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← Return to COPD end stage: Anyone else?
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First you need to know and let others know which branch of COPD you have. The reason for this is if it is emphysema they immediately take on the thought...."you smoke and got what you deserve", if it isn't then they need to know what it is. Have you been checked for Alpha-1, it is rare 1/2500, you can get a free test kit from Alpha1.org. Alpha1 is hereditary and can cause COPD. I am a carrier and a Dr at Mayo said I probably would have got it even if I didn't smoke, but the smoking didn't help. You need to learn about COPD.... a very good source is COPD.org. Yes, it is NOT curable and is progressive, but there are many things you can do to slow it down and make it easier to live with (pursed lip breathing when short of breath, respiratory therapy-medicare will cover 36 sessions). I moved my inhalers to nebulizers so they would be covered under medicare part B instead of part D.
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Bill, WOW, this is information I had not heard about. Thank you so very much for reaching out to me. I'm starving for information like this and feel like a fish out of water. It seems like I've googled everything I can about COPD but still know nothing about it except that it's a lunch disease supposedly caused by smoking. What does a "branch" of COPD mean? I'll look that up on Google. I went into the hospital one time for bronchitis and suddenly I have COPD when I tell them I smoke. I hadn't had bronchitis in over 12 years. i felt like I was just a statistic. But I realize that I do have COPD. But now more questions to ask my Pulmonologist. Is that the kind of doctor you're referring to? I do have a nebulizer but I also use inhalers. I like the nebulizer. Where would I go to get the breathing treatments you spoke of? I haven't been able to stop smoking yet. My worst monster. Have you quit? If you have, how did you do it? I've cut back a lot but that's not quitting or helping. I'm sorry if I'm all over the board here. I'm just so overwhelmed. When I look back, I realize that I may have had this disease longer than I knew and I just ignored it. Which worries me because I could be at a later stage than I think I am. Bill, I can't thank you enough for the info you've given me. There's just so much to learn about this disease and I hope my Pulmonologist will be patient with me while I try and learn what this all means for me, other than death. Like how do I live with it. God give you peace through your battle. Thank you again.
Shirley