I have been diagnosed with COPD. COPD stands for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. It is a lung disease that is either from Chronic Bronchitis, Emphysema, or Asthma. My underlying diagnosis was Asthma. I have moderate COPD which would probably put me in Stage 2 or 3. There are 4 stages. Stage 1 is mild, which means it is in the early stages of the disease. Stage 2 is mild/moderate. Stage 3 is moderate/severe. Stage 4 is end of life. There is no cure for COPD which means it is a terminal disease. Terminal means that those of us diagnosed with it, will eventually die from it.
Some people have been known to live 20+ years with this disease. Others are not so lucky. I was diagnosed in 2012/2013. So I have been living with COPD for 3-4 years since diagnosis. But in reality, I have been living with it far longer than this.
The warning signs of having COPD is shortness of breath, chronic coughing, feelings of tightness in chest, and a few other signs which I cannot remember off the top of my head. If you have smoked and have any of these signs, please go get tested today. You can get COPD without having smoked a day in your life as well. My mother never smoked and had COPD from fluid buildup inside her body.
COPD is hereditary. So if one of your family members has it and you smoke, quit today.
I smoked for 32 years and I quit by using Chantix the month before I was diagnosed. I have been smoke free since 2012. December 4th of this year will be my 4th year anniversary of being smoke free.
There are support groups online for those of us diagnosed with this disease. However, having one here would be awesome because I am sure there are plenty of deaf people struggling to breathe daily that could use support for not only COPD but for other things as well.