I am very worried about my future. Have been told I have COPD stage 2 and the tests show fev1 56% ? I have tried to look up these results and think I may be nearer severe COPD? Im 58, ex smoker, was prescribed an inhaler last year following a bad chest infection but have never felt I needed to use it afterwards. I am slim, good diet and have been fairly active all my life (less active since last October after having a minor heart attack out of the blue, just meds for this). I have started excercise again. I am worried and would like to know how rapidly COPD progresses or what I can expect/ how long before I deteriorate and at what rate. At present I only get out of breath with excercise i.e. steep hills, steep steps. Do not use inhalers only if I get a chest infection (been once per year up to yet despite vacinations). Should I be using the blue inhaler regularly even if I dont feel breathless? The information available is very 'general' and just mentions individual stages, nothing re what is the average time from one stage to another. I would like ANY advise to halt/ hold back or improve my COPD deterioration. Thanks
Chris, I can touch your anxiety. My experience with my husband is that everyone is different and different treatments/inhalers don't suit everyone. You sound as though you are doing all the right things, good diet, excercise etc. infections don't help at all, so keep yourself as well as possible. I do think you should use your inhaler on a regular basis. I know it's frightening reading some things but you seem to be in a good place at the moment and stress will not help you. Take care and I wish you well.
Hi Chris, I understand how you feel. I was diagnosed two months ago and spent the following week extremely worried. I have to say, it feels as though there is little support or signposting for patients. I was simply sent home with leaflets to read and two inhalers. I was advised to take the brown inhaler every morn and every night as this is preventative treatment to help slow the damage down. The blue inhaler if I have a flare up which is decsribed as similar to an asthma attack. Trouble is when I took the brown inhaler I would feel more chesty and breathless with onset coughing and so I have stopped taking this. I never take the blue one due to not having a flare up. Like you I am in my 50s and only get breathless with physical exercise. It's not clear what exercise can be done as my Gp advised me to keep it moderate, at the time of diagnosis I was at a running club once per week and Crossfit for three x per week. Since diagnosis I have done no exercise ag all, due to confusing medical messages and I am missing this. Suppose I have lost my confidence. I am due back at clinic in July and will ask lots of questions including those you raised. Sorry I have not been able to answer your questions, but wanted you to know, you are not on your own and as soon as I have any answers or info to share I will of course post it on here.
Hello Chris. My advice is excellent diet (lots of raw food), high quality vitamins (not cheap ones - get from a good health shop and ask advice), exercise whether you feel like doing it or not - set aside a time each day and stick to it. Remember as we get older we all get a bit breathless anyway. My doctor told me that, even in a healthy person, the lungs are the first body organs to shrink with age and that we must try to keep our lungs as open as they are today and that exercise is the only way to do that. Don't sit down and become sluggish. Keep at it. You may even find things improve a bit. My mother's COPD was diagnosed around 12 years ago and she is now 90. Although slow at times she keeps going and leads an active life. Join your local Breathe Easy Club (ask your doctor where yours is). There must be one somewhere near you. They provide excellent help, support and advice. Stay away from crowds as much as possible to avoid colds especially in winter. Keep yourself as fit as you can and you will find your worries will recede. Make sure you have the flu jab and also a pneumonia jab. These really do help. Also remember medical science is making rapid advances and there may well be help for us in the near future.
There are no hard & fast answers with COPD so I'd stop looking for them if I were you, as it's an incredibly variable condition: severity, rate of deterioration, etc all depend on many many factors - general health; smoking history; genetic factors; how medication affects you and which ones you use; exercise; breathing techniques; mental attitude.
If I were you I'd also stop worrying about the labels, just get yourself into rehab ASAP and learn as much as you can from that and this forum on how to manage the condition.
What's the "blue inhaler"? more info please ....... Have you been prescribed cortisone spray (eg symbicort) as a preventative twice a day?
I repeat, get into rehab as soon as you can, it's invaluable for managing the condition and slowing down its progression. I was diagnosed with 70% lung function 3 years ago and it hasn't deteriorated, although I know that inevitably it will.
You have had some good responses as I feel that no two cases are the same.
My husband was diagnosed 18 months ago and was sent home with a blue and a brown inhaler. We have always been walkers, but literally overnight he went from being well to being in A and E unable to breathe.
After this we went to our GP to see if he could review the situation and perhaps change inhalers as the blue one doesn't seem to do anything. The GP said he had to see the COPD nurse practitioner, as he didn't deal with it. Could get an appt for a month.
It is the coughing that is the most distressing as apart from being very debilitating, it is embarrassing. My husband has stopped going to the cinema because of it. He has never been told what stage he is at.
That must have been a huge shock! I wouldn't worry about the stages if I were you, the important thing is to find out from the spirometry test what percentage of lung function he has left.
I know I do go on about this, but it's not helpful to refer to medication by the colour of its packaging! What medications has he been prescribed?
Can he get to rehab? Yeah I go on about that a lot too, but it's invaluable no matter what stage he's at. There's a lot he can learn to do from the practice nurse and rehab, it's really worth it for maintaining some quality of life.
If the blue one is for asthma it won't do a thing if he has emphysema related COPD - ex-smoker? That's how I got it. The spirometry test should include a test with ventolin, if it helps he has asthma, doesn't help me one bit with emphysema.
Valuable bit of info from a recent post on this forum: if there's a wheeze on inhaling it'll be ashtma, on exhaling emphysema.
Thank you, hope you get more information. My GP just more or less just says keep off the cigs.
Thanks so much for the advice. Will certanly find out about the classes and get some advice re vitamins (not sure what I can take safely with the heart meds IM on. Lovely to hear about your Mum.
Will definately look into the rehab thanks. The blue inhaler is salbutamol, but dont want to take anything if I dont need to or if it makes things worse.
Thanks for the reply. Hope all goes well. Yes it is a big shock!
In my opinion you're not going to be able to manage this condition without medication, it's a matter of findng what works for you and then weighing up any possible side effects against quality of life.
For example, the Symbicort I use twice daily as a preventative can have the side effect of lowering the immune system, but before I started using it I was exhausted from coughing all night and getting hardly any sleep. It can also cause thrush if I'm not careful about rinsing my mouth after use.
I have just recieved an appointment for a COPD fev1+ blood test 24 July and copd review on 31st. Will compare answers to our questions? Good luck.
hi i have very severe copd and emphysema fev1 18%. i still work parttime. you just have learn what you can do and do things at a slower pace. if you smoke, stop smoking plus exercise will slow process down. if you can get on a pulmonary rehab course that helps its exercise plus education.
tam
For anyone who doesn't know, the Breathe Easy Clubs (all over UK I believe) are supported by The British Lung Foundation. In our area they meet weekly for mild exercise classes and once a month there is a talk, normally regarding health/breathing etc but not always. If you go the BLF website and type in your postcode you can find the one nearest to where you live. The clubs provide excellent support for anyone with breathing problems and you can talk to other people with problems similar to your own.
You are lucky you have no symptoms.
The progression burns out if you look after yourself. I think everyone gets out of breath on steep hills. SOB is subjective.
Blue inhaler is for when you are SOB. It might be worthwhile seeing if you feel better in Symbicort or Seretide / Advair.
What do you mean by the progression of the disease burning itself out? I doesn't you know, we can only slow it down, in some cases even for decades, but it will get us in the end. COPD doesn't burn itself out!
Hi chris51153, good! I will ask that test at my end, not been offered one yet. I did receive a letter yesterday inviting me to go for a pneumonia injection. You had one of these? Pool our answers later 
Sorry to butt in here, but if someone is eating an excellent diet why would h/she need vitamins, many of which are synthetic anyway? A health food shop is the last place I'd go for advice because they're in the business of selling as much stuff as possible.
The rest of your advice is spot on
Remember that doctors are often paid to prescribe a certain medicine. Good health shops staff are trained. I know because my daughter works in one. She has been amazed at what she has learned. Very few of us eat a varied enough diet to get all the vitamins we need. Also, with our conditions, why not try absolutely everything that may benefit us after all what price your health?