Banky
Super Member
Joined:September 2011
Posts: 1,490
Location:
Likes: 278
Recent Posts
Last Online Feb 5, 2017 17:41:19 GMT
|
Post by Banky on Nov 27, 2012 21:21:43 GMT
Sorry Graham, I didn't see your last post about what your doctor said sounds like a right ass hole.
|
|
|
Post by pikeybarsteward on Nov 27, 2012 21:54:14 GMT
My poor mate , in her mid 50s, has it real bad . She went to her doctor ...he told her she had COPD , there was no cure and she had 2 years to live , gave her 2 inhalers and that was pretty much it . No clinics , outreach , nothing .
By the time I caught up with her after diagnosis she was on deaths door , barely able to leave the house . She d have infections so bad ..and they d give her low dose antibiotics . I had to sit down and explain the whole thing to her ...even simple stuff like the difference between the inhalers and how to take em ...why you should take the whole course of antibiotics etc. She d always been healthy , never knew any of this stuff . She changed her doctors ,we got her on a short course of nebulizers and oral steroids , upped her inhalers and medications to proper higher dose stuff ...like I take . 4 years on , shes still alive and in better health . When I first caught up with her she wernt even taking the inhalers , coz they made her cough lol .
Edit , sorry vapourized , dont mean to derail your thread .
|
|
andym
Super Member
ZMAX + Grant's Vanilla Custard = Heaven.212 mls and counting!
Joined:July 2012
Posts: 668
Location:
Likes: 100
Recent Posts
Last Online Dec 7, 2015 18:55:39 GMT
|
Post by andym on Nov 28, 2012 20:57:34 GMT
Grahame,its not the end of the World.You say that you have been smoking for quite some time.In that time you will have put quite a large amount of Tar in your lungs.Its going to take quite some time for this to start to clear.Sometimes the lungs are habituatated to the Toxins in Smoke and when they are assaulted by "fresh air" they dont like it,sometime the small bronchioles can go into spasm giving you "Asthma like" symptoms,basically they are going Cold Turkey!In vaping the carrier liquids are found in a whole gamut of Medical inhalers,so the PG/VG is pretty damn safe or it wouldnt be allowed.In smoking its NOT the Nicotine that does the damage to the lungs but the loss of the Cilliated Epilthelial layer on the lung that "sweeps" out the crud.These are destroyed by the 4000 odd Toxic Gases that are present in Tobbacco smoke.Once your Lungs have got used to not being assailed buy noxious substances,their function will stabilise and you should experience an improvement in Lung Function.DONT expect this overnight cos it wont happen,but you WILL feel the benefit fairly quickly,the loss of the Morning hacking cough for example.Some people are sensetive to PG more than VG,so you may find you need to tinker a bit with the concentrations.The main thing is that YOU HAVE QUIT SMOKING TOBBACCO!Thats is a MAJOR step by any means.I assume that you had a "Peak Flow" test?You wont get a massive increase in that for some time but it WILL come.I also agree that your GP is a real NOB,and the chances are i have actually seen them in the course of my job as a Drugs Rep!
|
|
Deleted
Joined:January 1970
Posts: 0
Location:
Recent Posts
Last Online Nov 26, 2024 13:58:53 GMT
|
Post by Deleted on Nov 29, 2012 8:10:49 GMT
How did your GP diagnose COPD? Peak Flow test ( short sharp blow as hard as you can into a plastic tube with a little arrow on it )? Spirometry, or flow volume loop, ( blow as hard as you can for as long as you can into a device, and hopefully breath in as hard as you can until full ) or a full pulmonary function test ( lots of different breathing tests normally done at a hospital )
Where where they done, by a nurse or GP at your surgery or at a hospital by a Physiologist or speciality technician? Some people who perform these tests are not very good ( not all but I have seen some pretty poor attempts at performing these tests, it can take a lot of work to get accurate results as the person being tested has to work hard to get accurate results and it can take a lot of effort to ensure the patient performs the tests properly.
The way your GP has informed you that you have a chronic disease seems pretty poor, no health education or explanation of how to minimise the effects and the long term prognosis. If you can't get a reasonable discussion with your GP consider getting a new GP who will hopefully be able to show some empathy.
COPD is a nasty condition and if I were you I would be doing everything I can to minimise it's progression. No smoking, getting some exercise to work your lungs a bit.
Can you vape without inhaling, just hold it in your mouth? Although there doesn't seem to be evidence that PG/VG and the flavourings do any harm I would be cautious of inhaling. These compounds are used in drug delivery but they tend to be delivered atomised rather than vaporised (as we use them) and who knows what evidence for harm may be found in the future. Just to be cautious I would be happier not inhaling.
|
|
giles
Super Member
Rogue Element
Joined:August 2012
Posts: 2,208
Location:
Likes: 709
Recent Posts
Last Online Feb 23, 2013 12:10:56 GMT
|
Post by giles on Nov 29, 2012 12:56:11 GMT
cornersruns, I think you are perhaps being unnecessarily alarmist. My perception is that COPD testing is one of the things they do at the moment, and if you've been smoking for 30+ years they'll do the test and almost always tell you you've got COPD. If I'm right, then while COPD can be a nasty condition, for most of us being diagnosed with it atm it isn't. If you have mild COPD then if you've given up smoking I don't think you usually need to take any action other than get it tested periodically to make sure it's not getting worse.
|
|
vapourized
Full Member
Joined:September 2012
Posts: 125
Location:
Recent Posts
Last Online Feb 4, 2013 23:21:46 GMT
|
Post by vapourized on Nov 29, 2012 19:11:56 GMT
Thank you to everyone who has replied, it really is appreciated. I know, as I have previously said, that I shouldn't be surprised at having COPD, I started smoking when I was only 8 years old and I was buying a packet of 10 cigarettes every week at the age of 10, at 11 I was buying a packet of 20 a week and until recently have been smoking up to 60 a day so I deserve everything I get. However, having said that, considering how I feel, (which is absolutely fine considering my age, I don't get out of breath generally) then that is the bit that shocked me. Shocked me because I was under the impression that people with COPD were out of breath at doing the simplest of things, now obviously there are degrees of this illness (Stages 1 through to 4) so I guess I'm on the 1st stage. My wife works at Papworth Hospital which is a leading heart and lung hospital and she took my results from my recent Spirometer test to someone who knows her beans about COPD, she said that from those results that as long that I stop smoking (which I have now done and not smoking at all - not even my 3 a day I was allowing myself), took regular exercise then I shouldn't have any problems at all, the results only showed a slight drop but nothing untowards to worry about. She said that if there is anything slightly below the norm then doctors will have to label it and they have labeled this as COPD but have not then gone on to describe that it is very mild or even told me how or what to do next. So from what has been said above and also from what this person at Papworth has said then I feel a little bit more reassured (reassured quite a bit actually). I am still going back to the doctors on Wednesday (a different doctor to who I first saw) though to see what he has to say. I have also thought that I must not cherry pick the 'good' news I am hearing but also take on board the very serious nature of what COPD is, if I'm foolish enough to start smoking again and not do some exercise then I can only expect the worse and I will have only myself to blame for the very obvious consequences. Right, enough of my ramblings, thank you once again for all the help you have given to me, it is really appreciated. One more thing which I forgot to say, I bought a small gadget which slips on your finger and measures the oxygen level and pulse, now it's probably not hugely accurate but it does give a base line guide and at rest my average oxygen level was 99% and pulse was 65bpm so that appeared perfect so I ran up and down the stairs 3 times without stopping and took my reading again, oxygen level dropped from 99% to 91% and the pulse went from 65 to 92bpm, that was all within limits of a normal person. I got my colleague at work to do the same thing and his oxygen level went down to 88% and his pulse went to 120bpm - he is 34 and has never smoked. I don't get it, I really don't but as I'm typing this I measured it again just now and got virtually the same result, 99% for oxygen and 72bpm pulse. So those results encouraged me no end. Graham
|
|
beautycat
Super Member
Joined:May 2012
Posts: 5,325
Location:
Likes: 1,033
Recent Posts
Last Online Nov 15, 2021 7:19:51 GMT
|
Post by beautycat on Nov 29, 2012 19:16:24 GMT
Glad to hear your news graham , #KissBlowSmiley1# #KissBlowSmiley1# it sounds like you feel much more positive about things BC
|
|
Karma
Part Time Staff
Lorraine
No Longer a Vapefest Virgin
Joined:January 2012
Posts: 21,980
Location:
Likes: 7,589
Recent Posts
Last Online May 27, 2016 17:25:37 GMT
|
Post by Karma on Nov 29, 2012 19:19:44 GMT
I'm pleased you're feeling reassured Graham, but I think you're quite right going to see another doc about this, if only to get a decent explanation! You are now taking positive steps as far as your health is concerned, good luck with it! I think you are right to feel encouraged by those results
|
|
vapourized
Full Member
Joined:September 2012
Posts: 125
Location:
Recent Posts
Last Online Feb 4, 2013 23:21:46 GMT
|
Post by vapourized on Nov 29, 2012 19:48:21 GMT
Oh definitely more positive, before I started talking about this then all I could think about was the very worst but now there is a lot of hope as I am now beginning to understand what COPD is all about and what to expect, especially from my results.
Graham
|
|
andym
Super Member
ZMAX + Grant's Vanilla Custard = Heaven.212 mls and counting!
Joined:July 2012
Posts: 668
Location:
Likes: 100
Recent Posts
Last Online Dec 7, 2015 18:55:39 GMT
|
Post by andym on Nov 29, 2012 19:53:04 GMT
|
|
giles
Super Member
Rogue Element
Joined:August 2012
Posts: 2,208
Location:
Likes: 709
Recent Posts
Last Online Feb 23, 2013 12:10:56 GMT
|
Post by giles on Nov 29, 2012 20:02:58 GMT
Excellent news Graham
|
|
Queenie Bee
Super Member
Vaping nirvana accomplished!
Joined:April 2012
Posts: 3,594
Location:
Likes: 16
Recent Posts
Last Online Dec 5, 2015 21:48:09 GMT
|
Post by Queenie Bee on Nov 29, 2012 22:43:05 GMT
That's great news Sent from my Nexus 7 using proboards
|
|
vapourized
Full Member
Joined:September 2012
Posts: 125
Location:
Recent Posts
Last Online Feb 4, 2013 23:21:46 GMT
|
Post by vapourized on Nov 29, 2012 23:16:40 GMT
Thanks for the replies. I also forgot to also say that when I got this gadget I read on Google that smoking a cigarette will lower the oxygen levels considerably. To test this I went and had a cigarette and watched the oxygen level tumble down to 64%, if that doesn't make me want to stop then I don't know what will, needless to say that this test (although I had to have a cigarette to do this) has really cemented in my head never to smoke again so although I had one cigarette it was in my mind worth it. I have been vaping during this evening and the lowest the oxygen went down to was 96%, says it all really. Graham
|
|
Banky
Super Member
Joined:September 2011
Posts: 1,490
Location:
Likes: 278
Recent Posts
Last Online Feb 5, 2017 17:41:19 GMT
|
Post by Banky on Nov 29, 2012 23:35:15 GMT
Good News,
Graham
|
|
Anne (fuzzy)
Super Member
Joined:November 2011
Posts: 5,085
Location:
Likes: 65
Recent Posts
Last Online Jun 24, 2015 2:41:06 GMT
|
Post by Anne (fuzzy) on Nov 30, 2012 1:14:54 GMT
I was diagnosed with early onset COPD last year and I'm fine, like you I was totally unaware I had it. There's absolutely nothing to worry about - as long as you don't smoke again. Happy vaping!
|
|