COPD...PLEASE HELP ME

[GMAN_RADIO]

I am very worried, I was told I have COPD last week. I am 30, will be 31 in Sept. I am very scared. I was told by my Doc that My Blood Ox level was 94 %. I am being tested for alpha-1, I will have the results next week. If I am fine and do have Alpha-1 like I am supposed to, could I live with out being in oxygen atleat til I'm 50? I have smoked since I was 13 and not to mention pot for 12 years. My doctor says my copd is becoming or is moderate. Please give me some insite. I got married a year ago May 20th, i have been in radio since I was a teenager. Please give me some insight! I feel like its a death sentence.

[GMAN_RADIO]

Well please keep me posted. i will continue to pray for you. I took yor advice, I am NO longer smoking, so maybe I can hang on to these lungs another 35 years!

[SkinnyGary]

No, I've had all the testing and evaluations done. I passed everything other than I have to gain about ten lbs. I weigh about 115 lbs and am 6'-2". So as soon as I weigh 125 minimum I will be listed.
Gary

[GMAN_RADIO]

Are you on a transplant list?

GREG

[SkinnyGary]

Thats great news. You'll be around a long time as long as you don't smoke...... or get hit by a bus...LOL. Glad I helped a bit.
Take Care.
Gary

[GMAN_RADIO]

p.s. Thanks for being my port in the storm!

[GMAN_RADIO]

I do not have alpha-1 def. He is now saying I have mild to moderate COPD, which sounds better? I guess it does, It makes me feel like I have a better chance of getting old If I don't smoke.

[SkinnyGary]

I was 49 when everything came down, DX'd with Alpha, went on disability, quit smoking. I'm glad that I have the VA to use for all my health care cause other wise I don't know how I would survive.
Gary

[GMAN_RADIO]

Nevermind, I went back to the other thread. It sounds like you went through you 30's and 40's not breathing well. When did you throw the cigs down?

[GMAN_RADIO]

Thank you ver much Gary! When were you dx'd with Alpha-1. How old were you?

[SkinnyGary]

Glad that your quiting smoking, Chantix is like a miracle drug. I used Welbutrin.
Iv'e been on oxygen since I was DX'd with Alpha-1. I only have 18% of my lung capacity left so I can't do a whole lot any more. I'm 52 yrs old.
Yes by giving up smoking your lungs will have a chance  to only decline at a normal rate.
Though if you do have Alpha-1 then you have other things to do.
Gary

[GMAN_RADIO]

You are very awesome to take the time to tell me this. I need to hear it. I have went from 2 packs of Marlboro reds a day to 2 single cigs a day Marboro lights. I am taking Chantix. I do not smoke weed anymore. I am not going to smoke anymore, thanks for the awakening. Why did you have to quit work, are you on oxygen? How old are you now? Thank you for the link, you have made me feel better and I now feel like a man on a mission. I will find out about the Alpha-1 tomorrow. From everything I read, it looks like stopping smoking really slows it...right?

[SkinnyGary]

Here is the story of Len Geiger. I've met him through the Alpha-1 lists. I saw this on TV a couple days after I was DX'd.
He was also on Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel. Very good story.

http://tinyurl.com/62hdzo

http://tinyurl.com/5n8zk6

Gary

[SkinnyGary]

I started having problems being short of breath (SOB) about 20 years ago. At that time my doc said I had early signs of emphysema. He gave me an albuterol inhaler and away I went. It just kept on getting worse over the years. the last time I went to see him because the inhalers didn't work any longer, he saw that my x-ray looked bad. He said he hadn't seen someone that young with such bad lungs.

That's when he tested me for Alpha-1, the rest as they say is history. My  PFT test shows I have 18% lung capacity left. That is what my FEV1 (forced exhaled volume in 1 second) score showed.

(SSD) Social Security Disability. I hated the thought when my pulmonologist told me I had to stop working, I ran a diesel repair shop for the last 20 yrs at the same place. It was hard to give up. What a shock to your whole life.

COPD is life altering but not life ending. I get an infusion of whats called Prolastin every week through a port to try to protect what I have left of my lungs. I was evaluated for a double lung transplant at the VA Hospital here in Omaha Ne. They sent the results to Washington DC for approval. I Then went to Madison Wi. for a week to finish the evaluation.
I passed all tests but I need to gain about ten pounds to get on the transplant list. I even take a pill to try and gain weight.

So unless you want this to maybe be you in 20 years you need to give up them smokes.
PS: I also smoked a lot of pot in my day. Them big deep bong hits didn't help I'm sure  LOL.
Take care
Gary

[GMAN_RADIO]

Gary,Can you give me some background on what you have been through. I would really like to hear your story

Thanks
G

[SkinnyGary]

Of course if you continue to smoke you will get worse and do more damage. I was about 30 when my Dr. told me to stop smoking, I sure wish I had listened to him. It can and will be a death sentence if you continue to smoke. I tell you this from experience.
If you want to know how it will feel like put a straw in your mouth and breath through it only and run up and down some stairs a while.
Good luck with the Alpha-1 test.
Gary