COVID-19 Coronavirus and Lung Health: What can you do?

I have a question or maybe it is just a comment: I'm 65 with COPD. I've lived to see many "pandemics"- swine, several avian flues, mad cow, Merced, sars, nile virus, legionnaires, Ebola... the list goes on. Yet, I have only had common pneumonia -twice- not even a serious flu. I never alter my lifestyle. I go into public places continuously. I travel. The 2 times I was sick with pneumonia I was at home and there was no scares of infectious diseases at that time, I even had my pneumonia vaccine (I was later told the vaccine only protects you against a few of the many strains). I'm questioning if we are over reacting and whether it is worth it to live in fear and go into isolation? Obviously we want to avoid being confined with infected people, so cruises or travel to "hot spots" is out, and we can drop hand shaking and wash more often, but to stop doing the public activities that we enjoy I think that "cure" is worse than the chance we'll get infected and end up with an illness that is more severe than the average flu?

@joelars- Good afternoon Joe. This is such an excellent question. Just now WHO is calling it a Pandemic. This means that it has reached most of the world. There are now over 118,000 people who have been affected by COVID-19, not counting the dead. Unfortunately, Joe, since this virus has become political and fodder for the press it's hard to tell if we are overreacting. There is no doubt that this virus is different than other flu viruses. Its entire structure is different and it's tiny, tiny.
I have chosen to confine myself and avoid any place that has a lot of people at some time during the day. I have had bronchitis and the flu. I've also been active until now. I've tried very hard to be sensible about my health and what I should avoid and when I shouldn't.
It's up to you to decide what you are willing to take a chance on doing. If it's in your community then the decision, to me would be different than if it's not. I tend to be overcautious. One less day ill with something other than COPD and lung cancer is fine by me.

@brigby
Wow Brenda, thank you. Your info may be helpful in getting me some more answers. I appreciate your comments as I felt I've been riding this journey pretty solo. Do they tell you what your twitches are from??? The Neurologist said that sometimes people just have benign twitches and some have them forever. But I went from never having them to so frequently, especially when I knew something was really wrong with all the symptoms I was having. I did not show out of range for anything obvious on traditional blood tests. I've tried self treating best of my ability with herbal tinctures/supplements from naturopath and some I got on my own. I think they've helped some but nothing has gotten rid of the daily pains entirely or the pulse like twitchy feelings and my sleep is so bad that I don't know what is causing what (if that makes sense). It's like the chicken or the egg, hard to know.

May I ask how or what tests or MD's did you see to help you to determine your bronchiectasis and abscesses, fungi and bacteria?
Did you do a particular panel of some kind? I only know test wise that I tested positive IgM Mycoplasma Pneumoniae back this summer got no treatment because at the time my latest NP said everyone tests positive for it and mainstream med doesn't treat it!!! I also had a very low CD57 level of 24 which I guess is very concerning and was flagged by my local hospital lab as abnormal and yet still got little to no help. I was on a very long wait list to be seen by a Lyme Doc which just took place recently. So, I am hoping something will change for the better because this whole process has really put a sour taste in my mouth with trust in the medical community. I know they are probably just uneducated but you get passed along from one person to the next and no answers just costly bills. Thanks in advance for your info/comments.

Thank you Merry. I will click your link and look into it. I think had I suspected Lyme back in 2018 with the rash, I might not be in this situation but I was under the belief as most MD's seem to be, that you have to have a bullseye or tick in hand. I begged for antibiotics back in May practically broke down in tears in MD office and because that first Lyme antibody said negative, they said they can't treat. I've never been on any scripts my entire adult life so to say I've been really frustrated is an understatement but at least it's not cancer or ALS. I originally thought I had ALS or Parkinsons due to the twitches so at least my mind is not in that dark hole presently. Well wishes to you and I'm sorry you have lung cancer.

Hi @contentandwell. I suspect that I have Lyme or a co-infection of Lyme as I have had more than 7 IgM Lyme bands show reactive or positive on a Quest test and a Stonybrook test but they weren't identical results which makes the whole journey that much more confusing and lengthy process. Even MDs don't agree with one another on the topic and treatment of Lyme. I am currently one band shy of being CDC positive but LLMD's don't follow they order & number of bands to a tee like the CDC. I guess some people can show negative with no Lyme bands on all tests except a tissue biopsy or spinal fluid test- hoping to avoid those methods. I just got the Igenex blood lab drawn so we shall see what that shows. Regardless I think (fingers crossed) I'll finally gets some treatment but the Lyme Doc I saw recently said it's most likely chronic at this point because I went untreated for so long. I am not bed bound like some people but I am tired or running on low everyday because my sleep is so disturbed. I feel old and slather on CBD oil before bed, hope to put it in remission as well. It's a pandemic though that is sadly going without enough discussion. I don't wish it on anyone and hope less people will be in my shoes or worse off shoes but I am grateful it's not worse.

In 2016 I was FINALLY diagnosed with Lyme after 2 years of very similar symptoms. One sided pain in my joints, brain fog, extreme fatigue, chest pain. I saw an orthopedic Dr., had cortisone shots. Stopped volleyball, walking, golf. Saw a Rhumetologist, Neurologist, cardiologist. Never had a bullseye. First Lyme test came back negative because of the steroids. A year later, second test came back positive. Three months of three antibiotics did the trick. Have felt fine ever since.

Good afternoon- Have you wondered why this virus is different than the other very bad viruses that we have seen and the flu? Here's your answer what this one does to your body:
https://www.nytimes.com/article/coronavirus-body-symptoms.html?action=click&module=Spotlight&pgtype=Homepage

Here is the group for Tick-borne illnesses. It's a great group for discussing everything about these illnesses.
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/tick-borne-illness-with-misdiagnosis-lone-star-tick-bite/?pg=1#comment-373864

@danaj60- Here is the group for Tick-borne illnesses. It's a great group for discussing everything about these illnesses.
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/tick-borne-illness-with-misdiagnosis-lone-star-tick-bite/?pg=1#comment-373864

Very interesting article. And scary. Thank you for posting.