Life is too short to spend all that time and effort scaring yourself. Hope you can get a handle on it.

Best wishes...

Curt

I do a lot of research, for both my own edification and to help others. You have take what is out there with a truckload of salt. Test papers, trials, white papers are all put out there to look like the real thing. But ain't. Enough on that.
You look at the spectrum of people here, all having some form of lung disease in addition to whatever else ails us at the moment. Don't use our outsides to compare to your insides. It'll drive you crazy. Your dad is a unique person and the journey he travels in nobody else's but his - and it ain't out on the internet yet.
So you take all this info and vet it through a bit of salt (mayhaps even run it out here for a few opinions) and filter it down to a few salient points. Now when you see his doc you'll be better capable to stay on the same page as he. Knowledge used properly is always power. Give you father my best...


Hugs,
Dennis.

Sabrina, research is like going on a blind date. It sounds nice, may work out, but you have to be careful...OK, bad example.

Nothing wrong with research, but limit it. Make a list of trusted websites, maybe 3-4, and that is ALL....Trusted means, well known, tried and true, like Johns Hopkins, everyone knows that name, or webmd, a very popuar site.

For every idea that comes up in a man's brain, there are millions and millions of sites out there ready to explain it to you and cure what ails you.

There are millions of sites that only want your money, and will tell you flat out lies to get it, or make claims like "It might cure this or that"

Just like this stem cell research folks are interested in. I googled it, and thre were thousands all claiming to be the correct one with the cure, or the one that will find the cure.

I am with your dad, you can literally research something to the point
it is addicting, and it takes over common sense.

Honey, I pray your dad does NOT have cancer, but if he does, he does, and no amount of research is going to change that. All it does is keep you confused, upset, scared, since there are so many different answers to the same question a lot of times.

Trust the doctor to a point of respecting his idea, but research enough to understand what he is saying and what might or might not be. If his idea does not sound right, tell him you need more information on why this is being done.

I research every drug my doctor prescribes, to check for my self the med and food contradictions, side effects, ect, even tho he may have told me. If I see something that differs from what he said, I can call the pharmacist, who normally know more about drugs than doctors , or I will call his office.

But if he asks where I got that information, I always have a site that is well known and well established.I have even printed out pages and showed him..."You said it does this, but this web site says it does this, why?" That type situation.

Research only for knowledge, and then make sure it is a trusted site. Do not hit every site listed, but only those you trust to be reputable.

And continue to ask your dad's doctor questions, along with your trimmed down research. Give your dad a break, and a hug....
Hugs to you both
BJ

Thank you! You guys are kind, honest, and ...., right!

I'm going to try to ease up and give my dad a break, stop annoying him and start enjoying that things are good!

I'm happy that you guys are here with your wealth of information and common sense!

Thank you for that question , I have gotten myself scared to death with the internet. I am going to get a handle on this I hope and start living my life. Thanks so much for the people here ya'll mean the world to me........

Have A Good Day......

it is good to be informed on how to best take care of ourselves.
i "trusted" my 1st dr far too much & as a i almost died in an exacerbation in 2012 because she didn't take care of me properly (long story, but live & learn)

today; i believe the internet can be a wonderful "tool" for information,
but so is asking others that have walked this path before me (here on this forum),
AND THEN ask my dr's (whom i now have a great "team")about it.

i suck at googling so i am grateful to those here that are better than me and appreciate their sharing links.

also; when i google, i look for information on how to best care for myself---not promises, speculation, statistics etc.
i also look up meds when i am prescribed them, but i have to beware because, geez, the side effects of an asprin can scare the hell out of you!!!

it sounds like your father has a dr he trusts and that is caring well for him (dr is ordering all the tests, not just jumping to his own opinion or conclusion).
it sounds like you are getting yourself so worried that it is interfering with your relationship with your dad; maybe it's time to turn off the internet & go enjoy some time with your dad.
as others have said, there are things that i can't change so i have to focus on what i can do.
good luck. it's hard when you love someone to let them fly their own path, but thats what we have to do ((((HUGS))))

also, my children my not "agree" with what i have chosen in aspects of dealing with this disease & how i have decided i want to live my life in general; but they respect my right to chose as much as i respect their rights on how they live theirs (we are all over 21 in my family so we all get to make our own choices :)

Thanks Jarca!!! I can't disagree with you - makes sense!

I will stay away from medical sites and just pray for a good scan

While I may do a little research, I can't stand to read long articles, etc on the computer, so I'm pretty selective as far as which sites I go to. There's a lot of info on the internet and not all of it is true. So I think it's best to find out the most reliable medical sites and stick to those.
And, as Curt said, life is too short. Why worry when you don't need to? I prefer to wait till I know there's something to worry about.

We all worry and get scared and the bottom line is when it's necessary we go to our doctor and hope for the best.
Everyone here is right, go to the sites that are reliable and take that knowledge with you.
Hugs to you and your Dad.
Jazz

Thank you!!!

The internet has been a gold mine for me. I wrote before how I was misdiagnosed before many times and only because I found the right info on the net, did I pursue getting a different opinion. Even when I had surgery in the spring, I was able to advocate on my behalf when it came to picking the right anesthesia. The anesthesia team was not happy and told me I make things complicated for them. My response was that what's easier on the team is not always best for the patient!!1-The internet makes me aware of options that would not have been presented to me by my physicians, so I think it's a good thing to get educated.

Sabrina, I would have to agree with those that have told you not to fret yourself into a box. If you look long enough and hard enough of course you will find things that scare the crap out of you. But I have had COPD for almost 30 years and your dad is no where near me from the description of his symptoms, Try to relax, because I know from being a Dad myself if my daughter was a fretful as you seem to be it would make me nuts LOL. If he has a good doc, and is following his doc's advise, he should be around for some time to come. Take care, Bill

And... your Dad sounds impressive.. So much of one's journey has to do with attitude. Sounds like your Dad is doing what he wishes primarily because he positively can. You certainly don't want to put a damper on that. Anxiety about what might be, wastes time and energy.

I'm a great believer in mind over matter. I've done minimal internet searching for all things medical. I just don't know enough in that area - easily overwhelmed. I'm hanging onto my bubble plus I have a Dr. I trust and there's usually some experiences in this group that one can rely on and relate to.

Thanks guys!

Bill - you're right on.... I am driving my dad nuts!!!

Yes, Dr. Google drives me nuts too. My dad also has stage 4 emphysema (COPD and chronic bronchitis types) I have found that if I see something of interest I tell him calmly about it now. I used to freak out but that would increase his anxiety too. There's a lot of bad info out there too. I like what DennyGene said. Grain of salt. Every person is different. My dad was hospitalized 6 times this year and he's still planning his garden for next year. Hope this helps!