Hi for those who ive been talking to just got back from the docs. and the doc said its been caused through smoking even though i was a moderate smoker for only 18 yrs. i gave up in 2014. so my fault. quite upset with my self. anyway meds ive been given salbutomol 1 - 2 puffs 4 times a day. incruse ellipta 1 dose each day. just nearly chocked on the incruse. i suppose i will get used to using them . anyone out there on these. any help or advice would be lovely thank u love julie xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Hi i have SALBUTAMOL they give me this last week it's a rescure inhaler but was told they can be smartly used in other ways such as 15 minutes before doing a strenuous activity, exercising or going out into the cold or heat.
I would not beat yourself up about smoking i did it for 40 plus years and enjoyed every single one. and i know people who still smoke and had COPD for 20 plus years.
hiya john nice to hear from you, i seem to use the salbutamol ok but when i used the incruse ellipta god i nearly choked it felt like power in the back of my throat. i suppose its trial and error. the doc said they are not really good for my heart but theres no other choice. i cant be stuck in the house for ever, ive got to get out. ill be fine im sure
Did they give you the lung test results to check ? i don't know anything about incruse ellipta sorry
hiya he showed me on the screen a chart which i did understand what he was saying. 65% i was below what they would have wanted. ill be fine once i get use to these 2 inhalers.
Hi Julie
It does suck to know that there are all those others - my mom & her siblings come to mind - who smoked longer and didn't get COPD, doesn't it? On the other hand, here in the States at least 25% of folks with COPD NEVER smoked nor worked in dangerous settings.
Julie, there's no point in beating yourself up about the past. You cannot change that past no matter how much self-flagellation you indulge regardless of whether that punishment is physical or mental. You can make yourself sicker, though, by constant fretting. You will also miss enjoying the rest of your life.
You have a choice: Be stuck in remorse or live your life. That fretting can become automatic, at which point it's a dangerous habit just as was the smoking. You are a strong woman with a good support system who overcame smoking on her own. Please don't let this new habit overtake you.
Good Old Oprah Winfrey used to quote someone: Forgiveness comes when we accept that we cannot change the past. You've got to forgive yourself, so accept that past. You smoked & now you've got a smoking-related disease. If not through this route, find some other way to keep moving forward. If you're religious, God's forgiveness is always there if we but ask for it.
Keep on trucking FORWARD!
You said it all and very well done. I was about to reply to Julie but you nailed it. It's a frightning at first until you know others have and are dealing with the diagnosis of COPD. I also am new to this but have had time to explore my options. This forum gives us hope! Courage to do what we have to do. Through this forum I have learned the importance of excercise. I have come to terms with it and now have the determination to do what I have to do to keep it in check. No point as you pointed out to Julie is to beat yourself up. Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow is another day. I know it takes a while to get there but I am moving forward. I start a plumanary excersize program soon. I have an appointment npin two weeks at the clinic for an evaluation then off and running with excersize. As my Army Father used to say when the chips fell the wrong way "Onward and Upward" 🇨🇦
Good for you, Ellen!
hi thank you so much for your lovely messege. ive read and digested everything you have said. and yes im going to be fine. and yes now im on the meds i should be able to get out and about. i will not be beat, i am a strong person who dusts her self down and then gets on with it. yes ive been tearful, but then it does you good to have a good cry. i feel i am more of an emotional person since my heart attack in 2015. the quote of oprah winfrey i actually only read that yesterday on facebook. and do you know i sat back for a minute and really thought about those words. thank you again for your support you have really helped me. thank you please take care and keep safe love julie xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
hiya Ellen must say i do feel much better with the support from you lovely people. i do hope you start to feel better and good luck with the clinic in 2 weeks time. your dads right onwards and upward. you just dust yourself down and get on with it. thank you so much for your loyal support. wishing you all the very best take it easy much love julie xxxxxxxxxxx
You are welcome Julie. That's what we are here for. I will keep in touch and let you know how I make out with my assessment in a couple of weeks.
Ellen
Hi Julie! I was what I called myself a "closet smoker". Most people did not know I smoked.....only outside, at home. AND, I only smoked off and on to about a pack a month, if even that. I completely quit 15 years ago when our daughter was pregnant. My husband said "I want to see our grandchildren grow up". That was TOTAL incentive for us. We quit "cold turkey" and my husband had smoked pretty heavily for 44 years!! But I....the closet smoker was the one to get COPD. I think there are a lot of environmental issues that are also causing COPD because it is being said there are millions of people walking around that do not even know they have COPD. The man that lives next door to us smokes like a chimney and is always coughing, so I wonder about him. But I guess that unless people really want to stop smoking, you can't force the issue. My sister-in-law, that I love dearly has been a heavy smoker for 49 years. When I was diagnosed, I told her about it and HOPED it would give her an incentive to quit....however she hasn't. There have been several other smokers in the family that have quit and she is the only one that continues. I do not make people feel that I am better than they are if they don't quit but I do hope more and more people are giving it up. God bless us all....we need to hang in there together. Hugs!!
Nothing wrong with a good cry now & then Julie, and you've had a lot to adjust to. Many heart attack survivors of both sexes find themselves more emotional afterwards.
Take care.
hi sandy very well said. i also had a few friends that didnt know i smoked. i only really smoked at home. ive took everything in what youve said and i totally agree with you. your views are very much like mine. i would never dictate to anyone regarding them smoking. but like you would let them know i have copd, as you say the choice is their. i will be 60 in july, now as a child growing up, everyone in the family smoked the air would be full of smoke. but in them days it was ok to smoke everybody smoked. so as a child we would be getting the smoke to our lungs. i think because we didnt smoke a lot we think we are safe, but like you say its the enviroment we live in. im very lucky now ive lived in the country and by the sea for nearly 14 years. im just going to accept what has happened and hopefully the new meds will help my breathing. thank you so much for getting in touch with me. bless you and a big hug for you love julie xxxxxxxxxxx
Julie....you always say the sweetest things and give hugs...😂. I live in Lakewood Colorado, USA
I am 75 (WOW) and diagnosed at age 69. I have been on oxygen from the beginning but only use it at night. I am also on Spiriva and Symbicort. I also have a rescue inhaler but have never had to use it.
I was at Stage 2 when I was diagnosed. I feel great most of the time and so far I only have to go to my Pulmonary doctor once a year. My stats haven't changed at all. Thanks for your kind words, Julie and stay in touch!
XOXX. HUGS
Hi Julie
You may just want to do what your doctor prescribed / advised concerning the salbutomol inhaler, but this is my experiencing of salbutomol:
the salbutomol is the rescue inhaler, you only need to use it as you need to. Its one to carry with you everywhere. You may want to use it to open up the airways. I have used it 15 minutes before other medicine so airways are fully open to receive a preventative medicine you may want to use it 15 minutes before you take (incruse).
Other times to use the rescue inhaler salbutomol just as you feel you need to, some like to use it about 15 minutes before exercise or doing something which takes a lot of effort. 2 puffs 4 times a day if required but no more unless respiratory nurse or doctors tells you to increase it if you have a chest infection or cold for example.
If you have a respiratory nurse at your doctors surgery, make an appointment so she can check your technique using the inhalers.
I have no experience of incruse ellipta.
Its worthwhile reading the information leaflet that comes with the medicines to familiarize recommendations on using the med.
Hope you find you are soon breathe easy.
morning Vee thank you for your messege, i have fully understood what you have said. many thanks for the info. now ill make you laugh or maybe cry but i wish i had got this messege a few days ago. oh dear what a time i had evertime i got breathless i used the salbutamol. now by the time we got to lunch time i had used if not more than the recommended dose. boy was i poorly. luckily my cousin angela lives next door shes a staff nurse. stuart my hubby went to get her. she sorted me out and stayed with me, she said i had overdosed on it, and my body had gone into shock. im a real newbie person to this as i was on diagnosed just under a week ago. you will be pleased to know i do understand what im doing now. and i shall use the salbutamol before the incruse this morning. rest assured i shall be seeing my doctor i feel the meds are not really working. and i will arrange to see our copd nurse at the surgery. thank you so much again for your information hope you are well take it easy with love julie xxxxxxxxxxx
morning sandy Lakewood, Colorado wow that sounds so pretty. im saying morning to you but it could be the middle of the night for you. thank you for sharing your story with me. you sound like you were poorly from the very beginning especially with having oxygen on a night. you sound like youve cracked it, im pleased that you are well most of the time. im 60 in july. it is all a bit new to me, but im learning from all you lovely people out there. i am going to make an appointment to see our COPD nurse at our doctors surgery, i feel i need to talk to her about this. im presuming im in the early stages but i dont know really. you mentioned your stats, now mine will prob be okay, i take atorvastatin at night, i had a heart attack in 2015. i do take lots of tablets its like a blooming sweetie shop in a morning at our kitchen table. well when i was little i always liked playing shops. lol. my mam was the customer as i was an only child. always wanted a brother for christmas but never got one. thank you again for sharing your story, take it easy and as they say one step at a time. with love and my very best wishes julie xxxxxxxxxxxx
hi julie what did they do to diagnose problem
hiya ian, after having an angiogram cos they thought my stent in my heart may be blocked. i had heart attack in 2015. all was ok so the consultant said he thought it was my lungs. i had the spirometry that blowing test thing at our doctors surgery and it was them that said COPD. hope you are okay ian. all the best love julie xx