As I live and breathe

I have only been not smoking for 9 months and I Can Not imagine how bad I would be now if I hadn't quit!
I am on steriods to try and build up my lung volume and they are MISERABLE things! My face and hands are swollen, I can't sleep at night. I just hate this. It seems every month I get a new symptom. I think my problem right now came from when I had breast surgery in January, from the anesthesia. When I came home from the hospital I had congestion in my lungs and it's still there. The thickest stuff I have ever seen. So, according to my doc this will be the course of action each time I get colds or flu symptoms... Antibiotics followed by Steriods.

When I first got this diagnoses I searched and searched for information. I was surprised how little I found. That is one of the reasons I wanted to start this blog. I would love to wander upon a blog like this. Not that it is full of information, not that I am a wonderful writer... only that it is an honest look of daily life with this disease. From what I gather I am not that unusual as far as symptoms go. With the exception of my age and the advanced degree of the Emphysema, I am just like any other sufferer.

Depression, Anxiety, Anger, Fear, Shame... the list is long but all of those are common feelings with this illness. My biggest issue has been a overwhelming ANGER. Anger at myself for doing this to me. I watched both parents die from lung and heart disease. They both smoked, they both ended up on oxygen near the end. Here I am now with a oxygen concentrator in my house! I can't tell you how that effects me! Every night when I put on that cannula my parents cross my mind.

I belong to a couple Copd groups and the biggest question there is the Grades of Progress and how they come up with them.
Many have questions about the FEV 1 test and how it is graded.
Some have Chronic Bronchitis and others have Emphysema and some don't know the difference.
It is difficult talking to the doctor sometimes. When I was first diagnosed I would take my daughter with me. The words and phrases coming out of my doctors mouth scared me so much that I couldn't remember one thing he said after I walked out of his office. So... my daughter helped me, and helped me remember to ask questions.

Here is some very useful information~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Grading COPD

You can have COPD that's quite mild, a little worse or very bad. If it looks as if you might have COPD, your doctor will give your illness a grade to show how mild or severe it is. The grade helps your doctor decide what treatment you need.[1]

There are four grades, and the table below shows what they are and what each one means. If your doctor gives your illness a 0, it means you might get COPD, but you don't actually have the disease yet. The highest grade, 4, means you have COPD and it's very serious.

You'll see two abbreviations in the table below: FVC and FEV 1 . These are measurements used in spirometry tests.

FVC stands for forced vital capacity. It is the total amount of air you can blow out after taking a deep breath.FEV 1 stands for forced expiratory volume in one second. It shows how much air you can blow out in the first second of the test.To grade your COPD, doctors look at your FEV1 score. They also divide your FEV1 by your FVC (often written as FEV1/FVC). This gives them a percentage that helps them find out how well your lungs are working. To learn more, see Spirometry.

Stage of COPD Test results Signs

0: At risk Your lung test is normal. You have had symptoms, like coughing up mucus, every day for some time.
1: Mild You have one abnormal lung test result (your FEV1/FVC is less than 70 percent). You have one normal lung test result (your FEV1 is at least 80 percent of what it should be). You may cough a lot. Sometimes you cough up mucus. You feel a little breathless if you walk quickly.
2: Moderate Both your lung test results are abnormal. Your FEV1/FVC is less than 70 percent and your FEV1 is between 50 percent and 80 percent of what it should be. You cough more. You may get breathless if you work hard, walk quickly or do household jobs. You may take a few weeks to recover from a chest infection.
3: Severe Both your lung test results are abnormal. Your FEV1/FVC is less than 70 percent and your FEV1 is between 30 percent and 50 percent of what it should be. You may not be able to work and probably find it harder do jobs around the house. You cannot walk upstairs or across the room very well. You get tired easily. You may show signs of a weak heart.
4: Very severe Both your lung test results are abnormal. Your FEV1/FVC is less than 70 percent. Also, your FEV1 is less than 30 percent of what it should be or it?s less than 50 percent of what it should be and you have other signs that your lungs are failing. You can no longer go to work or do jobs around the house. You cannot walk upstairs or across the room very well. You may show signs of a weak heart.

References
Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease. Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease. 2005. Available at http://www.goldcopd.com (accessed on 28 November 2008).

Glossary

chronic bronchitis

Your doctor may say that you have chronic bronchitis if you have a cough that brings up phlegm, if it lasts for three months or more, and you have had it twice in two years. Smoking is a common cause of chronic bronchitis.

emphysema

Emphysema is a long-term disease of the lungs. The walls of the air sacs (alveoli) in the lungs become thin and less elastic. This makes it harder for oxygen to get in your blood and carbon dioxide to get out of your body. It makes you cough and feel short of breath. Smoking is the most common cause of emphysema.

infection

You get an infection when an organism, such as a bacterium, a fungus or a virus gets into a part of your body where it shouldn't be. For example, an infection in your nose and airways causes the common cold. An infection in your skin can cause rashes such as athlete's foot. The organisms that cause infections are so tiny that you can't see them without a microscope.

© BMJ Publishing Group Limited ("BMJ Group") 2010

When I was first diagnosed I was graded Moderate. Once all the testing was done it was moved to Severe.

My last Fev 1 result was 41 that was taken in September of 2009.