Asthma

[nelwhynot]

Hi room , I was sent for a ct scan four months ago .
Came back showing mild emphysema with spots on both lungs.
Seen a pulmonolgist told me I have 60% of my lungs left and have to go for more testing breathing test.
Any reason I should be worried,Im 45 my mother passed away at 47 with lung cancer and she didnt smoke or drink.Yes I do smoke a pack a day for 30 yrs now I want to quit.
Open for any idea what might be going on, I also have third stage gerd which is out of control again,I need surgery.
I sure could use any advice from you all Im worried now.
thanks .

[Davy9]

You are a young person to have this degree of lung damage. Keep in mind that emphysema does not get better. It will progress. But you can feel better if you stop the cigarettes and work at streamlining your health conditioning. You do not want to wait until something like a serious cold or a bout of the flu knocks you into a critical hospital episode. It is time to get serious about stepping back from your habit.

[nelwhynot]

You are a young person to have this degree of lung damage. Keep in mind that emphysema does not get better. It will progress. But you can feel better if you stop the cigarettes and work at streamlining your health conditioning. You do not want to wait until something like a serious cold or a bout of the flu knocks you into a critical hospital episode. It is time to get serious about stepping back from your habit.

Thanks davy9,
I agree to what you said, Iam going to live for now and try to overcome all of this.
I go for another breathing test this thursday,the pulmonglist told me I have 60% percent of my lungs left .

[Davy9]

Just so you understand what your dealing with let me explain some stuff about emphysema. It results in lung tissue being eroded away. When that happens there is like a domino affect. Lots of things start to go wrong as the lungs go away.

Lungs are naturally springy. If something should breech the chest wall the lung on the inside will collapse like a deflated balloon. In emphysema the lungs lose this springiness because the tissue is literally gone. When that happens the skeletal structure we know as the rib cage expands. It naturally wants to expand anyway and when the lungs lose elastance it allows the ribs to pull out so the chest becomes barrel shaped. What happens then is that the lungs remain over inflated, all the time. With the chest barrel shaped the diaphragm is flattened. Normally it is domed shaped. When we inhale, it contracts downward. When we exhale, it relaxes and returns to its starting point. But, in emphysema the starting point is now flatter. A person can mimic how this feels. Take in a breath and do not exhale all of it. Start your next breath on top of what you did not exhale. What you'll learn is that breathing like this takes a lot of work. Breathing is no longer simple and something you don't think about. It becomes hard and laborious, all of the time.

Of course when the lungs lose tissue they also lose the blood vessels that tissue once supported. Those vessels in the lungs are the vessels the body uses to exchange gases with the outside air. It is the right side of the heart that supplies these vessels. The lungs are interesting. They are the only organ that the body sends all of the blood through during the course of a single circulation. In other words just some of our blood goes to the brain or the liver, but all of the blood goes through the lungs on each pass through the body. The heart is designed to make this happen by having 2 sides, one for the lungs the other for the body. The right side of the heart receives the used blood from the body and then sends it to the lungs to get refreshed. The left side of the heart receives this refreshed blood and sends it back out to the body. The right side of the heart supplies a large capillary bed in the lungs and that does not require a lot of work from the heart muscle. When that vessel bed starts to go away in emphysema the right side of the heart now faces increased work and eventually the workload is too high for the smaller sized muscles to meet. You then have a serious heart condition to go along with a serious lung condition.

nelwhynot... This is just a small part of what you are dealing with. Do not delay in getting on the best side of this process that you can. It really is something you do not want advancing out of control. There are programs that will help you modify your health and lifestyle.

[nelwhynot]

Just so you understand what your dealing with let me explain some stuff about emphysema. It results in lung tissue being eroded away. When that happens there is like a domino affect. Lots of things start to go wrong as the lungs go away.

Lungs are naturally springy. If something should breech the chest wall the lung on the inside will collapse like a deflated balloon. In emphysema the lungs lose this springiness because the tissue is literally gone. When that happens the skeletal structure we know as the rib cage expands. It naturally wants to expand anyway and when the lungs lose elastance it allows the ribs to pull out so the chest becomes barrel shaped. What happens then is that the lungs remain over inflated, all the time. With the chest barrel shaped the diaphragm is flattened. Normally it is domed shaped. When we inhale, it contracts downward. When we exhale, it relaxes and returns to its starting point. But, in emphysema the starting point is now flatter. A person can mimic how this feels. Take in a breath and do not exhale all of it. Start your next breath on top of what you did not exhale. What you'll learn is that breathing like this takes a lot of work. Breathing is no longer simple and something you don't think about. It becomes hard and laborious, all of the time.

Of course when the lungs lose tissue they also lose the blood vessels that tissue once supported. Those vessels in the lungs are the vessels the body uses to exchange gases with the outside air. It is the right side of the heart that supplies these vessels. The lungs are interesting. They are the only organ that the body sends all of the blood through during the course of a single circulation. In other words just some of our blood goes to the brain or the liver, but all of the blood goes through the lungs on each pass through the body. The heart is designed to make this happen by having 2 sides, one for the lungs the other for the body. The right side of the heart receives the used blood from the body and then sends it to the lungs to get refreshed. The left side of the heart receives this refreshed blood and sends it back out to the body. The right side of the heart supplies a large capillary bed in the lungs and that does not require a lot of work from the heart muscle. When that vessel bed starts to go away in emphysema the right side of the heart now faces increased work and eventually the workload is too high for the smaller sized muscles to meet. You then have a serious heart condition to go along with a serious lung condition.

nelwhynot... This is just a small part of what you are dealing with. Do not delay in getting on the best side of this process that you can. It really is something you do not want advancing out of control. There are programs that will help you modify your health and lifestyle.

Thanks so much davy9 for all the feed back,Iam not feeling the best today very weak.
Sure is nice to have someone who understands and can relate to how a person feels.
I tried to help my wife clean the house today now Iam paying for it so weak tired.
Be glad to see the doctor thursaday hope he can get rid of this bad pain Ive had now for 7yrs in my chest.This keeps me from trying to do my daily everyday activies .
when I read yr post it sounds so much like everything you said is going on now with myself ,I have the barrel shape chest tight ness across my brestbone ,short winded when walking ,climing staris or just stroll around my yard.I dont cough that much mostly in the evenings when I try to settle down or first thing in the mornings.
I have three children 17,14,12 who are very actived and I miss trying to play sports with them.I am hopeing the spots found on the lungs are just scarring or infection that can be treated with the right types of meds. I work at a very repatived job and now with this happing Iam on my ltd for the moment until I can have this corrected.Its people like you and this room group that helps a person to feel there is hope and support when you just need to talk to someone I thank you so much for that ,I just feel overwheml at this momment as to my mom passed away at 47 with the same thing ,which she didnt smoke or drink.So this is why I feel scared as the doctor I seen also told me I have several red flags popping up.Well dave was great hearing from you and also to the room god bless you all. take care nel short for nelson.

[Davy9]

nelwhynot.... Thank you for your kind words. One suggestion for you. Ask your pulmonologist about Alpha 1 anti-trypsin deficiency and whether it may related to your situation. Let me know how it goes. Good luck to you.

[nelwhynot]

You are a young person to have this degree of lung damage. Keep in mind that emphysema does not get better. It will progress. But you can feel better if you stop the cigarettes and work at streamlining your health conditioning. You do not want to wait until something like a serious cold or a bout of the flu knocks you into a critical hospital episode. It is time to get serious about stepping back from your habit.

Hi davy:
Just a little note I was sent for another breathing test which If I understand ,it showed I was in the 71% rage I think,waiting to get my results backI was there for 2hrs for this test, my levels kept dropping.He wasnt able to let me leave until my level were normal I guess I find this so confusseing.
I will let you know more as soon as I see the pulmonglist again.He mention I work around alot of fumes well I used too on ltd for the moment.I know he told me when I took the test he was going to try to bring on a astma attact , I felt alright through all this just sore for blowing out so hard and dizzy,my chest got so tight.
Untill next time davy when I know more I will keep you posted.
nelson..

[Davy9]

When you get your results post them. I will try and help you understand them. Yes, pulmonary function studies can be difficult. What work did you perform that kept you in fumes?

[nelwhynot]

Hi room: I have a update to my illness was just in to get my results back from my doctor.
I had seen a pulmonolgist my doctor read me my results.
I was diagnosied having emphysema with fibrosis in both lungs.I have fifty % lung tissue left.
At the age of fortysix I need to carry on with my life now with the best I can do, no longer able to walk for long distance,lift ,breath easy anymore, have to take quick short breaths,stay indoors due to cold damp wet weather.
quit smoking ,keep this consant chest pain under control,life is to short so I have to live it to its fullest.Iam unable to work now due to all of this ,so now I have to stay focus on today any live for tomorrow.

[Davy9]

nelwhynot.... From the general description you've given it does sound as though your condition is advanced for your age. The care is considered supportive, to give you what is needed to sustain your health and a lifestyle with a certain level of activity. The care plan involves a range of drugs, treatments and therapies. The goal is to idealize your health status and maximize your level of activity....and keep them that way. You'll want to avoid situations that could make you ill and seek help quickly if you do get sick.

There is another option that might be available to you. Your lungs are diseased and you are young. The best fix would be new lungs; a lung transplant. If you qualify it is now possible to exchange your diseased lungs with those from a donor. Talk with your doctor (ideally the pulmonologist) and ask if they feel you might be a candidate for a lung transplant. The procedure does have risks but you will be advised about all that if you get the opportunity to seek one. But, the sooner you get started the better because there is a waiting list for this procedure.