Coping with energy and endurance on a day to day basis. When you have COPD it's all about balance. It’s essential to learn how to balance periods of activity or exercise with sufficient rest to gird yourself for the next active time. It might be tempting when you have COPD to just become comfortable with not pushing yourself. So this year I'm pushing myself to be more active in everything concerning my journey with COPD. From exercising more, exercising smarter, pacing myself in a better way to not struggle using up breaths when i don' t have too. After all, if being active is going to trigger your symptoms, doesn’t it make more sense just to take it easy and rest? The answer to this is definitely not!
Exercise, even if it’s just mild, gentle activity, has many benefits, including:
• A stronger, healthier heart and circulation
• Improves your breathing and helps get oxygen throughout the body
• Strengthens and tones your muscles
• Improves balance & joint flexibility
• Builds your energy & increases your endurance over time
• Helps build stronger bones
• Reduces anxiety, depression and stress, while improving mood
• Burns calories, helping with weight control

While regular activity is important, it’s also crucial to recognize that because of your chronic illness, you do have limits. Your limits may be very different from other people who have COPD. That’s OK. It’s not a competition.

But about walking fast, aren't we supposed to strive for that? That's what exercise is all about; trying to push ourselves. So if it leaves us gasping, maybe we should just slow down till we work up to a faster pace. Just askin.

MODERATION- That was something foreign to me as I burnt the candle at both ends for many years. Now it is OK for me to take a nap mid day if tired. Before coffee cigarettes and energy drinks and push through till second wind kicked in. Quit smoking 14 July 22 . Now if I go shopping for a hour and maybe one load of Landry, I need to relax as I am exhausted. The other thing is keeping a straw with me, so when my breathing gets short, I put the straw in my mouth. I take deep breaths through the nose and slowly exhale through the straw. Pursed breathing. I just use the straw to remind me me to keep my lips pursed and not just exhale.

This is what I was talking about to my GP this morning and she agreed with me. Listen to my body, exercise when I can, rest when I must, but be as proactive as possible. She told me I'm a 'young' 80 year old and she didn't worry about me.
In her After Visit Summary, I noticed she indicated that I was participating in my care plan. I don't think she wants me to sit there listlessly and dump all the responsibility on her.
I am not in really good shape, but do the best I can with what I have, and maintain a positive attitude. Not trying to be a pollyana or anything, but just saying it's best to give it my best shot. This is the only shot I have.

We were unaware of what smoking did way back, you and others around. We were told 'got a sore throat? Smoke a cigarette, depressed? Smoke a cigarette. That was one of their selling slogans. There were so many deadly ingredients in tobacco that people didn't know about. I'm so glad that it has turned, we all know now, had I known back then, I would have never started. Why kids take up the habit these days, is beyond me