COPD

Any driver know anything about COPD ?

Hi onesock, yes , l know about COPD. My late wife suffered with it. The only way l can describe it to you is imagine that you are holding a balloon in your hands with your fingers around the balloon.
The balloon being your lung and your fingers being the blood vessels around the lung. lf you can imagine squeezing the balloon with your fingers, then this is what the blood vessels around the lung are doing, restricting the lung from expanding. Don’t panic, this is manageable normally with steroids. you may find that you will cough up mucus , which isn’t very pleasant. lf you are a smoker then you will need to either cut down or stop altogether. I know of people that have lived with this for years. If you are a HGV driver then your GP will notify DVLA due to the medication.
l hope this helps, any other information l can help with just give me a shout.

trucking:
Hi onesock, yes , l know about COPD. My late wife suffered with it. The only way l can describe it to you is imagine that you are holding a balloon in your hands with your fingers around the balloon.
The balloon being your lung and your fingers being the blood vessels around the lung. lf you can imagine squeezing the balloon with your fingers, then this is what the blood vessels around the lung are doing, restricting the lung from expanding. Don’t panic, this is manageable normally with steroids. you may find that you will cough up mucus , which isn’t very pleasant. lf you are a smoker then you will need to either cut down or stop altogether. I know of people that have lived with this for years. If you are a HGV driver then your GP will notify DVLA due to the medication.
l hope this helps, any other information l can help with just give me a shout.

Thanks Trucking. Did it kill your wife ? Sorry to be blunt but I am sitting here and can hardly breath. My GP won’t give me any info and I am scared of whats in store for me. Feels like I am being suffocated. Need to talk to someone who’s got 1st hand experience. I have quit the ■■■■.

Hi onesock,

Firstly, no she didn’t die from COPD. She developed Lung Cancer and died of that…

Please try to keep yourself calm, with a few little exercises this can be managed…

What ever you do from now on has to be done in stages of counts of five… i.e getting out of bed in the morning. Follow these steps and you will be ok.

  1. sit up in bed… count 5 slowly
  2. sit on edge of bed … count 5
  3. stand up out of bed … count 5
  4. walk halfway down stairs… count 5
  5. continue the other half… count 5 then sit down.

Take breaths in to the count of 5 and exhale to count of 3

Follow these steps with every thing you do and in a very short time your brain will adjust to this.
One final thing to help with your breathing…breath into a paper bag until you can breath easier.
Doing this means that you inhale the same amount of air as you exhale.
l will P.M you my tel number . send me a text and l will phone you back…

Hi onesock, sorry to read of your problem, excellent stuff from trucking he obviously knows what hes on about.
I have mild COPD and for most part manage ok but when i do have trouble i use Breathe Right nasal strips which
i find help a lot, open up the nasal passages so you get more air in.
Hope you feel better soon and you can avoid steroids the skin on the backs of my hands is like rice paper.
Cheers.

My late wife had an oyster shape inhaler which had steroid capsules, also a blue inhaler.
Her GP also prescribed a rescue pack if things got bad.
There should be a COPD clinic in your area that should help you monitor your breathing.

trucking:
My late wife had an oyster shape inhaler which had steroid capsules, also a blue inhaler.
Her GP also prescribed a rescue pack if things got bad.
There should be a COPD clinic in your area that should help you monitor your breathing.

The type of COPD which I have is called “Advanced Emphysema” though how far advanced I don’t know. When falling asleep at night my breathing gets slower and slower and lighter and lighter until I wake up in panic realising that I have stopped breathing and am then gasping for air and panicking at the same time. It’s very frightening and I am scared of going to sleep but it’s only possible to stay awake for a certain amount of time. I’m 75yo and live alone. My neighbours can’t help much, 2 are over 80yo, the 60yo is disabled from a car crash and the other one is only here for short periods of time (hours). Oh dear, now it sounds like I’m looking for sympathy, but really just want info on how to get air into my lungs. I live on the 1st floor and can’t go up or down stairs without an ■■■■■■ to help and stop me falling. I spend most of the day trying to sleep because I didn’t sleep at night. The medical side is bad but the isolation is bordering on torment. Comments from Trucking and Dog Tired are comforting and thank you very much. Sorry to be a pain.

trucking:
Hi onesock,

Firstly, no she didn’t die from COPD. She developed Lung Cancer and died of that…

Please try to keep yourself calm, with a few little exercises this can be managed…

What ever you do from now on has to be done in stages of counts of five… i.e getting out of bed in the morning. Follow these steps and you will be ok.

  1. sit up in bed… count 5 slowly
  2. sit on edge of bed … count 5
  3. stand up out of bed … count 5
  4. walk halfway down stairs… count 5
  5. continue the other half… count 5 then sit down.

Take breaths in to the count of 5 and exhale to count of 3

Follow these steps with every thing you do and in a very short time your brain will adjust to this.
One final thing to help with your breathing…breath into a paper bag until you can breath easier.
Doing this means that you inhale the same amount of air as you exhale.
l will P.M you my tel number . send me a text and l will phone you back…

Sorry to hear about your wife’s passing, there is no way around the distress and again, I’m sorry I was blunt. You are very considerate and thanks for the offer of the tel. No. I won’t abuse it. Oh so may miles over so many years and so many ■■■■ in the cab. I never listened to advice and always thought it will never happen to me. !

Onesock.

Well done for giving up smoking, wish I could do the same and I’ve had COPD (well 1 consultant says it’s COPD, the other says it’s ILD) for 2.5 years now. I developed it as part of a package when I came down with an autoimmune condition. I get checked and scanned every 6 months and thankfully it only gets worse when my main condition flairs, which is too often at the moment but slowly getting under control, consequently I’ve learned to live with it and don’t notice it most of the time as I’m incapable of doing any exercise or exertion now anyway.
It’s quite amazing what the human body can learn to live with and accept as the new normal when things go a bit wrong.

I imagine your GP isn’t saying a lot because he / she isn’t an expert, with anything out of the ordinary they much prefer to refer you to the relevant experts.

Do take notice of what you’re told by the professionals, do take whatever your prescribed even though sometimes the side effects seem worse than the condition. As a rule they’re actually not worse, but if they do become so then talk to your pulmonary consultant (you will get one sooner or later) as there is often a similar medication available that won’t have the same side effects for you. It’s a case of trial and error.

As has been said steroids can be a bugger but I’ve been on high doses of them since the start of my problems and I’ve accepted my forearms now look terrible due to very thin skin which breaks or bruises with the lightest of touch. Better than being dead!

I’ve not heard of the GP informing the DVLA because of it, mine hasn’t but as I struggle to drive a car now and no chance of getting in a truck I’m just going to not bother with my next medical in 2 years time and let my hgv licence lapse.

Try to remember that this is not the end of the world, it’s treatable and with a good program of learning to adapt your actions and lifestyle to suit then life will go on, maybe just a slightly different one to that which your used to.

Tgtrucker:
Onesock.

Well done for giving up smoking, wish I could do the same and I’ve had COPD (well 1 consultant says it’s COPD, the other says it’s ILD) for 2.5 years now. I developed it as part of a package when I came down with an autoimmune condition. I get checked and scanned every 6 months and thankfully it only gets worse when my main condition flairs, which is too often at the moment but slowly getting under control, consequently I’ve learned to live with it and don’t notice it most of the time as I’m incapable of doing any exercise or exertion now anyway.
It’s quite amazing what the human body can learn to live with and accept as the new normal when things go a bit wrong.

I imagine your GP isn’t saying a lot because he / she isn’t an expert, with anything out of the ordinary they much prefer to refer you to the relevant experts.

Do take notice of what you’re told by the professionals, do take whatever your prescribed even though sometimes the side effects seem worse than the condition. As a rule they’re actually not worse, but if they do become so then talk to your pulmonary consultant (you will get one sooner or later) as there is often a similar medication available that won’t have the same side effects for you. It’s a case of trial and error.

As has been said steroids can be a bugger but I’ve been on high doses of them since the start of my problems and I’ve accepted my forearms now look terrible due to very thin skin which breaks or bruises with the lightest of touch. Better than being dead!

Thanks Tgtrucker, Just tapping messages here helps alot. Why is it that when we have something wrong with us we always feel we are the only ones? Replies and info since starting this topic have been really helpful and please keep them coming. The more I can find out about what I’M up against the more peace of mind I will get. I am convinced that it will kill me, just on the basis that the more time that goes by, the less I can breath. I don’t look to be morbid but have always been happier when I can meet my problems head on and deal with them as such. Thanks for your replies, please don’t stop. The more I can find out about whats going to happen the better.

I’ve not heard of the GP informing the DVLA because of it, mine hasn’t but as I struggle to drive a car now and no chance of getting in a truck I’m just going to not bother with my next medical in 2 years time and let my hgv licence lapse.

Try to remember that this is not the end of the world, it’s treatable and with a good program of learning to adapt your actions and lifestyle to suit then life will go on, maybe just a slightly different one to that which your used to.

onesock:

trucking:
My late wife had an oyster shape inhaler which had steroid capsules, also a blue inhaler.
Her GP also prescribed a rescue pack if things got bad.
There should be a COPD clinic in your area that should help you monitor your breathing.

The type of COPD which I have is called “Advanced Emphysema” though how far advanced I don’t know. When falling asleep at night my breathing gets slower and slower and lighter and lighter until I wake up in panic realising that I have stopped breathing and am then gasping for air and panicking at the same time. It’s very frightening and I am scared of going to sleep but it’s only possible to stay awake for a certain amount of time. I’m 75yo and live alone. My neighbours can’t help much, 2 are over 80yo, the 60yo is disabled from a car crash and the other one is only here for short periods of time (hours). Oh dear, now it sounds like I’m looking for sympathy, but really just want info on how to get air into my lungs. I live on the 1st floor and can’t go up or down stairs without an ■■■■■■ to help and stop me falling. I spend most of the day trying to sleep because I didn’t sleep at night. The medical side is bad but the isolation is bordering on torment. Comments from Trucking and Dog Tired are comforting and thank you very much. Sorry to be a pain.

My fried. Suffers from sleep apnoea … he has a machine that he puts on every night, he said it also can help COPD… by giving a constant stream of oxygen … it kicks in when he stops breathing. Worth a try.

discoman:

onesock:

trucking:
My late wife had an oyster shape inhaler which had steroid capsules, also a blue inhaler.
Her GP also prescribed a rescue pack if things got bad.
There should be a COPD clinic in your area that should help you monitor your breathing.

The type of COPD which I have is called “Advanced Emphysema” though how far advanced I don’t know. When falling asleep at night my breathing gets slower and slower and lighter and lighter until I wake up in panic realising that I have stopped breathing and am then gasping for air and panicking at the same time. It’s very frightening and I am scared of going to sleep but it’s only possible to stay awake for a certain amount of time. I’m 75yo and live alone. My neighbours can’t help much, 2 are over 80yo, the 60yo is disabled from a car crash and the other one is only here for short periods of time (hours). Oh dear, now it sounds like I’m looking for sympathy, but really just want info on how to get air into my lungs. I live on the 1st floor and can’t go up or down stairs without an ■■■■■■ to help and stop me falling. I spend most of the day trying to sleep because I didn’t sleep at night. The medical side is bad but the isolation is bordering on torment. Comments from Trucking and Dog Tired are comforting and thank you very much. Sorry to be a pain.

My friend. Suffers from sleep apnoea … he has a machine that he puts on every night, he said it also can help COPD… by giving a constant stream of oxygen … it kicks in when he stops breathing. Worth a try.

I’m sad to hear about your health issues too Onesock and hope you get on top of them soon.

When reading of your sleep problem at night I also though sleep apnea but Discoman is way ahead of me.

Onesock:
When falling asleep at night my breathing gets slower and slower and lighter and lighter until I wake up in panic realising that I have stopped breathing and am then gasping for air and panicking at the same time

This is classic sleep apnea description so is it possible you have two separate things going on?

Sleep apnea is very debilitating but very treatable as Discoman describes above.

Best wishes.

Hurryup&wait:

discoman:

onesock:

trucking:
My late wife had an oyster shape inhaler which had steroid capsules, also a blue inhaler.
Her GP also prescribed a rescue pack if things got bad.
There should be a COPD clinic in your area that should help you monitor your breathing.

The type of COPD which I have is called “Advanced Emphysema” though how far advanced I don’t know. When falling asleep at night my breathing gets slower and slower and lighter and lighter until I wake up in panic realising that I have stopped breathing and am then gasping for air and panicking at the same time. It’s very frightening and I am scared of going to sleep but it’s only possible to stay awake for a certain amount of time. I’m 75yo and live alone. My neighbours can’t help much, 2 are over 80yo, the 60yo is disabled from a car crash and the other one is only here for short periods of time (hours). Oh dear, now it sounds like I’m looking for sympathy, but really just want info on how to get air into my lungs. I live on the 1st floor and can’t go up or down stairs without an ■■■■■■ to help and stop me falling. I spend most of the day trying to sleep because I didn’t sleep at night. The medical side is bad but the isolation is bordering on torment. Comments from Trucking and Dog Tired are comforting and thank you very much. Sorry to be a pain.

My friend. Suffers from sleep apnoea … he has a machine that he puts on every night, he said it also can help COPD… by giving a constant stream of oxygen … it kicks in when he stops breathing. Worth a try.

I’m sad to hear about your health issues too Onesock and hope you get on top of them soon.

When reading of your sleep problem at night I also though sleep apnea but Discoman is way ahead of me.

Onesock:
When falling asleep at night my breathing gets slower and slower and lighter and lighter until I wake up in panic realising that I have stopped breathing and am then gasping for air and panicking at the same time

This is classic sleep apnea description so is it possible you have two separate things going on?

Sleep apnea is very debilitating but very treatable as Discoman describes above.

Best wishes.

Yes, very well said here is a link, please see your GP asap, you should get one for free on the NHS if you have COPD this one is not free just to illustrate.

As said best wishes and hope you can recover well enough to do daily living tasks.

britishsnoring.co.uk/shop/cpap_sleep_apnoea.php

Onesock, sorry to hear of your problems, my mother had breathing issues due to heart disease, her GP arranged for the local pharmacy to deliver oxygen bottles for her, she found it helped.

Don’t panic. My brother, a retired driver who’d smoked most of his life had emphysema. It took a while to be diagnosed, his main problem initially being the feeling of being unable to breathe, causing panic attacks which made things worse, often ending up in an ambulance. Once diagnosed he was treated with oxygen, started off wheeling a bottle trolley around all the time, not very convenient but later having an oxygen machine at home that he used for up to 15 hours a day when sitting in his chair or in bed at night, the rest of the time he could live normally, including driving, just taking it easy, carrying a small bottle just in case but rarely needing it. Eventually he actually improved enough that they took the machine away just leaving the emergency bottles, they used to deliver them to his home as needed. He took some precautions to avoid overdoing it, like installing a stair lift, and buying an upright car that was easy to get in and out of. He lived for years like it, when he died it wasn’t emphysema that did it!
As Winston said, keep buggering in.
Bernard

sorry to hear about your problems… my wife is a physiotherapist and runs a COPD clinic… best step forward is to contact your GP and request a community physio visit, preferably a respiratory physio… they can teach you exercises and how best to manage the condition. and if possible attend a pulmonary rehab group… but is dependant on where you live and what services are on offer…

I was diagnosed with COPD 5 years ago, I have no medication except an inhaler that gets changed every year and I have never had to use it, I am retired now and given up smoking for 15 years after smoking 40 per day when I was driving. I go for my "blow in the machine " every year and it has not got any worse or better over the last 5 years but if I rush for the first hour after getting up I gasp for air. I was advised by the Doctor to take exercise so we took on a rescue Jack Russell and walk about 3 miles a day which gets my lungs really working which they say is good. I feel well but have had to start taking blood pressure tablets since last week.

i have copd, i also feel i am going to stop breathing when i try to sleep, i use ’ breath right nasal strips’. and ’ nytol anti snoring spray '. they help a lot. boots.com/nytol-anti-snorin … l-10154086. hope this helps.

My dad died on April the 1st this year from final stage COPD, chronic lung disease, emphysema. You can manage all stages of COPD but the trouble is if you don’t stop smoking, do some form of light exercise and get infections. My dads heart kept getting weaker with every infection, he started getting low oxygen levels to his brain causing him to forget things and act as though he was on another planet it also caused him to have 2 minor strokes the hospital were unsure of how and when they happened.
Because of all this going off he had 3 seizures in hospital each one making his heart weaker the last one killed him on the Sunday morning. He was put on an HDU Ward due to having a seizure on the Friday and was coming around when I saw him Saturday afternoon however he wasn’t all there in his thinking due to what I described earlier. He was transferred to the strike ward where he passed away early Sunday morning.
From Oct 2017 through to April the 1st 2018 hecwas in hospital about 5 times never spending less than 3 week inside, he was in all over xmas and new year. His age (75 years old) didn’t help his predicament at all as he couldn’t build up any resistance to his infections be it chest or otherwise he’d keep getting, he’d had a heart defibrillator fitted to his heart due to the fact he’d twice collapsed at home through his heart working too much due to his COPD and lung conditions both times his heart rate was around 170 bpm :open_mouth: They had to stop his heart both times and restart it to bring it down to an acceptable level. All this caused from being a Scaffolder on building sites, oil rigs and more so nuclear power stations scaffolding and working on nuclear reactors on shut downs where asbestos linings were rife when they were stripped down. The last few months of my dads life were torture for me to see him go through, he wasn’t the man I grew up to worship and be fearful of if I was a bad un. He’s in a better place now not suffering but COPD and it’s implementations can be a killer if not watched or looked after. There is no cure and no funding or charity organisation that I know of. Sorry to be morbid but there you go a true full post from someone see a loved one be taken away by it.

SteveBarnsleytrucker:
My dad died on April the 1st this year from final stage COPD, chronic lung disease, emphysema. You can manage all stages of COPD but the trouble is if you don’t stop smoking, do some form of light exercise and get infections. My dads heart kept getting weaker with every infection, he started getting low oxygen levels to his brain causing him to forget things and act as though he was on another planet it also caused him to have 2 minor strokes the hospital were unsure of how and when they happened.
Because of all this going off he had 3 seizures in hospital each one making his heart weaker the last one killed him on the Sunday morning. He was put on an HDU Ward due to having a seizure on the Friday and was coming around when I saw him Saturday afternoon however he wasn’t all there in his thinking due to what I described earlier. He was transferred to the strike ward where he passed away early Sunday morning.
From Oct 2017 through to April the 1st 2018 hecwas in hospital about 5 times never spending less than 3 week inside, he was in all over xmas and new year. His age (75 years old) didn’t help his predicament at all as he couldn’t build up any resistance to his infections be it chest or otherwise he’d keep getting, he’d had a heart defibrillator fitted to his heart due to the fact he’d twice collapsed at home through his heart working too much due to his COPD and lung conditions both times his heart rate was around 170 bpm :open_mouth: They had to stop his heart both times and restart it to bring it down to an acceptable level. All this caused from being a Scaffolder on building sites, oil rigs and more so nuclear power stations scaffolding and working on nuclear reactors on shut downs where asbestos linings were rife when they were stripped down. The last few months of my dads life were torture for me to see him go through, he wasn’t the man I grew up to worship and be fearful of if I was a bad un. He’s in a better place now not suffering but COPD and it’s implementations can be a killer if not watched or looked after. There is no cure and no funding or charity organisation that I know of. Sorry to be morbid but there you go a true full post from someone see a loved one be taken away by it.

TeveBarnsleytrucker,
Thank you very much for your 1st hand account. Your father’s passing is clearly very upsetting and I much appreciate you sharing the experience with me and all others. Such and awful journey. I am full of sympathy
and admire the way you have faced and handled the situation.
RIP for your father, he is in a much better place now. I asked for info about COPD and you have given what I asked for. My very best wishes to you in your future, you are a very brave man. Onesock.