COPD diagnosis questions

[fallgirl1]

Hi-  I was just diagnosed with mild COPD, I am a female, age 35, non-smoker.  I smoked as a teenager for about 5 years about 1 pack every 2 days.  I do not have  anti-trypsin deficiancy.  I do have blebs and bulla on both sides of my lungs(diagnosed by ct scan).  My question is:  Is it unusual to be diagnosed with COPD at age 35, and are there any reasons that I have this?  My Dr. did not even give me the diagnosis his nurse did over the phone and gave me no other information.  I have retrieved copies of my results from both the pulmonary function test and ct scan.  I am considering going to another Dr.  But, should I not be concerned, the first Dr. obviously isn't.  Thanks!

To:

[fallgirl1]

A related discussion, COPD Diagnosis Question was started.

[National Jewish Health]

It would be extremely unusual for a 35 year old woman, non-smoker, with normal alpha-1 antitrypsin levels, presumably with no family history of "precocious emphysema", to have COPD.  While one feature of COPD, blebs and bullae, can be congenital or acquired, and occur in the absence of COPD.  It appears that the diagnosis of COPD may have been made on the basis of CT evidence of blebs and bullae.  While blebs do predispose an individual to spontaneous pneumothorax, they are not otherwise deemed to be harmful.  The key question would be, did the CT scan show other signs of diffuse emphysema and was that reflected in the PFTs?

You should definitely seek a second opinion from a pulmonary specialist.  I would not attribute any significance to your doctor's seeming lack of concern.

[123Sandi]

Hi-I was just diagnosed with mild COPD, emphasema is the exact type of COPD that I was diagnosed with.  I never smoked.  I have had asthma since late teen years.  No one ever suggested that I go on a maintenance med until a couple of years ago.  I have had bronchitis over the years frequenctly, and wasn't very good about taking my maintenance meds once I was given prescriptions.
I had trouble getting anyone to believe that I was so short of breath.  I finally got a diagnosis of COPD once I insisted on seeing my primary care doc again.  He then gave me the test results that had been sitting in his office for a week.  The pulmonary doc that I had seen and had interpreted the
report had said to my face that all I had was asthma, and asthma was reversible.  He never even told me my entire diagnosis of COPD.  When I called the pulmonary doc on the phone, I had asked him why I didn't get all of the info from him, he told me it was very mild and not to worry about it, to get on with my life.  That was the second pulmonary doc I had seen.  I have just recently seen a third pulmonary doc at the Layhey Clinic, and I feel more confident with this doc.  I definitely would go to another doc to check things out.  None of the other docs would even order a ct scan so we could check out the condition of my lungs.  So I know exactly what you are going through!