No, you can't undo the damage that's already done. What you can do is reduce the chances of additional damage by exercising, keeping a health weight, taking your meds, getting your flu shot and most importantly not letting anything respiratory really develop....this means you need to catch it really early, the moment you suspect you have something. If you let it go too long, you'll end up in the hospital and those kinds of infections can do lots more damage.

Exercise will help you make the lung function you do have much more efficient.

Jean

People are beginning to be diagnosed with COPD/chronic bronchitis/emphysema earlier and earlier. COPD is an umbrella term that encompasses both emphysema and chronic bronchitis, and is used because in many of us, it's really hard to tell where one leaves off and the other begins and both cause us considerable problems. Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency is a genetic condition that often show up early and is made worse by smoking. The test for that is a simple blood stick. It's important to rule that out, because if you have it there are obvious family concerns, but more importantly, there is an infusion treatment that is not appropriate for those of us with the garden variety of COPD. That's the major difference, but at the end of the day, whether it's a genetic condition or one caused by smoking and other lung irritants, we all have COPD, and the general treatments are much the same.

I agree that years ago, many people thought that emphysema was a death sentence. Unfortunately, there are a lot of people still around, including docs, who still believe that. What they don't realize is that in the last 25 years, we've learned quite a lot about lung disease and have adopted some of the asthma medicines for use with COPD, and we've also developed some new ones specifically for COPD. We've learned that daily aerobic exercise of 30 minutes and weight training to build and maintain stamina and endurance not only helps us do that, but also helps the lung function we do have become much more efficient. Getting flu shots and avoiding getting sick (catching things quick when you do get something respiratory) also help.

I've had COPD since 1985. My FEV1 (lung function) is about 35% and has stayed stable since it was first measured in 2000. I credit diet and a very aggressive exercise program for that. So it's certainly possible with good meds and some hard work on your part to remain stable for a long time. However, there are people who do everything right and still lose lung function rapidly. We don't know why, but there's a lot of research going on right now trying to find out why. So it's not a guarantee, but if you don't do those things, you know what the outcome will be.

I suggest you go to www.copdfoundation.org and join their 360 group as well as sign up for the Patient Powered Research Network. That's your chance to help find a cure for COPD.....don't miss it! Tell your friends and family about it. We want people with COPD as well as those without COPD. The network will help researchers find people who meet their criteria for research and together we can find a cure.

Jean

@A MyCOPDTeam Member,thank you so much for your supportive and informative responses to my questions.. so all in all emphysema is not a harsher diagnosis than COPD, right? thats what i am having a hard time grasping. I know that it is an umbrella term , including a few different diseases with emphysema and chronic bronchitis being the most common ones.. but my whole life when i have heard of copd, ppl didn't seem like that was a death sentence but when i heard of emphysema ppl talked about that like it was a death sentence.. so you can imagine my surprise when i heard about the findings.. so you have heard of others developing it at a young age? i guess what i want to hear is that with the right life style i can live for 40 more years. i am sure that is what we all wanna hear.. is that possible? or do most usually live 20 more years at the longest with the right lifestyle choices? i know there are so many variables.. but i guess i am just wondering what the chances are of that ? thank you for sharing your knowledge.

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@A MyCOPDTeam Member, I truly appreciate your knowledge and advice.. you have shared some very important information and advice with me and my words cannot express how grateful I am. Would you be willing to share your exercise regime with me.. I have never been someone who regularly exercises but that is definitely whats on the menu now.. I would so much appreciate if you could help me with key ideas on exercise and also some advice on how to eat and what to eat. I already eat lots of fruits and veggies, white meat, very little red meat, quinoa, spinach, cottage cheese, flaxseed, bran and i also eat lots of apples and cucumbers. I am overweight at the moment but i do intend to lose it. I love food and cooking. I have heard it is best to eat anti inflammatory diet.. is this correct? i try to eat anti inflammatory foods bc of my RA/SLE. Is inflammation one of the main causes of copd progressing after one quits smoking? this is what worries me. I worry that my autoimmune inflammation is going to continue to cause problems .. so, the goal is to get that stabilized. I hate the way the medicines make me feel but I know they are necessary, however right now I am not on meds to control the AI disease bc I have a couple of infections at the moment, and have to go have a procedure on wednesday to remove some CIS cells off of my cervix. I am a mess. I pray that I can get all of this under control. Thank you for everything. thank you for your concern and support. much love to you. I pray that God protects you and allows for you to stay stable and to be well. thank you, my friend.

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