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Just a personal update

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by jaqui

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for all those who remember me here. ;)

couple of years ago now I was diagnosed with C.O.P.D., A very severe case of it.
the definitive test for C.O.P.D. being spirometry, my test results, an fev1 of 29. which means I am only exhaling 29% of the volume inhaled. [ emphysema ]
smoking is the primary cause.

the upshot, can't go out for dinner, the crowded restaurant has me unable to breathe, can't be on a busy street, the exhaust from the cars has me unable to breathe. I wouldn't want to fly anywhere, most likely would have to be hauled off the plane on a stretcher. perfumes, colones, pretty much anything with a scent to it kills my breathing.
every time the weather changes, poor air quality, kills my breathing.

I have spent that last 4 weeks barely able to get out of bed long enough to eat every day, because of breathing difficulties.

already seen 4 specialists, waiting for appointment for a 5th. :/

20 replies

by jaqui

ventalyn, as need [ 6 times a day anyways. every 4 hours :/ ]
atrovent, as needed [ also 6 times a day ]
flowvent twice a day
spiriva, once a day.
[ advair puffer is flowvent and ventalyn in one, sample runs out and going back to the flowvent ]
and:
no caffeinne.
means no coffee, tea, chocolate, colas.
[ ain't gonna happen, me and coffee have WAY to long a relationship ]

by hal 9000

It's probably not such a bad thing that you stop drinking it but [b]No Chocolate[/b] that is just [b]Cruel and Inhumane Punishment.[/b] You realise that you can get the quack who said that [b]Jailed for War Crimes[/b] I hope you realize. ;)

Col

by Wizard57M-TR

Hang tough! I don't know what the Canadian health care system has
available, probably different brands from what we have in USA, but a
couple of newer treatments you could discuss with your doctors include
Dulera and Symbicort. These are similar to Advair...you probably should
ALWAYS keep a Ventolin inhaler handy, it's what we call a "rescue inhaler",
where the Advair, Dulera and Symbicort are for "preventative" treatment.
(Yes, I just gave a bit of advice, my other persona came through...
I'm a pharmacist).
Anyhow, good to see you back! Take care! ;)

by gsg

We've missed you a lot around here! Sorry to hear about your health issues, and I hope they can figure something out to make things easier for you.

by jaqui

for december 7th. :/

one interesting thing about the copd, real easy to lose weight with it. even breathing burns 10 times more calories than is normal. :/

oddly, best resource I have found to learn about it is a website:

http://www.webmd.com/lung/copd/default.htm

but some scary stuff there also :(

by hal 9000

You stop making everyone think you are female it might help a bit too. ;)

Look after yourself as no one else will do it for you.

Col

by jamesrl

But good to hear from you.

It isn't easy, I have had several people in my life with COPD, and it is a hard life. Hopefully you get some relief and they find some options for you.

Take care.

by purpleskys

Darryl and I had been wondering how you were doing, we hadn't seen you around in a while. We hope they are able to find a way for you to better deal with COPD. Take care Jaqui (((hugs)))

by nicknielsen

Health problems are bad enough, but no coffee?? That's insult on injury! Decaf just isn't the same.

It's good to see you here again; you've been missed. Hope they find a combination that allows you to pick things back up a little.

by av .

Hi Jaqui,

Its good to hear from you, but I'm sorry to hear what you're going through. If you can't breathe right, pretty much nothing else matters. I sure hope they find the right combination of meds to treat your condition and give you some relief.

I'm surprised they didn't offer you oxygen. That supposedly will help improve your condition and it is portable so you wouldn't be affected by environmental conditions.

As for no caffeine, that stinks, but you could try Decaf. Thats better than no Java at all.

Take care and I hope you find something that works for you real soon. Good luck.

AV

by Sonja Thompson

I hate that you're going through that, Jaqui. Stay strong, my friend, and please keep us posted. (what the heck happened to the heart emoticon?! - insert heart here :-)

by nicknielsen

They don't test for emoticons, they just strip out anything with a > or <. The only way I can even get those two signs to print is by using the html character codes. <3

by michael jay

After I saw your web presence disappear I was concerned, so glad to see you are still around.

Hoping you can keep it that way.

by jaqui

energy level is up and down a lot, that breathing thing ;)
been taking a walk 5 or 6 times a day when I have the energy, 2 blocks down the hill [ right past Douglas college main campus, hotties galore ]:) ] a block across the bottom of the hill, 2 blocks up [ using stairs at courthouse and douglas for the first block / steepest section ] then a block back across and home.
takes me on average 30 minutes, longer if it is a bad breathing day.
the exercise is helping, I took an hour to walk that the first couple of weeks.

by hal 9000

Use it or loose it.

Though having a heart attack on the first part of the walk probably isn't the way to start a walk. ;)

Col

by shellbot2

Hey Jaq,

So sorry to hear your having such problems :(
Sounds like your doing all you can to cope with it tho..
Seriously, give up the coffee. I went to decaff a year ago, i maybe have a real one 1-2 times a week, but could go months without a real one. Ya get used to it. I use an instant one and add extra to beef it up a bit (i like it strong)

Keep us up to date hun.

Shells

by ansugisalas

But, I gotta admit, I was worrying about worse scenarios.
Hang in there. Who knows what tomorrow brings, eh?

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