Not on oxygen, but there is so much that goes into wellness, that my personal opinion is that you need to concentrate on living your life and not on when you might die.

They never expected me to make it to adulthood. Then they never expected me to get a job and stay healthy enough to live beyond my 40’s. Then my pulmonologist agreed it was time to put me on disability in in 2015 (19 years after my big blow out with my pulmonologist, when he told me I was going to die if I didn’t do EXACTLY what he told me to do). And, although he hated giving any kind of ridiculous estimate, he said all the tables thought I had 3-5 years given my lung function... We get quite a laugh about the fact that I’m still here despite all forecasts.

Please, @A MyCOPDTeam Member, focus on living vs. sitting around waiting to die. Any number anyone could give you doesn’t mean it’s applicable to you and your situation. Hugs to you.

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A MyCOPDT...

The official statistics are probably right, but remember they're the AVERAGE! The average includes everyone who died right after being prescribed O2 and those who've lived with it for 20 or 30 years. Many people aren't prescribed O2 until they've suffered hypoxemia for many years, didn't tell anyone, and have significant right heart damage, so they're very sick when O2 is prescribed. So if your doc sticks an oximeter on your finger after you've been sitting in a room waiting for 10 minutes and says your O2 sats are fine, make them let you walk about the office for 5 minutes and then put the oximeter on. Then you'll have an accurate reflection of what your O2 sats really are. Part of the problem with getting the O2 prescribed so late in the game is doc's not thinking about reality and patient's not wanting to admit they're sob a lot of the time when up and moving.

Over 6 years ago i was put on oxygen and diagnosed with severe COPD ,Hypoxia , Sleep Apnea , and Hypertension . I required 8 LPM of oxygen to walk 150 feet at 5,280 foot altitude where i live and 5 LPM sitting . Today i require 2 LPM sitting and 4 LPM to walk 2-3 miles at the same 5,280 foot altitude . So i think COPD is what you make of it and how much you are willing to work for improvements . I now days require zero oxygen at sea level unless i walk 1/4 mile or more , then i need 1-1/2 LPM of oxygen and can trudge through the sand for up to 5 miles , exercise , diet , lifestyle are the key .

I have been on oxygen going on 13 years and still going strong and I have heard of people on oxygen for 20 years

I have been on oxygen for 11 years now......