Had chest xray done .I have no cough slight out of breath has I have asthma. doctor's have now told me I have mild change if my lung copd.when I asked does this mean I have the decease she said it might just be from the damage from smoking all those years ago.am so worried and stressed. does this mean this is the beginning of a death sentence? not sleeping or eating.
View 35 RepliesI gave up smoking at new year, just over two years ago. My dad died from emphysema when he has 60, and i always said that if i ever got a cough that reminded me of my dad i would quit. It got to the point where i was coughing myself to sleep each night, and i realised this wasn't just a cold that was going away, so i set myself a smoking deadline of new year (this was in the autumn) and did just that. Well 90% of my cough went away virtually overnight, but i was left with a niggly throat clearing thing, which wasn't too much hassle. Felt pretty good, and pleased with myself. So anyway, a couple of weeks ago i was doing a meditation app, and the instruction was to take a deep breath and hold it. It kind of took me by surprise, and the next day my back was hurting. So i made an appointment for the docs and she booked me in for a chest x ray and prescribed me a peak flow meter and some ventolin. 3 times a day i have to do a best of 3 reading, take two puffs of ventolin, then twenty mins later do another best of 3 reading. After three days of doing so i'm feeling constantly breathless, worse than i ever did, i still have that pain in the left side of my back, and i am sure now that indeed i have emphysema like my dad. I feel like crying all the time yet i'm putting a brave face on for everyone. I don't have any kids, and my boyfriend still smokes in the house. I try not to be around it, bit it's only a small house and difficult to avoid. He didn't see the long horrible death my dad had, both his parents are still fit and healthy. My morning peak flow reading is 350 and the other two (noon and night) are roughly 370 with hardly any difference from the ventolin except i think its giving me a dry throat. I guess my question is, has anyone else had COPD from age 40 and still lived a long time? How bearable is it? Because my dad carried on smoking quite far into his (he gave up when he went on oxygen) i'm finding it hard to expect anything different than he got. Also is it possible for the peak flow tests to be making me breathless?
View 32 RepliesI have just been diagnosed with stage 2 copd (emphysema). I have smoked for 48 years. I am 65 and told I have lungs of a 95 year old. I am struggling to stop smoking. If I cannot how fast will my progression be.
View 29 RepliesI foolishly went back to smoking a while back because I feel BETTER when I smoke. I stopped, but get tempted because my breathing is much better when I do! I know it is insane, but has anyone experienced this? When I quit My breathing was much worse. I think it has to do with waking up your lungs, clearing them out, so you become sob. But I swear when I did smoke, I felt fine! So crazy.
View 45 RepliesFirstly I don't really smoke that much weed only the occasional joint with mates, but yesterday, some gave me a joint, so I had it to myself last night whilst watching some TV, I guess I smoked it all in quick succession (btw it wasn't a joint, it was a bit smaller, but bigger than the average cigarette size) anyways, I felt good after it, got good and funny sensations, like my limbs weight a lot, not being able to move because I was so comfortable, but then it went downhill, all of a sudden I felt my heartbeating, I tried to ignore it, but I guess once you think of something like that, its always in the back of your mind, I felt my heartbeat go crazy, and then I got horrible sensation in my heart area, like it was filling up, felt cold right in my heart then it felt like I was having a heart attack, as in pulsating and shooting pains, I was riving in pain on my couch, I genuinely thought "this is it, I'm going to die" it was the worst thing I've ever felt, after maybe 10 minutes of this unbearable pain, it went away, I thought it was over, I said ok, I better go lie down, big Mistake.
I walked/stumbled from my TV room to my bedroom, I was blind, it was like a headrush, but I literally couldn't see anything it was like being blind, but all I could see was like bright light, it was horrible, I lay down in bed, thinking I was dieing, I was like, I'm going to be like this forever, dizzy and my heart beating irregularly, I'm not going to get out of this, then I thought I was going to be sent to the looney bin, as no one would believe me, I lay down in bed, other strange things happened, I can't really remember then.
But then, the heart pains came back, just as long and as bad as the first time, I thought, I was actually dieing, couldn't get up to call a loved one, as was in too much pain, eventually it subsided, then I heard things like doors slamming, cars and vans driving past my windows, doors being knocked on etc, all at one, getting really really, deafeningly loud, it was weird I knew it was all the noises ever heard in the flat just played at the same time if you get me? I heard other noises as well, but can't remember them.
Then I tried to get to sleep, but the whole time, I was thinking this was a game, my mind was playing with itself, I thought someone maybe dipped the weed in LSD or something (but I don't think so now, as I didn't hallucinate, and its not economically viable for any dealer to dip their stuff in LSD) so anyways, I was thinking it was a game, I also thought if I went to sleep I would go into a coma and die, I was fighting for my life as such, it was so real and surreal at the same time, it truly was the worst experience of my life.
Throughout the course of my "trip" I had the heart pains, and weird noises thing again, and then eventually it wears off, still felt weird, paranoid and horrible, I sat up in my bed, to get some air or something, and said, OK I will watch some stuff on my laptop, I did, then my buzzer rang, I kinda freaked out, I thought it was my landlord, so I was like ohh c**p, but answered it anyways, it was my flatmate who was returning from a holiday, it was such a relief to see him, we went back into the sitting room chatted a bit more, then I went back to my bed to watch stuff on my laptop. I started getting better from there, I had a headache though, I watched a couple more hours of stuff on my laptop til my other flatmate came home, we had a beer (which calmed me down a bit) and watched TV, and went to bed.
I woke up this morning with a blinding headache, still here, I think my heart's still beating fast, but I dunno, I could be still a bit paranoid, but it was definitely beating a million miles an hour the whole of yesterday.
Should I see a dr? - I've had a new outlook on life since this happening to me, I want to do more things with my family (we live in diff countries) and just love my gf and friends more, you know? - I want to start eating healthily as well...
What should I do, can anyone advise?
TL;DR version:
smoked a doob, got high, got paranoid ( i guess ) thought I was having a heart attack, worst thing ive ever experienced, what should I do?
I know I need to quit smoking. My dr said no damage is done before 13 weeks, but I can't quit! I've tried tapering, I've tried cold turkey, I've tried gum... nothing is working.
View 4 RepliesI stopped smoking 11 days ago, went cold turkey after being told my copd is getting a lot worse, in just a few days my breathing has improved, what is annoying me is the last few days I keep wanting to clear my throat in bed its terrible can't sleep for the noises in my throat and keep trying to clear it, I am not bringing any phlegm up never really have in all the years I smoked, has anybody experienced this ?
View 1 RepliesI smoked for 37 years from the age of nine. I have tried to quit many times but can say now in hindsight that I never really tried, I just pretended to myself that I was trying. Some times I stopped smoking and had a cigarette less than an hour later but made up an excuse and continued to "try" stopping. I never actually admitted to failing until I was back on my usual 20 or 30 a day.
In January I decided to give it a go again but this time I went to a stop smoking group. This will not work for all people but it did for me so I am happy. Somebody at the group came out with the idea that everyone at the group should get into their heads that the minute you have 1 cigarette then you have failed. I am a naturally competitive person and this really worked in gettting me motivated. I did not want to be the one that failed.
In the group we were given help with products and I chose to use patches and lozenges. I used the patches for 6 weeks and the lozenges for about 12 but do not use either now. There seems to be this perception amongst internet posters that if you use stop smoking products then you didn't do it properly and its far better to stop "cold turkey" Personally I think it's the result that counts not how you get there.
I have now gone almost 8 months without a cigarette and still get the cravings now and again. But I just keep saying to myself "if you have 1 cigarette you have failed".
I am 25 and have been smoking cannabis almost every day for the past 10 years. The last 8 years this has been entirely skunk, and it's normal for me to spend anywhere between £50 and £70 a week on it. I do smoke it with tobacco but have managed to give up cigarettes a year ago.
Despite this I have passed college and got myself a degree - and I now have a well paid respectable job.
However, I have noticed that my memory is pretty lousy and its really affecting my work. I also get chest tightness and pains which is why I really want to give up (as well as the money). I am pretty unmotivated hence I rarely cook meals or exercise. My social skills are also poor and can only strike up a conversation with somebody if I've had a few drinks. When I am stoned, I find it difficult to hold a conversation - simply cos I don't want to - and most evenings consist of staring at the TV all evening not even noticing what I am watching.
2 years ago i split up with my fiance (and baby) as she could no longer put up with my smoking and mood swings (which can be really bad for no apparent reason). (i chose weed over them as I didn't see why I should change - however we were no longer in love so I suppose it was inevitable)
I gave up for about 10 days a few months back - the first 3 days were really hard (lack of sleep, agitation)and I vowed not to go back to it. However, I live in a small town and ALL my friends smoke weed (including my brother who I live with)so was soon back into the swing of things. Almost all my friends and brothers friends do the usual Crack, Coke Pills MDMA Base etc on a regular basis but I've always been able to control my use of these. I'm up to my eyeballs in debt (mainly from drink and drugs) so cannot afford to move to a flat of my own. I feel I can't get away from it despite remembering how much better I felt when i gave up.
I agree there should be more help, but I still don't think its necessarily a bad thing. I know some people who can take it or leave it so why should it be illegal just because some people take it too far. I think a large risk at the moment is highly pollutes "soap bar" and skunk pumped full of chemicals, glass filings (to increase weight), and flavourings. If it were legal to grow for your own use, I'm sure many people would have less of a problem with it.
I've been a smoker for 17 years now. I've tried everything and still can't quit. Any methods anyone can recommend that helped you?
View 1 RepliesMy mother is 79 years old and in the early stages of dementia. Having stopped smoking 14 years ago she has suddenly started again - despite having had a collapsed lung and a cancerous tumour removed from her lung earlier this year. We are very concerned for her health and don't know what to do - has anyone else faced this particular problem?
View 5 Repliescan anyone tell me which way they found the best, i don't really want to go on patches etc and i've heard bad reports on champix. I,ve tried acupuncture and found i cut down, but we all know what happens, creep back to full smoking again.
View 12 RepliesI'm 15 years old... and i've been smoking since i was 12.. i am quitting, but since yesterday i have had this really bad pain in my throat, it feels like there is a lump of some sort, that won't go away, but then today, i woke up with the same throat pain (but worse) it hurts to breath in, it also hurts my left shoulder blade/ arm when i breath in, my nose, and occasionally my chest.. I am having a really hard time breathing, and i'm really scared. help?
View 1 RepliesFemale, 40 years old. don't drink/smoke. exercises 2-3x a week. No meds. Seldom eat fried foods. No soda/ juice. Triglyceride (WNL) HDL= 66. LDL=133..Cholesterol=205 (>199). Should I be worried?
View 1 RepliesI have COPD along with CHF. My blood pressure is normal. Have only 20% use of mitral valve. ( Cardiomyopathy). I was put on 60 mg of Furosemide (Diuretic) then 2.5 mg. Then after 2 months I am now at 7.5 mg.
My question is I have a constant cough, pulling up mucus. It starts with a real itchy throat and then the coughing. There is no relief. It goes on for anytime 7 to 15 minutes stop and then starts again. At night it is worse.
I am afraid that my COPD will get worse. Please let me hear from you if you have the same problems.
I am a carer for my Hubby, who has Pleurisy at the moment. I am his carer & I am meant to be going into Hospital for a hip operation. I am full of acute Anxiety myself as I need to get my Husband better. He is on antibiotics and strong painkillers as well. He also suffers from arthritis and also is deaf & severely sighted.. I am giving him hot fluids as much as possible.
View 1 RepliesI know a lot of people that have cold extremities and they don't have COPD. My adoptive Mom was one of those people. Her hands and feet were always freezing cold and she did not have COPD. I've had cold feet and hands all of my life long before the diagnosis of COPD.
View 2 RepliesI was diagnosed with copd two years ago and use a serovent inhaler twice a day and have a ventolin for back up. This is my second winter since being diagnosed and the cold weather seems to be affecting me more this year. My spiro test in January showed a slight improvement but generally l feel more breathless and l wondered if maybe l should ask for a change of inhaler. Does anyone know of an alternative to serovent or is it just the weather making me feel worse.
View 4 Repliesi was lying down on my back last night and suddenly felt my whole chest (lungs maybe)inflate. Does anybody know why this happened as its happened quite a few times recently? This left me really gasping for breath.
View 3 Repliesi was diagnosed with Emphysema in February and am having further tests. This has all come at me so quickly and caught me off guard. Is anybody else suffering with these headaches?
View 4 Repliesi am 25 years old, i have been suffering from breathing difficulty or not able to take deep breath problem.. all day i feel like taking deep breath. but when i try for it.. am not able to take deep breath. during night time i sleep normal.
what could be the reason. anybody pls help.. my Xray CT scan all normal.
could this be psychological problem. doctors trying to say that also. if so. how to recover from this.. it feels like i don't have any life without solving this problem.