Howdy and welcome to our group. Living with this disease is a learning process and an attitude adjustment. But there is a lot of help and good people here
You may want to get a pulse oximeter (fairly inexpensive) so you can monitor your SPO2. If it consistently falls below 90, contact your pulmonologist. There are techniques you can learn to "conserve" your oxygen while exerting yourself. Learning to pace oneself so as not to get short of breath and what to do when it happens.
Atttitude, knowledge, diet and exercise are really important. See about a bout of pulmonary rehabilitation if you can - it will teach you how to live and exercise.
Above all, don't let reading about this disease get the better of you or psych you out...

Best to you and yours,
Dennis

Hello and sorry that you are having so much trouble. I think everyone that will read your post will remember being where you are right now.
Yes, my voice changed about 18 months in after starting corticosteroids, Symbicort and/or Advair. The experts say that has nothing to do with it so I have come to the conclusion that as my lungs work harder to push air that I need to speak, they are not able to fully inflate and propel the air. Just my notion. But I do have severe emphysema so that probably accounts for it.

Actually, if you feel like you are breathing from your tummy, then you are probably using the right breathing technique. To properly inflate the lungs, you need the thoracic diaphragm that separates the abdominal and thoracic cavity where your lungs are. As you breathe in it expands and pushes air up to the lungs.

I was told that chest breathing is shallow and does not really inflate the lungs as they should be. If you want to know if you are using the right breathing technique, lay on the floor or bed and place a heavy book on the midriff and if it moves up and down as you breath in and out then you are working the diaphragm correctly.

In the beginning, I felt like I was suffocating if I could not feel a movement of air on my face. Even if I was wearing oxygen, if there was not a stir of air, I just felt real panicky. I learned to pick up a book and just fan until I could get a good deep yawn and then I relaxed and was able to breathe better.

There are so many tips you will be able to pick up and help you manage on a day to day basis and that is what COPD is all about. "A big time management program". You have to be proactive in your care.

Take care and I wish you the very best,
Anna

I, too, welcome you. I wonder if that suffocating feeling you have might be related to anxiety. When we get short of breath, until we learn to deal with it, anxiety can set in and just makes it worse.

One of the things I think it is so important to learn is how to relax when we become short of breath. When we are scared, we tend to tense up, hunch over, raise our shoulder and shallow breath rather than good breaths from the belly.

I think PLB (purse lip breathing) can help you a lot. You have to practice it a bit until it becomes second nature and you do it automatically when have that SOB (short of breath) coming up.

You purse your lips, breath in deeply and showly. Hold it a couple of seconds, then release - twice as long as when you breath in and still pursing your lips. For myself, when I first became anxious, I would try to find a straight back chair somewhere, Sit straight up, quietly and make my shoulders drop with my hands at rest in my lap. Then I would do purse lip breathing. It helped me a great deal. It may be, too, you need a little help with meds for it, too. Your doc can help you there.

The other comment I have is that you said you just quit smoking. Probably smoked for years. It takes a good while for your lungs to recover as much as they are able after you quit, and this may be part of it, too.

Hope you'll be feeling better soon. Denny gave you some very sound advise about reading about this disease (or mortality charts either) and letting it pysch you out.

Joni

Hi,
It is ok to be scared. We all were at some point, and still get there sometimes. But don.t let your fear take over.
If you have COPD, it is going to be harder to breath when there is a lot of humidity in the air, because there is less oxygen. It sounds like you had a few short of breath episodes, .
Do get a pulse oximeter and keep check on your oxygen level. On days when you feel like you are smothering, sit down and do purse lip breathing. Close your mouth and inhale with your nose to a count of two and exhale thru your mouth, with lips pursed like you are blowing out a candle, to the count of four. Exhale slowly, and inhale slowly,That helps if you get short of breath, and believe me you will and should get to know the technique real good.( Inhale to what ever, just exhale twice as long) Learn to pace your self, and give some of the heavier duties, carrying heavy stuff, moving furniture, mopping, to someone else.
DennyGene said it right when he said learn all you can about your disease. Do not just leave it up to the doctors to tell you stuff. Get online also, and google COPD/
Your house should be dust free as possible, stay away from fumes, aresol sprays, ect....you will find this all out as you research.
Most of all relax, unless God has plans, you are not going anywhere any time soon , This is not a curable disease, and it does get worse over time. But with proper nutrition, meds, exercise, and living and social enviroment changes, you can slow it down.
Talk to your pulmonary doctor about pulmonary rehab, and about oxygen at night. Tell him about the episoded you have been having.
God bless you, and good luck with it all. This group is wonderful to be a part of, so welcome, join right in..
Brenda

Thank you all so much for your kind words and advice. I was saying before that I read a lot on the internet about copd, but I really meant from support sites like this one. The best information is what you get from individuals who already posses this horrid disease. They (you) are they experts being that you are the ones who've been living with and through this for years. There is so much information you provide in simple conversation. I've learned so much already. I left out a few details about myself. I am a 42 yr old female. I was tested for alpha 1 but was neg and did have cat scans which were clear except for emphy and did have a right heart cath so no ph..yet. Lol. I guess my thing is not knowing what to expect and of course not really being aware of how I should be feeling now. I thought copd caused sob in the sense of feeling as if you have no air but the smothering part I did not expect. I get a lot of information confused which is why I decided to join. I am taking xanax for panic attacks but was only doing it in the evening cause I would get them when I lay to sleep but now I think that may change. As per the advice of Dennis, I will be picking up a oximeter tomorrow.And Brenda, I have an appt with my pulmo end of sept so I will speak of the rehab. Thank you all for allowing me to participate in your group. I know I won't be online daily but I will at least every few days. It will be a pleasure and an honor to converse with all of you in times of need or confusion or just pleasant conversation. Sorry again for the long post. Everyone have a wonderful nite. God Bless!

Bittersweet, I was just like yourself, not too long ago. I was terrified and just knew that I was gonna die this quick and horrible death. Thankfully my friends here at DS got a hold of me and got my attention. I give thanks to them every day because it's them that I get my strength from. I am sure you too, will find out what a wonderful bunch this is and just know that there is someone who knows what you are going through.

Take each day, one at a time, I promise you once the 'news' wears off and you get on a new regime that things will be better for ya. I'm praying for you!

P.S. I found some information on the voice problem thing,I posted it on the discussions board. :)

Adding my welcome! Some parts of this disease are scary to me also. I used to get really sob and then I would burp and I could breathe again. No-one has been able to really explain that to me. I'm thinking it is because the stomach sits against the diaphragm.

Anyways, my voice too has changed. My pulmonologist said it is from the meds. He said to rinse my mouth (always) and gargle the water also. I've been doing that. Hasn't really helped much with the voice thingy.

You quit smoking on my birthday! Congratulations.

DeeDee

Hi and welcome! All I can add to the excellent advice already given here is to remember to pace yourself. I know even after several years, there are times that I forget and try to rush around too much and end up SOB and sometimes a bit panicky. (Hafta remember I'm not 40 anymore. Ha.) And for shopping, I hope you're hanging onto a shopping cart...just one of those invaluable tools to help us along.

Good day all! Today I am feeling a little better. It has a lot to do with you guys. Today I went out and bought my oximeter and my level is holding a great 97 so far. Still have the smothering but not the extremely heavy one yet. When that one hits I'm gonna check the oxi to see if its a fall or not. I've learned that from reading on here with all of you. Roseypeach, thanks for the voice info, so much to still learn and DeeDee, it was an honor to quit smoking on your birthday as it is a day I will never forget. Iamrighter, thanks for the tip about the shopping cart. I never really liked using them but I guess its time for me to start adjusting to make things a litter easier for myself. All of you are so kind a helpful. Thank you so much again for helping me get through this panic stage. I have a feeling that as long as I'm here with you, things will be a little easier to get through.

Hello and welcome to the group, I can't add to the advice you have been given, it has been well thought out, and practiced by many. Take care and have a great day. -- Bill

Bittersweet, you sound like a strong and amazing woman. It took all of us time to adjust to our new diagnosis. I made the mistake of researching too much on the internet too soon, and terrified myself. That's why I joined this group, to get better knowledge from people who are going through it. It's a wonderful support group. I wish you all the best, and we're all here if you need us!

Welcome to the group. I myself have learned so much from these wonderful people.

Popping in to add my welcome wishes.

Welcome Bittersweet, I also just bought my first oximeter, be proactive in your treatment good luck with your anxiety I hope it declines in the near future. I'm glad you found this group, they truly are wonderful, I went to several other group sites and they were so depressing they scared the you know what out of me!! My baby just turned 18, so enjoy her before she "knows it all" LOL!!!! ;)
Melissa

Welcome to our group, and first let me commend you for quitting your smoking. A habit that has been with someone for years and years is hard to break, and we all have varying degrees of success. I quit on and off for 3 years, the longest off was 6 weeks, but after my last hospital stay last November, I was so sick, I said NO MORE, and that was it.
Hard? You bet it was, but I take it one day at a time and celebrate each day . It is easier on me now. This is a good group to join, I am fairly new, and these people are so ready to help and answer questions, or just let you rant, or cry and they always manage to say what one needs to hear.
BJ