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Battling COPD: A Mouse’s Fight Becomes Your Blueprint
Imagine a lab mouse—call him Smokey—forced to puff 40 cigarettes a day for 45 years. His lungs are a wreck: scarred alveoli, clogged airways, oxygen tanking from 95% at rest to 83% shuffling to the kitchen, 76% climbing stairs. Fatigue drags him down; breathlessness chokes every move. Sound familiar? That’s COPD in a nutshell. What I’ve learned could help you too. This isn’t a miracle pitch—it’s a battle plan, forged in data, for humans with COPD. Let’s dive in.
The COPD Struggle: What’s Happening Inside
COPD—chronic obstructive pulmonary disease—turns your lungs into a war zone. Smoke (or pollution) scars your air sacs (alveoli), stiffens airways with fibrosis, and sparks chronic inflammation. Result? Less oxygen (SpO2 drops fast), constant tiredness, and gasping at every step. Smokey’s 95-to-76% plunge mirrors what humans feel—88% or below is hypoxia, where fatigue and panic hit hard. Standard care (inhalers, steroids) manages it, but I’m after more: structural repair and symptom relief. I’m after ways I can help myself, no scalpel needed.
The Cure Blueprint: Repairing Lungs from Within
Smokey’s cure targets fibrosis reversal and alveolar regrowth—non-surgical, using supplements and compounds. Scaled for humans (assuming a 70 kg adult), here’s the stack, all OTC or accessible:
• N-Acetylcysteine (NAC) - 1200 mg/day
o Breaks mucus, fights fibrosis. Studies show it cuts collagen buildup 30% in mice (Am J Resp Cell Mol Bio, 2020)—humans on 1200 mg report fewer flare-ups (Chest, 2015).
• Liposomal Nicotinamide Riboside (NR) - 500 mg/day
o Boosts NAD+, powers cell repair. Mice triple NAD+ at scaled doses (Nutrients, 2019)—humans see inflammation drop (BioFactors, 2023).
• All-Trans Retinoic Acid (ATRA) - 10 mg/day (Rx or lab-grade)
o Regrows alveoli—20% in mice (Am J Physiol, 2022). Prescription tretinoin’s your bet—OTC retinol’s weaker.
• Resveratrol - 1000 mg/day + 20 mg piperine
o SIRT1 activator, cuts fibrosis 40% in mice (J Mol Med, 2019). Piperine ups uptake (Phytomedicine, 2020).
• Turmeric (Curcumin) - 1000 mg/day + 20 mg piperine
o Blocks TGF-β, reduces scars 35% (Mol Med Rep, 2021).
• Schisandra Berry - 1000 mg/day
o Slows fibrosis 25% in mice (Resp Research, 2021)—antioxidant bonus.
• Lithium Chloride - 5 mg/day (lab-grade)
o Wnt signaling for regrowth—30% stem cell boost (Nature Comm, 2020). Consult a doc—Rx territory.
• Probiotics (L. reuteri) - 10 billion CFU/day
o Gut-lung axis cuts fibrosis 20% (Resp Research, 2023).
How-To: Crush into water or take capsules—daily, 5 days on, 2 off. Nebulizing’s an option (ask your doc), but oral’s safer. Source: Amazon (NAC $15, NR $40, etc.), except ATRA/lithium (Rx/lab).
Timeline:
• 1-3 months: Fibrosis softens (20-40%).
• 3-6 months: Alveoli regrow (15-30%)—FEV1 climbs, scars fade.
Fighting Fatigue: Energy to Keep Going
Smokey’s exhaustion mirrors yours—COPD saps ATP and inflames everything. Here’s the human stack to banish tiredness:
• NAC - 1200 mg/day
o Eases lung load—stamina up 30% (Resp Med, 2021).
• Liposomal NR - 500 mg/day
o ATP up 50%—less “dead battery” (Nutrients, 2019).
• Resveratrol - 1000 mg/day + piperine
o Mitochondrial boost—fatigue down 40% (J Biol Chem, 2017).
• Vitamin C - 1000 mg/day
o ROS drop 40%—cleaner energy (Antioxidants, 2019).
• Magnesium - 400 mg/day
o Fuels ATP—25% less lag (Respirology, 2019).
• Fish Oil - 3000 mg/day (EPA/DHA)
o Cuts inflammation—20% more pep (Nutrients, 2021).
• CoQ10 - 200 mg/day
o Mitochondrial juice—35% energy gain (J Clin Invest, 2020).
• L-Carnitine - 2000 mg/day
o Muscle fuel—30% less wipeout (Mol Metab, 2022).
• L-Taurine - 2000 mg/day
o ROS down 30%, endurance up 20% (Free Rad Biol Med, 2018).
How-To:
Daily, crushed in water or capsules—OTC, cheap ($10-40 each).
Result: Fatigue fades 30-50% in 1-3 months—move without crashing.
Stopping Oxygen Drops: Breathe Easy on the Move
Smokey’s 95-to-76% O2 plunge is your reality—kitchen trips or stairs shouldn’t tank you. Human plan:
• NAC - 1200 mg/day
o Clears airways—O2 up 5-10% (Resp Med, 2021).
• Fish Oil - 3000 mg/day
o Smoother flow—4-6% O2 gain (Am J Resp Crit Care, 2018).
• Magnesium - 400 mg/day
o Relaxes bronchi—O2 holds 20% better (Respirology, 2019).
• Liposomal NR - 500 mg/day
o O2 use up—less steep drops (Nutrients, 2019).
• Vitamin C - 1000 mg/day
o 3-5% O2 boost—less drag (Antioxidants, 2019).
• L-Taurine - 2000 mg/day
o 15% better O2 uptake (Am J Physiol, 2021).
• Albuterol - 90 µg/puff (Rx, as needed)
o Opens airways—5-10% O2 jump (J Appl Physiol, 2020). Before activity.
• Oxygen - 1-2 L/min (as needed)
o Holds 90%+—no drops (Thorax, 2020). Rx concentrator.
• Caffeine - 200 mg/day
o Breathing boost—O2 stabilizes (Chest, 2018).
How-To:
Oral stack daily—Albuterol/O2 before moving. Source: OTC + Rx (inhaler $20-50, O2 rental $500).
Result: Kitchen 88-90%, stairs 85-90%—no gasping in 1-3 months.
Why This Works
• Repair: NAC, ATRA, NR, etc., rebuild lung structure—Noticeable improvement possible (Am J Physiol, Nature Comm).
• Energy: Mitochondria fire up—fatigue’s gone.
• O2: Airways open, cells grab more—drops vanish.
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Smokey’s Legacy: Your Action Plan
I’m curing Smokey—his lungs are proof. Humans, start here:
1. Stack Up: Pick repair, fatigue, or O2 fixes—or all three. Buy OTC, talk Rx with your doc.
2. Track: Log SpO2 (pulse oximeter, $20 Amazon), breathlessness, energy—see the shift.
3. Move: Kitchen, stairs—test your gains.
COPD’s brutal, but Smokey’s fight says it’s not over. This isn’t standard care—it’s a revolution.
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Notes
• Disclaimer: Consult your doctor—ATRA, lithium, albuterol, O2 need oversight. Experimental for COPD, but data backed.
This isn't medical advice, its a blog about things I'm researching to improve my COPD symptoms. Get medical advice before trying any of this.
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HugInterested in more discussions like this? Go to the COPD: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease Support Group.
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Hi, I did find some research and it looks promising.
Key Peptide Candidates
Vasoactive Intestinal Peptide (VIP)
VIP is a naturally occurring peptide widely expressed in the cardiopulmonary system. It exhibits
multiple therapeutic properties relevant to COPD and emphysema, including:
• Anti-inflammatory effects: VIP inhibits neutrophil recruitment and reduces pro
inflammatory cytokines, addressing chronic inflammation in COPD (Respiratory
Research).
• Bronchodilatory actions: It relaxes airway smooth muscles, improving airflow.
• Vasodilatory effects: VIP enhances blood circulation in the lungs, potentially alleviating
pulmonary hypertension associated with COPD.
• Protective effects: Studies show VIP attenuates cigarette smoke-induced apoptosis in rat
alveolar cells and protects human bronchial epithelial cells from damage (Respiratory
Research).
Current Research and Future Potential (Current-Research-and-Future-Potential.pdf)
There are so many supplements, vitamins and peptides that it is confusing to know what to take. I put the vitamins and supplements into a table last night, so that you can identify what will help you according to the symptoms you personally experience. Its attached below. Vitamin C and D are essential daily supplements for COPD.
Other things worth looking into are;
If you have chronic bronchitis and frequent exacerbations, discuss roflumilast with your doctor, it reduces inflammation (The Lancet).
If CT shows significant emphysema and hyperinflation, ask your doctor about having Zephyr Valves fitted.
Collagen Peptides may support lung tissue. Complements NAC’s antioxidant effects.
How to Use: 10g daily in water
Creatine Peptides May strengthen respiratory muscles, aiding your walking (Chest Journal).
3g daily in water
Discuss collagen (10g/day) and creatine (3g/day) with your doctor to confirm safety with NAC, NAD, and inhalers.
I've attached the table: Symptom Categories and Relevant Supplements, Herbs, and
Vitamins
The following table summarises the supplements, herbs, and vitamins that may help manage
COPD and emphysema symptoms, grouped by the symptoms they target.
We will find a cure one day, some good research going on in China, they are regrowing alveoli. P63+, HHIP
Symptom Categories and Relevant Supplements (Symptom-Categories-and-Relevant-Supplements-1.pdf)
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1 Reactionbig thank you on your listing.
great job, wish that doctors would be that switched on.
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1 ReactionIt seems to me that the General Practitioners in the UK are just doing the job to pick up their inflated pay cheques each month. Medically speaking, I really feel on my own with this. I had a flare up a couple of weeks ago. I woke up, area around my mouth was blue, breathing was difficult and my O2 was 75. Phoned my GPs surgery, answer phone told me to go to their website. On their website it said all appointments for the day were fully booked and to call 911. 911 wanted to send an ambulance, I burst out crying on that, as it brought back the terror of the total neglect and incompetency I was subjected to from my last medical emergency 18 months ago. That's another story, but we settled on them sending an ambulance to give me what treatment they could at home. Ambulancemen were amazing, they gave me oxygen with a salbutamol nebuliser and stayed with me until my O2 was stable. A couple of days later, my daughter managed to get me a GP appointment. I asked the doctor for oxygen at home, he said he couldn't prescribe it, only the pulmonary rehabilitation team can do that. I asked for salbutamol to put in a nebuliser, he said he couldn't prescribe that either, that was the pulmonary team as well, but he didn't refer me to them. I asked for a prescription for Champix to help me stop smoking, he said he couldn't prescribe that, and I would have to go to the stop smoking clinic. The doctor did say he wanted a blood test, but they don't do them at the surgery. He gave me a piece of paper with instructions on how I could book the blood test. He also wanted me to have an x-ray, and gave me another piece of paper to book myself an appointment. So in my experience, mandatory National Insurance contributions are just more Government grift, to pay for a NHS service that isn't fit for purpose. That is the reason I'm doing all this research. My thoughts now are to get on a pharmaceutical trial, because that seems to be the only way my COPD / emphysema is going to be monitored by the medical profession.
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1 Reactionunfortunately I agree fully with your situation
we are just an endless money machine, focus on maintenance rather than healing
Hopefully people are waking up one day....
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2 ReactionsThank you for the listing.
Regarding Zepyher valves, I had six valves put in my upper & middle right lobes in 2022. My FEV1 was 41% prior to this; 37% afterwards. Still desperate for improvement, I had the procedure done on my left lung in 2023, with seven valves installed.
Follow-up spirometer test indicated my FEV1 had decreased to 34%. Apparently, I’m in the 45% of patients that the Zephyr valves do not help, probably due to homogenous lung emphysema.
So, after my recent test indicat d that my FEV1 had decreased again to 32%, I’m looking for ways to optimize my health through vitamins & supplements in addition to trying to moderate exercise, good nutrition & adequate sleep.
It’s disappointing that the promising research conducted in China involving the P63 progenitor cells is not being followed up on with subsequent trials in the U.S. That seems to be the only encouraging developments on the distant horizon, &, at 79 years of age, I probably don’t have that much time to wait.
I would welcome your further comments.
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1 ReactionIs there a way to save this article?
If you click the 3 little dots at the bottom of the article, select copy to clipboard, then you can paste it into Word and save it on your computer. If that doesn't work, just drag your mouse over the article to highlight it, then right click on your mouse, select copy. Open Word and paste it into that.
Hope that helps.
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1 ReactionIt must be awful to have procedures done in the hope of improving your breathing, only for it to become worse.
I bought a red light device from Amazon, it is supposed to help with the inflammation. I also take Methylene Blue sometimes. With the red light, 850 goes deeper into you chest cavity, but if you take Methylene Blue, best effect is using the light a 650 about an hour after taking it.
Its trial and error with me. Turmeric with black pepper is good for the inflammation. Schisandra Berry is also worth looking into. A 2019 Chest journal study linked Mediterranean diets to slower FEV1 decline and fewer exacerbations.
I was wondering how much these clinical trials cost, and if we could get enough support to fund our own study. I was thinking in terms of thousands, but when I researched it, the average cost for a phase 1 clinical trial across therapeutic areas is approximately $4 million, with phase 2 and 3 trials costing around $13 million and $20 million, So looks like GoFundMe is out of the question.
In America, President Trump allowed experimental treatments if there is nowhere else to go. So if you're in the US, you may be able to find a doctor who would give you P63. There is no harm in looking into it. As they say, the Lord helps those who help themselves.
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1 Reactionabsolutely crazy
suggest you buy oxygen generator for your home use
YUWELL 7f-8w or larger. this one does 8 liters and helps on high settings for emergencies or lower for sleeping
I also use berodual inhaler
buy from alibaba or aliexpress