2B_Michele_RRT Partner]

Hello and Welcome,

Please give your body some time. I know patience is hard and you want to get going again. For a person without other illnesses it takes approx. 1 day for every day you were in the hospital to recover from Pneumonia. You have the ME/CFS and the COPD/Asthma. How lonf have you been taking the Fostair and Aclidinium. Are you located in the US or UK?

[Arkangel in reply to R2B_Michele_RRT]

hello Michele, nice to hear from you. I am in the UK. I can't remember how long I've been taking these inhalers (ME Brain fog) but it has been a few years. I had gastric surgery too, I had a twisted hiatus hernia , I had been vomiting blood for months and stomach contents had entered my lungs. Hence the pneumonia.

[R2B_Michele_RRT Partner in reply to Arkangel]

How are you doing?

[Arkangel in reply to R2B_Michele_RRT]

Thank you so much for asking, Hurting, awake and nauseous and twitchy. But I am feeling positive. I am glad for the advice to reduce slowly. I am sure it would have been a lot worse to stop all together.