Grannyhope

[Grannyhope]

Hi,

I have been diagnosed with gold grade 3 COPD.

I like to travel and I am looking for a good travel insurance provider who understands COPD.

I use ambulatory oxygen when necessary but for long distances I use a wheelchair.

[Welshcatlady]

I have used Staysure and Good to go and at the moment I am insured by Sainsbury's insurance. But have a look at Medical Travel Compared, it's a good comparison site. When choosing make sure that they cover your needs, the cheapest isn't always the best. Be sure to declare all your medical conditions, otherwise if you do need to make a claim you may not be covered, even if it's unrelated.

I'm not sure but I think you need to tell your travel company that you need to take oxygen with you.

Also remember to book special assistance at the airports, it's a godsend for me and my husband.

And last but not least have a wonderful holiday!

[Grannyhope in reply to Welshcatlady]

Thank you so much for your advice, I will look into the areas you have mentioned. You have been very helpful.

[Welshcatlady in reply to Grannyhope]

Thank you, glad to be of help to you.

[garshe]

Never heard of Gold grade COPD. What is this. ?. Its usually . Mild,moderate severe. Xx.Sheila

[R2B_Joe Partner in reply to garshe]

GOLD is the Global Intiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease. You can find more here: goldcopd.org/ .

GOLD provides guidelines for doctors and other clinicians treating patients with COPD, provides best practices based on research and evidence based medicine.

Right2Breathe was just present at the annual GOLD COPD Conference in Philadelphia last month (November 2023). One of our board members and two regular attendees of our online patient support group (Pulmonary Chat) were each a part of 3 separate panel discussions.

[garshe in reply to R2B_Joe]

Thanks for reply xx.Sheila

[R2B_Joe Partner in reply to garshe]

Here are the GOLD COPD stages to compare with the more commonly known descriptions.

GOLD COPD stages

[R2B_Joe Partner]

Are you located in the UK or the United States or somewhere else? The Right2Breathe online patient support group meets 3x per month and we discuss traveling with COPD frequently. Several patients have experience with this.

[smilingstar in reply to R2B_Joe]

Uk

[Trevor6]

hi , can you explain the stage. Gold grade am in uk 🇬🇧 never heard of it before ? Many thanks

[R2B_Joe Partner in reply to Trevor6]

The easiest way to communicate the GOLD stages is to share the most recent table from the 2024 Guide. If you are not familiar, FEV1 is a measurement of the volume of air during the first 1 second of a spirometry test. The percentage of predicted is based on numerous factors that compare your results against someone very similar to you (age, weight, sex, race, etc.) to determine what healthy lung function should be.

Keep in mind: I am NOT a clinician, but was a caregiver for my dad and mother-in-law with COPD and have been involved in COPD advocacy for 14 years. I have a working knowledge of spirometry through leading Right2Breathe free lung screening events but for more detailed information I have not had formal schooling to be qualified to provide it.

Please let me know if you want more info. If you need/want more in depth information, I will ask one of our Respiratory Therapist volunteers to reply.

I hope this helps!

A table showing GOLD COPD stages

[Trevor6 in reply to R2B_Joe]

Many thanks

[garshe in reply to R2B_Joe]

Well that's exactly what I said. Mild moderate, severe and very severe . No difference xx.Sheila