Ricsr, I know I've had COPD since at least 1985, even though I wasn't diagnosed until 2000, so yeah, I've been living with this for a long time. I'm also really lucky in that I have friends in the health fields and have tested at the U of Iowa for a couple of clinical trials (didn't get into either, one because I was too healthy and the other because my emphysema is too heterogonous and spread evenly throughout my lungs), where I was able to ask lots of questions and learn a lot about COPD in general and my particular form of the disease.

Over the years I've gotten more and more involved in COPD advocacy efforts, and now serve on a bunch of national and international boards, committees and conference planning groups. The medical community is learning that patients have a lot to contribute to research, treatments and how to educate patients about them and general knowledge about the daily challenges of living with this chronic condition. I'm always looking for more advocates.....we need lots of patient voices everywhere.

I just read the rest of your post....you do need a pulmonologist, if for no other reason than to have him tell you that the key to success with COPD is exercise. You should also have him order a spirometry test or a full Pulmonary Function Test and then make sure that he or someone explains the results to you in ways you can understand. Ask about medications and find out what they're supposed to do for you. Work out an action plan so you know when to get help if you do get something respiratory. If you think your PCP is useless, he probably is, at least for this. Get a referral or find a pulmonologist and make an appointment.

Ric............continue with the exercise you feel comfortable with..........I have light COPD and have improved so much this year.........but there are days I know I over did it........so the next I take it easier.......you learn what your body needs and if I take a week off....I have to build up again all over.weird

While you could probably overdo it in the exercise department, it doesn't sound like you're in any danger. The point of an exercise program for people with COPD is to increase or maintain endurance levels. That means time. We typically suggest that COPD patients be able to do something aerobic for at least 30 minutes without stopping. That generally means slowing down until you can sustain 30 minutes of activity without stopping. You may be able to do that now, in which case, I'd suggest that you do at least 45 minutes without stopping. You can increase the intensity of the effort by increasing the speed and the incline with a treadmill. That should get your to a point where you can continue to increase the intensity until you think you've hit your max, and then you can try things like interval training and working on strengthening exercises. You need to work on upper, lower and core muscle groups.

Exercise is the secret as far as I'm concerned