I've had COPD for about 2 years now and as far as I can discern, I've only had one chest infection.........unless I'm misinformed. What are some of the symptoms that you, that have had many chest infections, have had?
Hi Sandy,
This may sound a little "odd" but you KNOW when you have an infection. Symptons vary, but with me I have flu like symptons, high temperature, difficulty breathing, wheezing, extra sputum production which is usually colored (*Green/yellow....ugh), loss of appetite, hacking cough and you feel like s**t!.
I was diganosed with COPD four years ago, and was infection free for several years. However I got a bad infection in January and have had re-occuring attacks ever since. The last one two weeks ago resulted in a 999 call and hospitalisation for five days, quite scary. (to put this context, my excessive coughing caused spasams which resulted in panic attack like symptons and I couldn't breathe properly. I have since attended Pulmonory Rehab classes which certainly help to contol this very frightening effect)
I have at last persuaded my NHS Doctor to let me have an emergency supply of anti-biotics, because swift action can most certainly help. Again in my case, penicillin proved ineffective but streoids were "magic".
If you have a clinic nurse at your GP's practice, discuss your concerns with them and develop an "action plan" a: to try and avoid an infection and b: what to do if it happens.
I cannot stress enough, have an emergency supply of appropriate medication to take should you get an infection............it's the single most action you can take to help.
Good luck.
Michael
Basically I agree with lots of what's been said, pulmary rehab is the way to go ,ask anyone on here who's attended a course ,
symptons of chest infection ,
cough gets worse
breathless
lack of appetite ,
exhaustion
increased sputum / and or colour change from clear to yellow/ green / brownish ,
Hi you know when you have a chest infection coz you cough up yellow or green gunk. Not always but usually. It is possible to have exacerbations ie a worsening of your symptoms due an infection.
I agree with the with advice of having a 'rescue pack' for emergencies as you need to treat any infection straight away otherwise you can further damage your lungs. x
Thank you ALL for the quick feedback. I WILL be aware, if any of the symptoms "raise their ugly head". My GP is extremely pro-active and has an excellent staff on hand so that if I were to call them any time day or night and indicate I may be having a flare-up, they would prescribe to a 24 hour pharmacy immediately. They work very closely with my Pulmonary facility, also. Thanks again!!
(and no Michaelfhope, none of that sounds odd). I WILL check with my GP to see if I can have emergency meds on hand. The one and only flare-up I had, they prescribed azythromyacin and prednizone and that took care of it. I feel VERY fortunate that I've only had to use my "rescue inhaler" one time in the past 2 years (albuteroll). I'm very grateful for all of the informtion that I receive on this forum.
Chest tightness and pain which I thought was another heart attack, preceded by a few days of extreme tiredness & extremely mild cold symptoms - turned out I had pneumonia.
When I got similar symptoms I got myself to the GP pronto for antibiotics and I did have pneumonia again ..... fortunately he didn't make me go to hospital, but monitored me and I ended up with a second script, which cleared it up.
If you go to a pulmonary rehab group you'll learn heaps more about what to watch out for. People in the later stages often have anbitbiotics on hand to start as soon as symptoms appear.
It seems to be universal that as the disease progresses we get pneumonia more and more often, more and more hospitalisations until ......... well, you can guess the rest!
I do my very best to stay away from anyone with a cold or the flu and have also become much more diligent about hand hygiene.
I have only very high moderate copd but my copd nurse told me I should have a rescue pack to hand. I think they should be given to everyone a soon as they get a diagnosis as being able to take them immediately means infections can be controlled quicker so there is less chance of further lung damage thus making the disease more severe.
I agree with virtually all the foregoing but beware that everyone is different and things can change as the disease progresses. Yes, with the benefit of hindsight, a good sign of infection was a horrid cough which kept the household awake all night and chunks of nasty coloured phlegm. I used diligently to keep some in a sample jar which I then took to the GP surgery for lab analysis to determine the best antibiotic to use but these days it is very rare indeed that I can cough it up & out, it gets so far up then goes down again - hopefully the other way (= swallowed) rather than going back. This is good & bad news - good in that I no longer have to suffer acute breathlessness during the coughing up process but bad in that I don't know what colour the stuff is that I am bringing up.
As for sensitivity to smoke, this will obviously differ between people but it may also be something that gets worse as the disease progresses. I can no longer stand any form of smoke or fumes - even bacon frying - nor water vapour, pollen or dust.
Best of luck !
What do you mean by "very high moderate"? What percentage of lung function is that?
By "rescue pack" do you mean antibiotics?
To help move the mucus off your chest I take mucodyne tablets ,and it use a flutter devise ,,,remember it's better out as it breeds more germs and infections in the vase of your lungs ,I find that if I do the breathing exersises as shown by PR it helps move it ,
Thanks Nanny. I've been on Mucodyne for many years now and the breathing exercises are of course invaluable ... but I know very little about flutter devices. Any info most welcome please (is it a case of fluttery will get you anywhere ?)
The point that I am trying to make is that although you can be classed in a stage where you are in that is very important. Are you are not familiar with the stages? Over 80% is considered mild copd in the UK, between 50-80% is considered moderate. Hence I am high moderate with a lung function of 78%. I often say I am mild/moderate to indicate I am really on the border between the 2 stages.
By 'rescue pack' I mean exactly that. It is the meds you would need to take for a chest infection or other exacerbation. What is in it depends a lot on how severe you are. My rescue pack consists of ab's and mild steroids which usually clears my infection. If you need more or different meds for yours they should be in the rescue pack.
Ha ha funny! I've never heard of flutter devices: I do get a bit tired of the "teasers" on this forum where something possibly helpful is referred to but not explained.
PS And yeah I know I can google it, apologies if I'm a bit testy, it's early in the morning and I haven't been up long .......
Of course I'm familiar with the stages, I'm also familiar with the fact that the percentages are interpreted differently by health practitioners: at 70% I've been told I have mild COPD, stage 1, but others interpret that percentage as moderate stage 2.
I just don't see the point of such abstract terms: surely the actual lung function and the symptoms are what's relevant?
I'm seeing my gp today about something else and I'll sound him out about a rescue pack, but he's not far away and athough busy fairly accessible for urgent appointments except at weekends. I'd definitely prefer to have antibiotics I could take for a day or two until I could see him on a Monday rather than go to the local public hospital: it's horrible and unhealthy
Well I guess it depends where you live. In the UK I was diagnosed with mild copd at 73%, then they changed the parameters a few years ago saying that over 80% but less than 100% was mild. So I became moderate instead.
I don't understand what you mean by 'abstract terms'. I was discussing it with the poster the only way I know how and I cannot change me or the way I reply. If the poster has a problem with it I am sure s/he will reply accordingly. I am not an expert at medical terminalogy and I am sure none of us are here.
You've proved my point, that the "Stage" terminology is abstract, whereas percentages of lung function is a concrete fact we can work with.
Janiegold,
Could you please share that (medication) with all of us here on this posting site?
Also, what exactly did it cure?
Thank you for sharing! xoxo
I second that request Brenda: if someone has a drug that completely cures anything associated with COPD I think we'ld all like to know about it ASAP
Hi again , my copd nurse told me about them and I asked my GP if I can have it on prescription ( I wasn't hopefull ) but yes he said , I describe it like a pipe that men used to smoke , onside is a Ballbaring ,,,that moves when you exhale ,,,a simple devise. But it's brilliant ,I looked on amazon and they are about £45 to buy if GP won't prescribe, have a look on your tube to just type flutter devise ,,,,I use mine in the nmorning to help me shift the mucus that's built up over night ,,,much easier than doing extra hough sand puffs etc, (which I still do throughout the day ) but for the more difficult stuff the flutter is great ,good luck