Just Between Us

............a Couple of More Letters..

To You From Vic:

A welcome to Newly Diagnosed COPD’ers. I was diagnosed with COPD in June of 1997. I did the best thing I could do to help myself, I quit smoking cold-turkey. COPD was a tough pill to swallow and I even suffered mood swings because of it. To me it was the end.

I went plodding along just feeling sorry for myself. Then, one day I found a COPD Forum on the Internet. A new world opened up to me as I found I was not alone and, further, here I found hundreds of folks with the same COPD, and many worse than I was, living a full life in spite of it all. I became active in the Forum and learned a great deal about the disease and soon found out that the diagnosis was not the end of my world. Eventually, I started living a fuller life and my outlooks changed.

The answer for Newly Diagnosed folks is to hook up to a forum, or two, or three and become active and you will find that it’s still a good life…and you can even enjoy your new-found friends. Chin up, face the problem and conquer it, but first, above all…stop smoking. Good luck and God bless. -- Vic

From JackieNS (Blossom):

        Boy you must be scared; I know I was.  My first week was a week of Hell internally. My FEV 1 was 38%, thought the Grim Reaper would  soon be there for me.  I had a GP that I'm sure was in the 25% in our province who discriminates against current and former smokers and offered no meds other than the old blue puffer. He dropped the bomb and sent me away. What a jerk he was. 

        And; I felt soooooooo alone.

        Well;  I took a week to research then made an appointment for a consult because I "wasn't satisfied." I asked for and got a flu shot and pneumonia vaccine (it wasn't initially offered), insisted on a PFT, then saw a specialist, got on the right meds and searched out a new family Dr. 

        My saving grace was the Internet, forums  and acquired KNOWLEDGE.

        I do everything I did before and in some things a bit more and yes  your life will change a bit but you'd have to make some adjustments just getting older wouldn't you?

        No; your life is far from over and giving in and giving up isn't an option.

        Once you get over the initial shock and maybe anger, take stock of yourself and what you can do to help yourself.  Exercise (I can't stress this enough); do something, talk about your disease (just don't bore folks to tears), contact your MP and minister of health, get out and about, get educated, take part in the forums; get involved, SPEAK OUT!

        Above all.....remember......YOU AREN'T ALONE!  We're all in this together. God Bless.

JackieNS (Blossom)

Finally From LarryNZ;   

The day Larry was diagnosed with COPD he seriously wondered whether to buy himself the new pair of shoes he had planned on or if he wouldn’t be needing shoes for much longer.

“The doctor was quite negative, saying there was no cure, I was too old for a transplant, so all I could do was to go to rehab.”
‘The first sign of trouble was in 1989, when I was admitted to hospital with breathing problems. I was diagnosed with asthma treated and sent home after three days.”
Larry was given asthma medication to control his symptoms but his breathing problems persisted. He quit smoking in 2000, nearly 50 years after he started, but his health continued to deteriorate.
In 2002, he was diagnosed with COPD,  with 37%of normal lung function. With almost no information, the diagnosis was frightening.

It was six months later, when he started pulmonary rehabilitation, that he finally got the information he needed to start fighting back.
“It was excellent. It is all about education-the causes of COPD, how to avoid making it worse, learning about the medicines, exercise, diet. It’s no cure, but it allows you to make the best of things.”
“I have restrictions on my abilities. I walk slower than I used to, I can’t hurry and any sort of slope is like a big hill. A cold wind stops me in my tracks, and I get tired very easily.
“Now I do everything I can to stay active. I walk a lot every day, and I have a dog that likes walking too, so if I forget she reminds me. I use light dumbbells to maintain upper body strength.
“I also have antibiotics on stand-by at home. We have a saying that ‘sick lungs don’t show’. Often the people around you don’t understand how much energy you burn up just to breathe. On the internet there are people just like me, who experience the same things.  You're NOT alone!"

Note:  All of these people frequent several COPD forums to learn and share with fellow COPDer's. You're always welcome at any or all.

• COPD in Canada - this is a  forum that was launched in March 2007 by Phil Cable of Halifax Nova Scotia.  Although Phil passed away a few months after starting the Message Board,  COPD Canada Patient Network has kept it up and running. 

This page was last  last updated July, 2010