Newly Diagnosed

[bonnie.s]

Hard to believe this is my life now,   These just came in the mail today.  I cant even begin to explain how I feel right now.

[YoungAtHeart]

I am so sorry, Bonnie.   Seems more and more of our community are being so diagnosed.  I hope you have been offered pulmonary rehab?  If not, I think it would be of benefit.  I also hope you will check out Thomas' Thomas3.20.2010 content.  There is a TON of information on his page.

Eat healthy, exercise as you can, and get plenty of rest  You CAN slow the progression - no need to give up!

Nancy

[marciem]

Hi there bonnie.s‌ !  Yes, you have a disease, a progressive one, and one not currently curable.  You smoked.  I assume you have quit smoking, which is absolutely positively the best thing you can do for COPD, to slow or stop the progression (My pulmonary function tests haven't changed significantly over the past 2 1/2  years, even after radiation for lung cancer so if it is progressing it is slowly.)

All of that does not define you or your life.  The meds are simple and quick to take, all inhaled with a quick breath.  Yes, you must take them as prescribed and regularly (I personally seldom use the "rescue inhaler" albuterol, and don't have the nasal spray prescribed).  They are just part of your life like taking your one-a-day vitamins except you also take a puff off the Advair in the evening.  

As YoungAtHeart‌ suggested, talk to your doc about possible pulmonary rehab.  It is kind of fun, mostly focuses on exercise and education and ways to adjust your lifestyle easily and comfortably.

Best wishes to you!!

[Giulia]

I'm sorry Bonnie.  You don't need to explain how you feel, most of us who care and try to put ourselves in someone else's shoes can imagine it if we haven't yet experienced it, and those that have,  certainly know how you feel.  However, take heart!  As marciem said:  "All of that does not define you or your life."  My whole life is changing right in front of me in a not very uplifting way.  I look to those like Ellen and Shashort, and marcie and Dale and Thomas and Daniela, Nancy and Skygirl and Strudel and Tommy and Jim and Missy and ... so many others (to name but a few) on here who fight the good fight and are going through the hurts of life.  Life hurts.  How we choose to deal with it is what makes the difference in the journey.  Personally I have to fight for positives, because the negatives are so easy to come by.  Fight for the positives.  Sending strength to deal with it all....

[Christine13]

It's sad I know to be diagnosed with an illness.  I'm so glad you stopped smoking when you did.

My husband had COPD.  He went to pulmonary class and I was surprised to find out how important regular exercise is.

It was very helpful.  I hope you do the same.

[sweetplt]

So sorry hon...keeping the quit is the best thing you can do for you...hopefully the meds/inhalers will help your breathing issues...~ Colleen 383 DOF 

[Barbscloud]

OK  this is sad, but I'm so glad that you got what need to feel better!

Barb

[bonnie.s]

Thanks everyone. 

[ExClipper]

I am a little late seeing this but I wanted to echo what others have said, exercise is very important and pulmonary rehab is a great way to get started. You have to learn how to exercise safely but regular challenging exercise is critical, next to quitting it is the most important thing you can do. You might want to check out copdfoundation.org. They have a lot of good reliable information and a forum called 360Social.