I was also coughing a lot and feeling tired. I went to the Dr. she put me on a treadmill and said it's not your heart. Sent me for some xrays. Called a few days later and said you have emphysema, I will arrange a breathing test. No explanation or anything. Like you said she could have been telling me I had a cold.

Well, I just wonder if a lot of people get COPD as they age.
I don't think it's any surprise to the doctor. Although I went to a heart Doctor a couple of times with suffocating feelings thinking it was heart failure. Finally my g.p suggested trying the breath test and it said severe obstruction or whatever so I had an explanation which I was glad for. I just think it's more common than we know.

j.h.....I was 50 years old when I was told...My point is this:she should have had some bedside manners and not be so crude...

After misdiagnoses n 6 or 7 hospital holidays as a Chronic Asthmatic, the day after i came off a 2 week intubation and back in my private room, a Doc i had never seen before, walked in and i asked my prognosis.....He looked at me and said COPD.......maybe 5 or 6 years left and walked out.....Oh yeah i paid for that brief consultation......It was 6 months later i had a PFT test and i was diagnosed Stage 4 with 28%.......and told oxygen 24/7.........Now after a year of psychologically being on oxygen survival mode, i found out i never needed oxygen as with sats never dropping below 96 at worse, i had a gas exchange problem.....haha

I was hospitalized for bilateral pulmonary embolisms and they did a CT scan on the lungs while I was there. The Dr told me that the emboli had not dissolved and that the lungs showed evidence of COPD. I was glad to be told so I could start treating it as best as possible right away.
Several lung function tests since then have the confirmed the diagnosis and I am holding at moderate stage after five years.

The Drs and nurses at the hospital were all very kind and I don't remember thinking about bed side manner. Almost "buying the farm" with the embolisms made everything else sound like a piece of cake. Tsk tsp.

You are certainly right, mchughirene, it's a completely different ballgame depending on your age and the severity. I can't imagine being hit hard with it as a younger woman. There seems to be so much support for cancer victims, but not much interest in this from the medical profession or the public. Sometimes I don't even think the family is interested in hearing about it. In fact I'm pretty sure of that.

For me it was also total insensitive. A few years back, during flu season, I had a cough which wouldn't go away. I located a doctor online - I had fairly recently moved from New England. I made an appointment to get some stronger cough syrup.

The Dr's office was flooded with just about everyone coughing all over the place. Tests were taken. I received a call about a week later stating I had emphysema as if it were a bad case of indigestion. (Interesting that there are similar experiences mentioned here. What are they thinking?)

The worse part was I still have no idea who called - could've been the cleaning lady. No further information, for example, next step would have been helpful. I cried for at least a week assuming I'd be dead the next day. I knew nothing!

I don't recall how long it was before I heard from the Dr's office to make an appointment, however, several years later I'm still here in spite of that callousness. (different Dr, different office)

I can't say that the doctor was insensitive when informing me that I had emphysema. I was in the hospital for a minor surgical procedure when the Anesthesiologist came to me and my Surgeon to inform us that the chest xray showed evidence of emphysema. My surgeon said "no problem, she doesn't smoke" ; then looked at me and said "you don't do you". I said "yes" and he said I would be OK for this piece of surgery but I should stop smoking immediately..I was about to be 44 yrs old at that time....I continued to smoke for the next 20+ yrs.

About 6 months after I quit smoking I was serving coffee to my friend in my living roomnext thing I knew I was in the hospital on 02 wondering what happened.

They said I collapsed busted my head open bleed all over everything they rushed me to the ER and several days later I had a Pulmonary Doc and I was DX with Emphy I already had Asthma (as a kid). So that is what happened to me. It was very quick.

I live each day like yall doon 02, inhalers, nebulizers, I take every day as a gift.

I always thought it interesting that with the annual check ups and being truthful about my smoking habit, that not one Dr. ever suggested a simple PFT test. So, at 52 and in for the annual, I noted difficulty breathing, sudden-rapid weight loss, and cough. Before beginning any kind of examination the Prim.Care Dr. starting writing RX for vitamins, a colonoscopy etc. I was taken aback to say the least. She then did give a quick listen to my lungs, blood pressure etc. and an office PFT and then wrote a referral for pulmonary specialist. (I just loved [being sarcastic] how she was quick to write RX for things without even taking a pulse first).

I skipped everything she said except what was (in my opinion) the most urgent and that was the Pulmonary. He then ran various tests, x-rays etc. and he was the one to give the dx (stage 4, 17% capacity) but did so with the utmost sensitivity. I feel very fortunate to have someone with such a wonderful bedside manner.

I can remember my pulmonologists exact first words to me were " Your breathing tests are horrible, You need a lung transplant and I can get you one".

Needless to say I went for a second opinion and he said I wasn't quite there yet but I should consider a transplant in the future.

I guess we are all different. I had a PFT, was told it showed emphysema. Thought that was the point of the test, to let us know what is wrong so we can be treated. I could not care less about bed side manner, I care about what can I do to prolong my life. Really do not see any point in blaming the one who gives the news for not being all touchy feely but as I said we are all different and personally I do not like being talked down to, just give me the facts.

Miz tinker...Doctors take an oath ...to first do no harm....I have a great female Doctor for the past 8 years and I told her from day one to tell me everything and not to hold anything back...there is a nice way to break bad news and there is a crude way...they were both crude and I am not a whimp who needs my hand held...

I had gone to the Dr. with very labored breathing. After xrays were taken, I was told I had pneumonia and emphysema. I can't say I was all the surprised, as I had begun to suspect the emphy quite awhile before then.

My breathing was getting more & more labored. i was also waking up gasping for breath.
So, thinking i might have sleep apnea I asked my GP of 17 years if i could have a sleep study done.
(and i kept telling myself i ought to stop smoking "before I got lung cancer"=DUH)

the weekend before the sleep study I went on a yearly camping trip & could hardly walk up the mountain that seemed to get steeper every year.
However, on that campout i got food poisoning & was sent to hospital for stomach xray.
as my dr was prescribing meds for e-coli the hospital called & said they "thought" they saw something in my lungs so dr sent me back for another lung xray & a spirometer.(they don't have in chamber pft's in hooterville)
...
She was very kind, telling me that i had emphysema & that she could handle it, i didn't need a "specialist".
She said if I quit smoking i could live 15 or 20 more years. (that was 2010. i was 55)
I had the sleep study & she started me on 02 24/7.
i quit smoking, and I went happily along my way; now feeling stronger with my 02 along. :)

2 years later i had severe exasperation, went thru severe pain (like i'm having now) for months. My BP went thru the roof high & the pain was so intense I insisted on seeing specialists for the pain & for my lungs.
She told me it was all in my head & I should see a psychiatrist.
At that point i "fired" her & as i walked out her parting words were, "by the way, you have pulmonary fibrosis and you'll have a short life & die painfully."
(i kid you not, a dr actually said that) :)

I found a new PCP, saw specialists, and joined this board to learn about this disease & how to care for myself. :)