My real name is John, I'm an 80 year old guy who considers himself fortunate to get to this age with so little medical defects, they are: very highly controlled Atrial Fibrillation, Osteoarthritis in both shoulders, the left being very troublesome - the right not so, and now a recent diagnosis of COPD.
So, I know where I've been in my life, know where I am - but this whole Asthma/ COPD/ Lung bizzo is a whole new challenge. I'm not even sure I'm getting the right advice from my GP. I suspect ACOS, my GP is firm that it is COPD. My GP has so far had me undertake a Spirometry with Reversability lung tests, as a result she has prescribed a Blue Inhaler Easyhaler with Salbutamol and get much more exercise. That's it !!
I smoked cigarettes from the age of 17 (1961) through to the age of 41 (1985) when I stopped using hypnotherapy. I haven't smoked since. No real medical problems with the lungs until the last 12 years when I suspected pollen/dust/ damp/ mould allergy. I've been a bus driver since 1992 (finally retiring in 2024 aged 74) - so plenty of inhaling petrol and diesel exhaust fumes over the years, not forgetting asbestos dust from bus braking systems. Nowadays in retirement we live on the edge of a village, but right next to an unadopted dirt road and agricultural land and an abundance of hedgerows ( oh ! waiting for spring buds ).
So, I am very much a 'new kid on the block' and am scratching my head wondering where the hell I go from here ....... the thing I find hardest to deal with is how one day I can feel like I'm superman and a ball of energy and within 24 hours feel like I'm crawling out of a train wreck, hardly being able to breathe.
If you are still with me I thank you. I'm open to any comments, be blunt if you like, but the main thing is - I want to learn about my new health issues - and most importantly how to deal with them.
Cheers,
John
Written by
BenHall1
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Hi john, welcome to the forum. Just wondering if you have had an xray along with your spirometry test and has the doctor given you any medication yet for your copd rather than just a reliever? 😉
Thanks for your thoughts. Chest X-Ray was on 28 Nov 2024, and the same day were Blood Tests. These results both came through on 6 December 2024. Nothing unusual was reported from these Tests/X-Ray. The spirometry test was on 19 Dec 2024 - all sorts of stuff reported on the letter ... what was mentioned was FEV1 was "predicted 91%".
And that's it !! May I ask what you were expecting my GP to do ........ needless to say, no medication (either tablet or liquid) prescribed, other than inhaler reliever .... I might add my GP never provided any instructions on inhaler doseage so I just went to NHS Online and got advice. Basically 1 or 2 inhales up to a maximum of 4 times a day. I have found exercise very difficult, requiring much effort ... mind you the weather since mid December down here in Cornwall has been such that one is NOT encouraged to go out galavanting. Interestingly ......... as with my osteoarthritis and worsening increased pain, my breathing difficulties worsen with a weather change moving from a dry period to one of high humidity and rain. Probably the very hardest domestic task around the home is sitting down, bending and putting on shoes and tying laces. To the point I now plan to buy 'slip on' shoes. This task leaves me exhausted.
Any further thoughts you may have would be welcome .... seems like there is a learning curve ahead. 😱😂😂
Hi john, I would have thought if you were diagnosed with copd you would have been issued an inhaled medication besides your reliever, I hope your seeing someone again soon as they've left you up in the air a bit really. Good luck chook 😉
Not that easy in one of the most financially, economically poorest counties in Britain, I'm already on my 2nd change of GP, and I'm running out of options. Unlike more wealthy areas in Britain we do not have GP surgeries gushing around our villages and towns. I've had blood tests which have eliminated the possibility of heart failure, chest X-Rays to eliminate any weird shadows on lungs, and now Spirometry with Reversibility to examine lung functionality. Nothing amiss really, just ACOS or mild COPD. I don't believe it is either - !! ................ just poor NHS at work in a poor county. The way I see things is some 'Woke' Ass has decided to give me a label or two. The only thing not mentioned so far is my age, (80 and on the downhill racer ) and my career work history - the last dumb ass healthcare organisation that went there was a Hospital Trust and my complaints then ended up with Secretary of State for Health in Westminster. That sorted all the dumb asses !! Trust me, I do not suffer fools.
Frankly - the only thing nobody has suggested is being tested for any one of an assortment of allergies. So, I'll go down the allergy line and self treat for whatever I think exists around the home. In the absence of finding any other culprit - allergy is the only one left. 😀
Where do you live if you dont mind me asking? I hope you get something sorted out for your problems and I fully understand how you feel, its frustrating when doctors just brush you off. This country Is rich, it's just that they send millions to a lot of countries that don't need it just to keep in with them I suppose but at the expense of people being poorly here. I'm rambling on now, sorry, hope all goes well for you, take care.
Firstly - love the picture - looks like a Rainbow Lorikeet. Reminds me of my homeland, and where I lived in Sydney and they used to line up for feeding of the top rail of our rear verandah. We used to feed them vet recommended food on occasions. Where do I live now ? ......... down the far pointy end of Cornwall, about 10 miles the Exeter side of Penzance. Tolerable out of tourist season (apart from weather) .......... total hell between 1 May and 31 October, tourist season.
I suppose, what really gets me, is the way and the suddenness/speed with which my breathing ability changes. Yesterday I had a brilliant day, no problems, plenty of activity. Today, a real problemo - trying to breath, and damn coughing ........... !! coughing for the universe. Had loads of activity planned but am totally cream crackered.
Please, don't get me started on my feelings about foreign aid ....... I'll only get a lifetime ban on here. You have a good day.
Welcome to the forum and sorry to hear you were diagnosed with COPD. If your FEV1% of predicted is 91% you are in the mild category and 91% I believe can be in the range of normal. Do you know what your FEV1/FVC ratio is? It should be in the report from the spirometry if they gave you a copy.
You might also want to consider posting to the forum at the link below as there are many more members there.
Thank you for your comments. Yes I did get a copy of the Spirometry Report and the figure you asked about is two readings, one Pre test and the other Post test.
So, pre test is Z+ score = 1.1 and the post test Z+ score = 1.05.
I am unsure if these are the readings you were expecting as there are 4 other readings ... PRE =
Then we have POST ........... Best = 84.5; Trial 6 = 77.5; Trial 2 = 76.6; Trial 5 = 80.0
Thank you also for the reference to the link you kindly gave me. Yes - my FEV1 was shown as 91%.
In a surgery chat with my GP I do recall she did use the phrase of mild COPD. Her prescription for me was Easyhaler with Salbutomol and improve my exercise quite a bit. She advised increase exercise slowly, gently at first and try and push it up.
I guess my challenge now is to stop my mild COPD getting worse.
The numbers we would need to calculate the FEV1/FVC ratio would be the actual litres per second that you blew. Most reports have a column that lists the predicted or expected value for a person with no lung disease and then a column with the result of your blow followed by a percentage your blow was of the predicted or expected value. I don’t know your height but you mentioned you are 80 so suspect your FEV1 would be in the high 2.xx or low 3.xx and your FVC would be in the low 4.xx or high 3.xx. If you have those numbers from the report it would be helpful.
I joined this group maybe 14 years ago I was diagnosed 15 years ago when I gave up cigarettes ( but the damage was done by then) I was given salbutamol but then I found from this group extremely helpful and asked nurse at gp to give me more meds and I tried many because one size doesn’t fit all. It’s a progressive disease and unfortunately mine has got worse and more recently exercise is a killer getting breathless - but I’ve found out after attending pulmonary rehab ( don’t know if you have one) exercise is important as ever. And yes we have good days and not so good days. I had to keep asking ( eventually had private X-ray) to double check I had copd as I felt gp was useless. Advice on here is great good luck
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Copd
Years of COPD
Possible Asthma/COPD no diagnosis 
New to COPD
