If you're scared now, how much more scared will you be years later when more severe symptoms present themselves? We can't play ostrich forever with our health. If we take our head out of the sand earlier, we just might help our health, rather than later, taking it out when it's too late to change anything. Just having COPD doesn't mean you can't do something to take care of it. It's like colon cancer screening. Colonoscopies are not fun, the prep particularly. But taking care of problems earlier than later can save lives or at least extend our lives. Ya know? Same is true with COPD. Finding out where we are, gives us a baseline.
Yes, getting tested IS kind of acknowledging the fact that we may have been killing ourselves for years by smoking. And yes, that real acknowledgement is scary. But you joined this site. Is that scary? Isn't that also an acknowledgement of the same thing? The need to quit because we've been killing ourselves for years by smoking? Signing up on this website is the first commitment we make. We know what we need to do. Change is scary. But we know instinctively what's best for us. You've chosen what's best. Keep heading in that direction.
update on spirometry testing; Required to have referral to a Pulmonologist. Takes 4 weeks to get appt. Then maybe testing depending on what he/she thinks needs to be done. Will keep you posted. Wish I could just get it done now since I have decided to do so....POOP! (oh wait that is another discussion....! ) 
