Oh yes Lauren!! My doctor told me way back in 1999 that I had chronic bronchitis and it is leading to copd. I made every excuse under the sun, if I thought of it at all.
I was not sick, I was still working, yadda, yadda, then in 2008 I started getting the lung infections, and began to notice a tiredness more often, and one of the nurses took my O2 one day and it was 80.
I had no idea what that meant, because I had not taken Dr. seriously< so I went for a checkup, long story short, he put me on oxygen at night. I continued to smoke during the day!!
I lasted, barely until 2009 when I had to retire because I could barely make my rounds without stopping for rest . Then he put me on oxygen 24/7, and here I sit...

Of course there is more to the story, but I won't bore you, but needless to say I kept smoking the darn things on and off between lung infections and hospital visits, maybe not as much as before, because I was on oxygen during the day, I would just not use it!!!

Then in November 2011. a bout of pneumonia knocked me on my you know, and I was so sick I thought I was going to die.
In fact, I thought I was dying anyway, I could not breath, and Mark called 911. They got me going, but my sats had dropped well below 70 by then, and I was almost dead.
No more cigs for this woman!!! But I was so stubborn all that time!!! And now I kick myself when I think if only I had stopped in 1999, or even 2004!! Now i am needing a lung transplant, and have almost no lung function.
I manage to keep going, even exercise, but if i had only listened...Well sorry to be so rambling!! lol Don.t get me started.... : )
Brenda

I just thought that old age was causing my stamina problems at work- I worked quite a bit on mountaintop sites, 500 ft and above. Then one day a few years back I had chest pains and couldn't stop coughing or catch my breath.
A visit with the doc showed I had severe emphysema - an FEV1 of 47%. He told me if I kept smoking I'd be dead within a year or two. So I did stop - but still was started on O2 24/7. Lasted a couple more years at work, but finally left last July.
Yeah, it was easy to deny I had a problem - until I ended up on my knees, unable to breathe. I've pretty much come to grips with it today...

Hugs,
Dennis

I just hate even imagining you my friends, to be in such distress. My heart goes out to you, for having to endure these terrible feelings of not being able to breathe!!

I am lucky i don't have those, but i try to just live each day one day at a time.

Boo

I was shocked with my diagnosis, mainly because I had quit smoking 18 years prior. I quit because I was terrified of getting Emphysema or Lung Cancer, and really thought I had somehow magically avoided them because it had been so long since I quit. I was also still reeling from a diagnosis of Diabetes 2 years before when I found out I also had Emphysema. I cried, I worried, I thought about dying all the time. It got so bad that I finally went to see a psychologist to help me deal with it. Now I accept it, but I don't let it define who I am. I occasionally think about it, but not to the extent where it interferes with living my life.

Everyone handles their illness in their own way. When you're ready, you'll deal with it. Until then, just let us keep loving you and reassuring you. You're in the best place you could be right now.

After the scare of having multiple pulmonary emboli, I think I was more ready to hear anything. I had quit smoking years before, as did my husband but when I was ill, it was usually a pulmonary problem. The pulmonary emboli were misdiagnosed twice while I was having more and more problems with sob. Finally I was so sick, and certain that I was dying, that I called the ambulance myself and they knew in no time what was happening, thank heavens. Another week in the hospital.

I didn't have to worry about denial since I am a worrier in any event. I was seeing all kinds of scary scenarios in my head and finally my cardiologist told me that I had COPD and had lost 65 % functioning of the lungs. I am not on oxygen but I tire very easily , wheeze a lot and get sob with exertion. The coughing is worse in the mornings and a friend said she uses the inhaler in the morning so I have switched too. I refuse to take steroids after trying Advair and having bad side effects. And I worry about the future while fighting to stay in the Day at the same time.

I am glad you are here since I know of no more helpful and compassionate site on the web. You will deal in your own way, as Higginsp said, and it sounds like you are at that point.

Sending you hugs and best wishes, Cindy

i was smoking my fool heart out & each year getting more & more SOB and telling myself, "i really should stop smoking".
tried the patches, gum etc & just kept starting back up within a day.
then in aug. 2009 my sis that had never smoked a day got emphysema & died 2 months later.
then oct. mom went into heart failure & came to live with me on hospice.
i used the excuse that, "i was too stressed" to stop now (i always had some excuse) even when i would play with my mom's oximeter & see i was in the 80's while she was on O2.
mom died in march 2010 & in august 2010 i went camping and couldn't breath to walk up a short hill.
i got food poisoning & went for stomach xrays, they called my dr to send me back for lung xrays & i was diagnosed.....dr then sent me for PFT & i was at 47% .
my dr told me at that time if i didn't quit i'd have less than 5 years to live & if i quit i could have 15 or 20 years.
my daughter told me about e-cigs, and i quit with those.
isn't it amazing that i could quit AFTER i got the disease, but not before.
i don't know how long i have, but even with O2, 24/7 i feel like i breath better not smoking than those last years of smoking.

Thank you all for sharing your stories with me. Another common thread we share. I have been sob since I was a kid. Both my parents were heavy smokers. I used to get up in the morning sob. Dr back then thought I was allergic to carpeting so we only had hardwood floors in the bedrooms big help lol. I was a body surfer into my early twenties. Wonder how I didn't drown. From my late thirtes until I finally went on inhalers in my mid fiftes I used to have major sob attacks in the mornings for three hours which I would still smoke through! There were days when I'd swore to myself if I lived through those episodes I'd stop smoking. It wasn't until two years ago when I adopted a kitty which I had to give up, that I finally stopped smoking. I thought it was unfair for the cat breath the second hand smoke. I too wound up calling 911 last July and in the er after going through a cat scan was diagnoised with severe emphysema. Learning there are no guarantees you won't wind up with this illiness no matter when you stop smoking. I'm just so grateful I have your support and want you to know you have mine. Hope you are all doing ok today.

Hugs,

Lauren

Lauren, I was officially diagnosis with chronic bronchitis in the early 90's and I ignored it completely. At that point I had already stopped smoking, and my lung function was a good as it had been in a while. But I am not a smart man, and I didn't do any follow-up and the next thing I know is I have COPD. I denied it way to long. I tried to be macho man for a long time. I think in part it is human nature to ignore these things as long as you can, doesn't make it right, doesn't make you smart but that is the nature of the beast. Yes I wish I had worked to gain control much earlier, but now I am in a fight with COPD and I will continue until my last breathe to fight it. Just as I hope everyone else does. Please take care, Bill

Like some of you, I was told early on to quit smoking, for other health problems, to include Asthma and I turned a deaf ear. I was in the hospital with s chronic stomach disorder and I was dx while in the hospital, after running a bunch of tests, was put on 02, the Neb, inhalers the works. My Doc, when he dismissed me said, "I told you so about 12 years ago". I knew it was coming, so I was not surprised. I accepted the fact I was sick and this was what it was.

I still go to the same Doc and he is keeping me comfortable.

Thank you all for sharing your stories, I am still smoking with COPD (chronic Bronchitis). I did quit when I got pneumonia but went to my brothers wedding 4 months later and started again. I am not a drinker but I had one and that triggered taking a cig from someone without thinking. I am planning to quit in about 1 month from now, once I've emptied my mom's apt (I had to place her in a home due to dementia) This has been very hard on me but once it is done, I will quit and never look back.
I appreciate the reminders, how we all ignore our doctors warnings and find excuses to continue smoking until we are almost dead !!!!!! I feel so stupid, I know it's wrong.