COPD and Smoking

[Martian5]

COPD -- it is hard, very hard, on the body and the mind.  Each and every day I am faced with that fact and what smoking has done to me and why I am focused on keeping quit.  Thanks for bringing this forward Jillar.  Quitting has helped and has extended my life but I will live with this till the end but it is my doing and I live with that fact.  For those lurking smoking causes harm in so many ways.  Quitting now will help you immensely!!!

[breath]

I am 4 months shy of being 20 years quit. I smoked for 25 years and quit at the age of 40 (my birthday).  It was only after many, many years quit that COPD was diagnosed. Frankly it did not surprise me. Smoking often pays you back many years later....even when you quit! Luckily my COPD is at a mild level and has been for over 8 years. In fact I can do the tests slightly better than 8 years ago.. Prescibed two inhalers. One for use every day and the other is an asthma inhaler, for  limited use. My quality of life and activity levels are very high. I play golf, cycle, swim, gym and walk.

COPD can be a progressive disease....if you smoke, breathe bad air and don't exercise.

BUT i have 20 years nearly of not inhaling cigarettes. I quit and did not know that i was forestalling COPD. I count myself blessed that at nearly 60, my Copd is merely an inhaler in the morning and forgotten.....

Never, ever think that quitting is stopping smoking. It can stop, curtail, diminish the years of damage to your body in the future.

Best of luck Jillar. NOPE

[Abby]

Thank you so much for sharing . I'm sorry to hear you are struggling so and in awe of you being open and honest sharing this with others  . That's caring! Some really good information for those thinking they should quit but are procrastinating or thinking one day they will or thinking they can't quit . Some will think it's too late anyway and still others feel hopeless . 

 

My father had severe emphysema . Smoking was never talked about being the cause of it 35 years ago but it was . Smoking back then didn't have warnings .  He smoked 2  packs a day . He had heart failure .  He did quit smoking for a few years before his passing and I'm so proud of him . 

 

I also have COPD / asthma overlap . I think copd can affect us differently correct me if I'm wrong . Maybe sharing our stories might help others see there is always value to quitting smoking and it's never too late . 

 If we get nothing else outta quitting the joy of being freed from those shackles is worth its weight in gold . 

 

I am sitting on the border of severe asthma/copd and function very well tbh . I use two inhalers . I used to be on nebulizers , but after not even a year of quitting smoking the inhalers were enough to manage my symptoms and I've not been in hospital for years or a Drs office on oxygen or nebulizers for years .   Although the lung function tests don't show that there is improvement ( because copd is progressive ) it is progressing very slowly thank goodness . I feel better than I have in years . I contribute that to not inhaling smoke and walking . I also did pulmonary rehab . 

 

I first avoided lung function tests with a passion so I would not feel guilty smoking but I " did " feel guilty smoking . 

I did not have smokers cough but my chest was wheezy often . I was embarrassed too to have PFTtests .. it meant you were a smoker , something I was very embarrassed of . Like you Jillar , sitting there I felt all eyes on me pointing the finger and the whispers meant they were talking about me but that is not always true.  We are self conscious when these things happen I think . We can't feel guilty about the past but if we stay stuck there we won't live for today. Today is always the best day of our life if we let it be or make it be . 

 

Everyone , I agree you can quit smoking . The question is will you take the first step . Many here no matter their health circumstances , stress , or the challenge they face today are smoke free and will tell you absolutely you can quit . Take one day at a time . 

 

Jillar thanks so much for your post , for your honesty  and truth and everyone's sharing .  It's truth that sets us free and quitting smoking starts with facing the things we tend to ignore or deny . 

 

 

Edited May 31, 2021 by Abby

[jillar]

I'd like to say thank you too to all of you sharing your COPD stories as well. Especially how quitting smoking helped slow the progression immensely.

Together we can make a difference

[Abby]

Jillar Happy quitversary . 

                                  

[PeachFuzz]

What is COPD please? 

[jillar]

@PeachFuzz this is from the mayoclinic.org website:

 

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a chronic inflammatory lung disease that causes obstructed airflow from the lungs. Symptoms include breathing difficulty, cough, mucus (sputum) production and wheezing. It's typically caused by long-term exposure to irritating gases or particulate matter, most often from cigarette smoke. People with COPD are at increased risk of developing heart disease, lung cancer and a variety of other conditions.

Emphysema and chronic bronchitis are the two most common conditions that contribute to COPD. These two conditions usually occur together and can vary in severity among individuals with COPD.

Chronic bronchitis is inflammation of the lining of the bronchial tubes, which carry air to and from the air sacs (alveoli) of the lungs. It's characterized by daily cough and mucus (sputum) production.

Emphysema is a condition in which the alveoli at the end of the smallest air passages (bronchioles) of the lungs are destroyed as a result of damaging exposure to cigarette smoke and other irritating gases and particulate matter.

Although COPD is a progressive disease that gets worse over time, COPD is treatable. With proper management, most people with COPD can achieve good symptom control and quality of life, as well as reduced risk of other associated conditions.

Edited June 1, 2021 by jillar

[PeachFuzz]

@breath It was after many years of being quit that you were diagnosed and you quit relatively young, I'm shocked that you were diagnosed with COPD. 

 

I assumed (wrongly)  that it would be a much older person, smoking for way longer,  whose lungs would be compromised to that degree. 

 

How long after quitting do the lungs return to normal? I've heard the figure of 10 years being bandied around but who knows? 

 

@jillar Thank you for the info xx

[PeachFuzz]

And happy quit anniversary. 

[Katgirl]

@PeachFuzz, it takes approximately one year for your lungs to completely get back to normal. Also, after one year, your cardiovascular risks from having smoked decrease by half. Keep in mind, as others here have learned, that as former smokers, we may all be at risk for developing COPD or Emphysema later in life. 

[breath]

A very important proviso on complete recovery from smoking, is how long you smoke. The rule of thumb is 20 x 20. If your at this stage (20 a day for 20 years) it is likely you have permanently damaged your body. 

Smoking destroys the tiny air sacs, or alveoli, in the lungs that allow oxygen exchange. When you smoke, you are damaging some of those air sacs. Alveoli don't grow back, so when you destroy them, you have permanently destroyed part of your lungs. When enough alveoli are destroyed, the disease emphysema develops.

 

Whilst this is irreparable, the rest of you body benefits enormously from quitting. Many of my friends were 20 x 10 smokers. They quit at the age 25. I became a 20 x 25 and quit at the age of 40. I believe this made a big difference! None of them have suffered from smoking related illnesses. They quit befor it could do lasting damage. The rest of us are in "damage limitation". It is imperative you quit and stay quit!

A contrary piece of evidence on the BBC says that some cells in the lung can be undamaged and can replenish the lung https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-51279355 However i have never met or heard anybody who is this lucky.

Smoking brings emphysema, bronchitis and COPD.

Many smokers or quitters don't know they have  respiratory damage. Definitely worth doing a spirometry test when you have quit. Especially if you smoked for over 20 years. Quitting 20 years ago ...nearly has definitely saved my lungs from any more damage.

[Katgirl]

I am fairly certain that I have harmed myself, irrevocably, from smoking, as evidenced by my significant heart disease. It is the price we all pay for our years long habit. Whatever I can do to mitigate the damage, I will. I owe it to my kids and grandkids to stay here with them, as long as I am able.  And, not for nothing, I owe it to myself, as well.  If I wind up with COPD, I will deal with it. Here’s hoping that there will be enough healthy alveoli, among the millions in my respiratory system, to do their job, without the need for supplemental O2. That is my wish for me, and  for all of us, who have yet to be diagnosed with a chronic lung condition. 

[Cbdave]

G’day 

My mum had emphysema and COPD. She would never admit to having them. She always said she had bad ashma. She passed at 82. A cold put her in hospital, became pneumonia and she passed unconscious.

Loved her very much and I’m happy to say she seen me as a non smoker before she passed.

She gave up smoking at 60 yrs and passed at 82. 

I have COPD and emphysema and gave them away at 57yrs so I’m hoping to make 80, or die trying.:..

One thing I’m certain off I’m not going to smoke I’m into living

[PeachFuzz]

So scary. When I think of all the years I did this to myself,  I feel so sad.  

 

Sorry body. Sorry lungs. 

[Reciprocity]

This is why it's so vitally important to quit as soon as you have a mind to do so! 

What greater reason could you want to have to motivate you to keep moving forward with your quit? 

 

[Robbie]

Yes, it's made me really scared reading all this.:(

[Doreensfree]

Smoking effects every part of your body ....it will benefit in so many ways when you Quit....

My skin looks so much healthier now ....better than its ever looked ....

Let us know when you start to notice little things ....

[breath]

It would be disingenous to tell people who quit that it is ALL benefits. The benefits are so, so many and should always be shouted from the rooftops but smoking is like an age accelerant. It damages your eyes, ears (hearing loss), skin, arteries, heart, gums, brain, digestive system. People tend to concentrate on the lungs but the picture is far bigger. Women( forgive me) are far more interested in skin than men but look what does to the colour, elasticity, tone. Smoking accelerates the aging process of skin. Quitting and staying  quit can rejuvenate your skin.

Peoples teeth can start bleeding as the the gums rejuvenate.

I think you should have a mindset of all the benefits and improvements in your health..... underscored by "damage limitation" In other words. Im not doing anymore smoking damage to my body for the rest of my life.

In the past twenty years the only thing i have been diagnosed with is  mild copd: related to smoking. Very lucky. My lungs were going down in a nose dive relative to my age. A steep line down. That is what smoking does. Now the line is much flatter and going down at a normal rate BUT i started at a much lower level on a graph, so my lungs are older. The nurse showed me the lungs of a 100 year old non smoker and how they decline. Every non smoker gradual loses their lung capacity until they have none. Its gradual but stay smoking for decades and your lung capacity drops dramatically.

 

Quitting at 15 months and today feels like deja vu. i know i did it it but it feels other wordly. The best thing above all the analysis is FREEDOM. Life without smoking is fabulous!

 

[Gus]

36 minutes ago, breath said:

The best thing above all the analysis is FREEDOM.

Amen. Beautifully said. 

[Katgirl]

I don’t feel more free, in any way.  I never felt enslaved by my habit. I rather enjoyed smoking, and all the little rituals around it. I do feel good that I have done something proactive, in order to improve my health, or at least slow down its decline. If smoking weren’t harmful, I’d still be lighting up. Because it most decidedly is,  I made the choice to no longer be free to enjoy it.

 

 

[jillar]

@Katgirl, a lot of us felt the same way early in our quits. I totally thought I enjoyed smoking and got mad that other people "got" to smoke while I had to quit because of SOB. I even wrote a post about it at the other forum I was on. It wasn't until I was told by my fellow quitters that those people don't GET to smoke, they HAVE to smoke. That was my AHA moment I think.

As you progress in your quit I think you will start seeing more joys in being quit then you ever did as a smoker. Especially with the trips you have planned. Imagine no more chain smoking before you get on the plane. Or having to go through security several times because you had to go outside to smoke! Or jonesing for one as soon as you land!

There's so many more perks other than the obvious health benefits. Wait until your kids hug you and you don't reek of smoke! 

[Katgirl]

@jillar, I knew my post would get a reaction. Thanks for not flaming me. I always tell it like it is. As you said, I am only 3 weeks and change into my quit, so I am prepared for feeling differently about my situation, as I rack up more weeks, months, and even years. I had a dream around smoking last night, the first I can remember.  I am still a little raw, still anxious, and as @Gus is experiencing, sometimes a little depression rears it’s ugly head, as well. The good news is that I am determined to keep my quit. It is why I am sticking so close to this wonderful group.

Edited June 2, 2021 by Katgirl

[Cbdave]

G’day 

I may have COPD and emphysema but I also have improved circulation. I can slip my hand in the waist of my sweethearts shirt.... and not get....”get those cold hands off me!!!”

[Lust4Life]

@jillarThis news breaks my heart- learning what you’ve gone through. Thankfully you are home and getting stronger.  Please don’t feel embarrassed about the 02!  There is no shame in using equipment that helps you live more fully and comfortable. 

[AceWhite]

Jillar we all have missions in our lives and sometimes they come in disguise. 

From what I know it seems one of your talents is helping others.

Everybody on this site has received your kind & encouraging words.

Embrace your mission- don't be ashamed of anything about you-

IF anyone says anything let me know i'll punch them in the face