Joanne speaks even now of educating people about COPD and since she's giving you a real life look at what COPD means to a very young 54 year old Wife, Mother, Friend she would want me to give some info that ALL SMOKERS should know about COPD! Anybody that has a history of smoking should be aware of a test called spirometry. I never heard of this thing till I was ALREADY diagnosed with COPD! But half of people with COPD have not yet been diagnosed and like all chronic diseases early diagnosis is critical to positive outcomes! Well, here goes:
If you have a chronic productive cough ( with sputum anything but clear), shortness of breath, wheezing, and/or smoker's raspy voice, especially AFTER you quit smoking, then you should ask your doctor to give you a spirometry test! COPD is an auto-immune illness - that means your body attacks itself! COPD doesn't care how old you are, how much you smoke (or smoked), or how many years! My doctor KNEW I had constant coughing for years and still never suggested I take the test - I had to tell him that I wanted it! (found out about the test on the internet!) That's because my lungs were overinflated. If you ever hear a doctor say that your lungs are overinflated they mean you have emphysema and you darn well better get a spirometry test! It's best for anybody who's cough doesn't clear up after 6 weeks quit to get this test! Most likely your doctor has this machine in his office and can do the test that very day and the results are instant. It doesn't cost much to take the test either and it will tell you if you are inhaling and most important exhaling properly! You just breathe as hard and fast into a tube as you can and the machine measures the air that comes out and compares it with what can be expected for your height, weight, and age. So if you are even a little suspicious that something just isn't right - Ask your doctor if you can take this test! You want to know as soon as possible if everything's fine or not! Almost 40% of COPD is missed by Primary Care Physicians so advocate for yourself! Demand the test!
WHAT IS COPD?
People with COPD have more than one of Asthma, Chronic Bronchitis and/or Emphysema which makes you cough a lot and very, very hard! You have shortness of breath because you can't inhale or exhale properly! Because you can't exhale completely, the CO and CO2 that is normally exhaled stay in your body as a toxin that enters the cells of the extremities and you lose arm and leg function. Also, vision can be affected because of the toxicity. What's more, you are more prone to every viral and bacterial infection that comes along - easier to catch and more intense and prolonged symptoms. Each infection increases the cycle of damage and vulnerability. Ther is no cure but there is a lot that a patient can do to slow the progress of the disease. Most important is Quit Smoking Now! It's very important to find a pulmonary rehab and join it so they can teach you how to clear those nasty CO toxins from your system! And stay active - all this can be very depressing but the depression adds to the immobility which adds to the debility etc, down, down, down! All that has to be fought with upward action - POSITIVE THINKING and CONTROL the disease - don't let it control you! There is a lot of HOPE and it starts with the QUIT!
