COPD & Emphysema Support Group
COPD is a progressive disease characterized by airflow obstruction or limitation. Emphysema is characterized by loss of elasticity of the lung tissue, destruction of structures supporting the alveoli and of capillaries feeding the alveoli. Both have symptoms that include shortness of breath, among other respiratory troubles. If you are a COPD or Emphysema sufferer, join...
Shortness of breath, also known by the term breathlessness or the medical term of dyspnea, is a common symptom of COPD. Breathlessness is a feeling occurring when the lung changes from working in the way it was normally designed to work, to working differently. If the lung senses that it takes more work or effort to move air in and out of the lungs, a feeling of breathlessness will be experienced. While this feeling can be very uncomfortable to the person with COPD, it does not mean that the person is further damaging their lungs by doing things that make them breathless. Unfortunately, people try to avoid this feeling by doing fewer activities or activities less often. This strategy of avoiding activities to avoid breathlessness may work initially, but eventually avoiding activities leads to getting out of shape or becoming deconditioned. Becoming deconditioned can result in even more shortness of breath with activity. One of the greatest challenges for people with COPD is learning to continue leading an active life in spite of the difficulties breathing. Pulmonary rehabilitation programs are useful in helping people learn strategies to reduce this feeling of breathlessness with activities. An important principle for people with COPD to learn is to never avoid an activity because it causes breathlessness. To do so means COPD has taken control of you and you have lost control over your breathing problem.
What can I do to treat breathlessness?
If you and your provider find that your breathlessness is from your COPD, you can do several things. First, be sure you are taking your medications when and how prescribed, even if you dont "feel" that they are helping. Secondly, begin a regular program of exercise to build up your strength. Thirdly, learn about paced breathing and ways of breathing more efficiently with activities. These techniques are taught in pulmonary rehabilitation programs. Fourthly, if you find the support of others with the same problem helpful, enroll in a pulmonary rehabilitation program or begin attending breathing support groups offered by your local lung association or clinic.
Note: Many us don't have the access to pulmonary rehabilitation programs but we can call or google around to see if there are any local support groups that include this, I doubt if we are the only ones around with this problem. I really appreciate all the information that is shared by members of this group that have gone or will go to rehab programs available. I believe once we learn what to do we can develop a program that will work for us, of course, under our doctors direction. There is so much information around I don't think we can use that a rehab program isn't available to us as an excuse.
What can I do to treat breathlessness?
If you and your provider find that your breathlessness is from your COPD, you can do several things. First, be sure you are taking your medications when and how prescribed, even if you dont "feel" that they are helping. Secondly, begin a regular program of exercise to build up your strength. Thirdly, learn about paced breathing and ways of breathing more efficiently with activities. These techniques are taught in pulmonary rehabilitation programs. Fourthly, if you find the support of others with the same problem helpful, enroll in a pulmonary rehabilitation program or begin attending breathing support groups offered by your local lung association or clinic.
Note: Many us don't have the access to pulmonary rehabilitation programs but we can call or google around to see if there are any local support groups that include this, I doubt if we are the only ones around with this problem. I really appreciate all the information that is shared by members of this group that have gone or will go to rehab programs available. I believe once we learn what to do we can develop a program that will work for us, of course, under our doctors direction. There is so much information around I don't think we can use that a rehab program isn't available to us as an excuse.
During a breif ER visit there was a man brought in from a long term care facility basicly kicked out of the facility (via transfer ambulance ) because his blood oxygen level was 80% well he has Pulmonary Fibrosis , he looks like he slips in and out of consciousness a voice will cause him to stir and awaken and he can hear what someone is saying and respond but immediately goes into his state of low consciousness .Having said that some of the advice here seems to be working especially the closed lip inhale I'm not very good at it though ...you see doctors don't explain these things so the info here is all good but although my breathing problem has been progressive I have not stopped exercising ...
...well my son was insistant that I play street hockey with him so away I went ,I struggled for air and at times was leaning over the net trying to catch my breath before long about 30 kids slowly appeared one by one ,anyhow to make a long story short I exerted more energy than usually and have not been able to catch my breath since that day two weeks ago . I really wonder sometimes if a doctors job is specificly to pay his mortgage ,expensive life style ,and not miss his golf game . I really shouldn't be here getting better advice than what I would get from a doctor but really thats the way it seems more often than not .
Naturally exercise is a catch 22 situation with both CHD and COPD avoiding the fat while keeping a healthy weight . I'm not sure that either are well tuned enough to exercise enough and the bigger picture comes into play, like calorie intake ,amount of exercise , meds , etc . infact I think the majority with COPD don't run down the street with oxygen tank pulled in behind them while they pull the trigger on their hand held horn left over from the Giants game laughing and smiling and waving at slow moving traffic as they pass .( I watch too much television lol ) I believe there is more to this than just going off the cuff and saying you have 20% pulmonary capacity (not the same as blood Oxygen) and you can do whatever . Thats probably unlikely for anyone who first discovered they have a breathing problem and it didn't take just overnight to understand and overcome the problem . Ability comes into play in all serious illnesses there are always limitations its not all black and white . Good post though
1. sparkpeople.com 2. community 3. medical condition 4. other medical conditions 5. ashtma/COPD. Once you get there you can bookmark. That's about as far as I got. I have developed a walking program and strength program there and plan to start tracking it.