Hi, @A MyCOPDTeam Member, I hear you about being on your own. An adult orphan, as it were.

While I am that way mostly by choice and hard work to survive - having decided as a child that I never wanted to pass on my defective genes (my version of COPD is ultimately caused by a birth defect that three (3) chest surgeries could never fully fix) - I never expected to lose my birth family over time as I was told many times I wasn’t going to make it to adulthood. Or, having made it, would not live to achieve old age. Ha !

However we become adult orphans, being in California is pretty decent because so many people move to this state that they do a pretty good job helping single folks find resources in their community to stay in control and age in place, I believe.

If you are not familiar with senior centers near you (and most cities and towns have one, allowing you to pick and choose among a few the one that fits you best), you need to check them out. They offer transport, counseling, day trips, art and gaming and exercise activities, which may all be helpful to you on some level.

While most of my friends are also single, so we’ve built a core support group of friends over the years, now is the time to be strengthening those bonds and building additional friendship resources with others in the same situation so that you don’t feel so rudderless or unsupported.

You may be coming to the retired / disabled / senior label sooner than you’d anticipated, however, embracing the resources out there now, including moving into a senior living situation via an apartment or condo / home situation may be another answer to helping you feel part of a wider community.

I wish you every success in your journey to wellness.

Meanwhile, advocate for yourself by getting a complete copy of your PFT exam. You are entitled to participate in your care, and if your doc / tech is trying to shut you out, please keep looking for a better match for your needs until you have one that will support your efforts to understand what’s happening fully.

Take care of you.
Tuesday, 29-OCT-24

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A MyCOPDT...

Hi, @A MyCOPDTeam Member, you need a copy of your PFT exam results,

On the enclosed picture of my test results, the highlighted in orange result for the
FEF 25 / 75 shows 30%, which is what my lung function routinely tests out as.

As you can see in the post-bronchial inhaler use to the right, I actually lost 2 points of capacity.

Further, if you look to the far right grey image, it’s supposed to be a typical forced inhale / fast exhale image for what a normal or average person my age and size and gender should be able to do.

As you can see, the aqua line shows how much I inhaled (a bit over 3 liters per second) and how much I exhaled (a bit over 1.5 liters per second).

The green line is the same test after using the inhaler, and the improvement was minimal.

Hoping this answer helps. Every doc uses similar but different report layouts, so start with your own pulmonologist or respiratory therapist’s form to become familiar with your own test results.

Monday night, 28-OCT-24

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A MyCOPDT...

Well ZanPerk. As you now, I am not a Doctor and can only question what he says about ME. I hope the article helps clear things up for you. You will have to read it for yourself and recall your conversations and Lab results from the Doc's office. I reposted the entire answer because it would not accept the chart at first. You will note that Emphysema (former smokers) is NOT on there. But that's what I have. Also Lung Cancer does not appear either. Thank Goodness this is not Rocket Science, indeed. It's more like horseshoes - close enough will do.

Mostly. YES. But a bit NO also. The FEV1/FVC ratio really only helps confirm how obstructive the Respiratory impairment is. Then there are the Restrictive types. Once you factor in the variations for sex, age, cultural background and a few other differences, we're really in the Weeds now. My favorite measure is DLCO because that is the ER standard of care. Their first goal is to lower your Carbon Monoxide levels because this gas robs the body of the ability to hold the Oxygen we need.

Suffice it to say, while this article explains IT all fairly well, it is only 5 years old and still didn't factor in newer treatments since that time:
https://www.aafp.org/pubs/afp/issues/2020/0315/...

IT does confirm the only Truth there is to this Syndrome - Every BODY is different.
be Well. . and Well informed.

Office Spirometry: Indications and Interpretation

https://www.aafp.org/pubs/afp/issues/2020/0315/p362.html

@A MyCOPDTeam Member...Thank you for your answer. So my ratio is 0.49 according to PFT. That means I have 49% lung function? Is the pulmonologist being honest with me when he told me (twice) his diagnosis for me is mild? I FEEL like I am moderate, if that makes sense. But, to be fair, he said pulmonologists go by FEV1, which is 73%, therefore he has to call it mild.

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A MyCOPDT...