If you smoke, please quit asap, since your PFT scores are good for someone who has smoked for 35 years. If you could quit smoking, your progression of this disease will be slow, and you would never have to suffer any of the more serious symptoms that other's suffer who have progressed to the later stages of this disease.
Smoking will progress copd more 'faster' than someone who doesn't smoke. This is it's main thing, since it is causing more damage to the lungs on an everyday basis, whereas, if quitting, it can cease this on going damage, or slow it way down.
There are four stages: mild, medium, severe, and very severe. You are probably at the first stage, mild, however, if you keep smoking, you could possibly progress to the very last stage and at a fast rate. As the stages progress, the disease's symptom's become very serious. The breathing become's more difficult, like breathing through a straw, and many can't walk far, due to lack of oxygen, and the heart beat beating too fast, making them have no choice but to sit down before walking another ten feet. They also can suffer having to wear oxygen 24/7, and using a wheel chair when going shopping, etc. Just to name a few serious symptom's in later stages. ect......
I hope this doesn't happen, so please quit smoking!
Brenda xo
With quitting smoking, medication, good exercise and diet, regular doctor visits, or just taking care of yourself, and you could do wonder's, possibly making the stages accellerate alowly to a more serious stage, if it moves to a more serious stage at all. I have heard of other people telling about how they never accellerated, and have stayed in the same stage, and have had copd for many years. But, they quit smoking, as the main reason, as they said. They gave quitting smoking much of the credit.