Hi Terri, I am in your club Terri, asthma and COPD with bronchiectasis. Never heard that term "co-morbid disease" sounds depressing, anybody know the life span for people like us?
I want to thank again dear Katherine for all her great information. Thanks to her I got CT Scan and will be getting a Bronchoscopy on August 15th. Not looking forward to this but will be glad to find out what kind of bacterias that are still lurking in my lungs.

I also have started a twice weekly class called "Community Respiratory Program (Pulmonnarry Rehabilitation) its sponsored by The Vancouver Coastal Health Program.
Free with your Doctors prescription. This class explains everything pertaining to all these diseases and also have an excercise coach along with treadmill and bicycles.
Since I no longer go to the public pool for my aquatic excercice, I will have to change my habits and do only non water work outs like yoga etc.

I am doing all this but I must say with great difficulty because of the lack of energy and contrary to all of you , I'm always hungry and have gained weight and I'm most of the time
cold, so go figure....
Anyway enough about me , thanks for listening and all the best to Katherine .

Andrée

Hello Andree! It is great that you are getting respiratory rehab, Exercise is the best thing for all of us. I totally understand about the lack of energy, it is the bane of this disease. 'Co-morbid' does sound, well, morbid, doesn't it? It means diseases that typically go hand-in-hand with other diseases.

Since you asked....There are tests they can do to tell how long you probably have to live. I asked my doctor about the tests and he said he refuses to do them and doesn't believe in doing them. Judging by his tone, I did not ask any more about it. I tend to believe that strides are being made for better treatment to help people live a longer with this disease, and with a better quality of life. A lot also depends on how well we take care of ourselves knowing that we have this.

@mariposa Hi Andree, been thinking about you. How did your broch go today?

Hi Terry,

Sorry, I had to stay quiet for a week.
I think that there was a mixture of bad luck and later on, stupidity on my part when I went for the Bronchoscopy.
I was very nervous and told them that I have a very strong gagging reflex but nevertheless I wasn't sedated enough and was conscious for way too long. I could hear myself panting and making and almost growling sound, I sounded like a dog in distress ,finally, lights out. I will never forget that experience.

When I went home I felt very tired so I told my friend to go and enjoy the day after thanking her.
Later on I got up and ate an omelette and shortly after that my system when into some kind of shock like state. I was so cold mi teeth were shaking. The end of my fingers tip were wrinkled like I had spent a long time in cold water, I was so weak ,had a hard time getting a hot water bottle and hot tea. I put 3 blankets on top of me and stayed there shaking for a few hours,
I did not wasn't to call 911 but I unlocked the front door and carried a telephone with me for a while. Later on I started to get very hot so I might have had a fever, did not have the strength to look for a thermometer.
Luckily with rest ,the symptoms settled down hours later.
It was my fault ,the instructions did say to keep someone for 24 hours but I read that later when it was over.

I felt very weak for quite a few days and did spit out blood up to yesterday which I know is normal. I think that my nervous system was more affected as I suffer from anxiety and I imagine that it didn't help things.
I seem to be OK today, thank God.
I will not have my results until September 11th as my specialist is on vacation, the test was done by someone else who mentioned that they would check my larynx as I have lost my voice since 8 months now.

When I go for my results appointment, a nurse friend of mine will come along to help ask questions. Thank God for good friends!

Thank you Terry for asking, hopefully I'm won't be scarring anymore away from this test , I'm sure that there are easier experiences
than mine .

Andree

@mariposa Andree! OMG! I don't know how I missed this post. I am so sorry! I am also not happy to hear about your awful bronch experience. I had the same thing happen to me when I had mine done; they didn't even put me in the twilight anesthesia like they are supposed to. I was totally conscious and not sedated at all! It was the most horrific experience I have ever had. When done correctly; a bronch is supposed to be as tolerable as a colonoscopy. If you have a nightstand, it might be a good idea to keep your thermometer there. It is a good idea to be aware of fevers, as they tend to indicate infection. How are you doing know? What did you learn from your doctor visits? (if you want to share that.) Hugs, Terri M.