COPD Friends Community Guidelines:

[R2B_Joe]

Welcome to the COPD Friends Community for support of COPD!

We’re very glad you have chosen to be a part of our community. The COPD Friends community - offered by the Right2Breathe and HealthUnlocked (HU) - supports individuals affected by COPD. Whether you are an individual who has been diagnosed, a care-partner, family member, or friend, we hope this community is a safe and supportive place for you to share your experiences and find information and support.

This community is moderated by Right2Breathe and HealthUnlocked.

The COPD Friends community is part of HealthUnlocked, a network of over 200 conditions and wellness communities from organizations you know and trust. By using HealthUnlocked (HU) you are accepting these posting guidelines and agree to HealthUnlocked’s site Guidelines and Terms of Use. Members of the COPD Friends should read HU’s Guidelines in conjunction with the COPD Friends Community Guidelines outlined below.

HU Community Guidelines: support.healthunlocked.com/...

HU Terms of Use: healthunlocked.com/policies...

Below are the COPD Friends Community Guidelines, which are aimed at creating and maintaining a safe and supportive community for all our members. Many of HU’s guidelines are repeated here.

Professional Health Information:

The COPD Friends Community strives to provide useful, up-to-date information on matters of concern to individuals with COPD and other members of the COPD community. The information posted on this site should not be used as a means of diagnosis, determining treatment, nor replace the relationship between you, your doctors and other healthcare professionals. For diagnosis and treatment options, you are urged to consult your physician.

Community Atmosphere:

The COPD Friends Community is a safe, supportive, informative, and friendly community for people affected by COPD. Your participation in this community should be with respect, honesty and in the spirit of supporting and learning from fellow users.

Please note that while Right2Breathe is an organization based in the United States, members may be located worldwide. As such, details on approved medications, treatment protocols, healthcare, insurance, and other related topics may differ and should always be verified depending on your specific location.

Posting Content (Posts/Questions/Replies/Private Messages):

Content posted by individual members does not represent the views of the Right2Breathe or HealthUnlocked.

Posting content on this community is taken as your agreement to post information that is true and accurate to the best of your knowledge and is primarily drawn from personal experience. You are encouraged to post content about your own experience with COPD (or that of a loved one), ask questions, and offer support and advice.

Content should never be abusive, derogatory, sexually explicit or suggestive, or deliberately misleading. If you believe someone else’s content violates this rule, please report it via the “Report Abuse” option or via the “Feedback” button. Content that is felt to violate this policy will either be edited or removed. All feedback reports are read by moderators and it is their judgement on what action, if any, is taken.

Neither Right2Breathe nor HealthUnlocked is responsible for any offence or injury that a member may draw from another member’s content.

Any content posted on this community can be read, used, reproduced, and cited by other users of the site. You have the option to delete content you posted.

When you post third-party information, such as information about new treatments, you are asked to provide references and links to sources wherever possible. Please ensure links are to a reputable site.

Moderating Content:

Content posted on this community is moderated by Right2Breathe and HealthUnlocked. Moderation occurs only after content is posted.

Moderation helps maintain a safe, positive environment for all members of the community. Content may be edited or removed to ensure that the community remains supportive and responsive for all members.

The community is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Moderation occurs after posting and primarily between the hours of [9 AM and 5 PM EST Monday through Friday].

Solicitations:

Please note that Right2Breathe does not endorse or recommend any specific products, services, therapies, or activities mentioned by any third party (individual or company). While anyone (including moderators) may share their own personal experience with medications or medical equipment, please know that everyone’s experiences are different. Nothing posted is ever intended to replace your own doctor’s advice.

Online Safety:

In this community, there may be discussions of health-related issues and sharing of personal information.

Please note that the COPD Friends Community is an open site, meaning that any posts are searchable by internet search engines and can be shared via social media platforms. The default setting of posts allows them to be visible to individuals who are not members of the community. If you would rather your content was not searchable, you can change the visibility of your post by selecting "Only followers in my community" before clicking submit. This will result in only the post title and first line of text being visible to those who are not members of the community. However, doing this will limit the number of people who will find and benefit from the information you have shared. We suggest members leave posts open for everyone to find if they are comfortable doing so to ensure more people find communities and benefit from the wealth of information on HealthUnlocked.

For your own safety, you should not disclose personal information such as your full name, email address, home address, telephone number, or any other information which could directly or indirectly identify you.

For more information on general online safety guidelines please visit: consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0...

[katieoxo60]

Hi there , the first step to giving up is to decide when you feel able to quit i.e no stress or other worries if possible, a determined mind, and keep reminding yourself how much weller you will feel in future. Take one day at a time and don't beat yourself up if you fail just set a date and try again. I found not doing things where you used to enjoy a fag with it helped, and being with people who do not rely on cigarettes . Medically I used patches at a third attempt. I am now a long term Xsmoker. but left with the damage it as done. Good luck and they saying is never give up on giving up.

[R2B_Joe Partner in reply to katieoxo60]

Thanks for sharing katieoxo60 ! I think you may have intended for this to be on the Quitting Smoking post instead of the community guidelines, but it's certainly ok and I'm glad you shared your story!

[katieoxo60 in reply to R2B_Joe]

Not sure where this was supposed to go , but due to computer hicup it may have gone astray from where it was intended. I do have arthritic hands too

[grannyk3]

Thank you for the welcome and information!

grannyk 😺