chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

have you tried going to web MD? they have a lot of answers. Sorry if i dont have any for you but i dont wish to give the wrong answer.

Thank you, I tried. I did get lots of information but not about what it can lead to...also i was interested in getting tips from people who might be dealing with it.

Yes, it can be life-threatening. It killed my dad. He'd smoked all his life. The doctor said his lungs were running at about 10% of normal. He quit cold turkey when they diagnosed him at about 62. They moved from NJ to Arizona a couple of years later, which probably gave him a couple extra years, but he died three months past his 70th birthday. He'd wake up two or three times a night choking because he wasn't getting enough oxygen. He couldn't walk a hundred yards without oxygen. It is definitely not a joke. Impress on your dad that he can't smoke again, and that whatever the doctor tells him to do, do it.

...oh i'm sorry about your dad. I think my doc told my dad it was 30%...

thanks, sakhi. It was quite awhile ago. I hope for your dad's sake that there's more they can do for it today, but I think it's still a significant cause of mortality.

for a (relatively) readable summary, llok up "chronic obstructive pulmonary disease" at wikipedia.com

Yes, COPD is life threatening.



I presume that "30%" means "30% of lung tissue is damaged". People survive with a single lung.

Of course if "30%" "70% of lung tissue is damaged", the situation is much more serious.

Your dad should not smoke--and he should not be around smokers. The air in his living quarters should be as pure as possible--no air fresheners, air sweetners, scented candles.... He should stay inside when the outside air quality is unhealthy.

His lungs have been damaged. Yes, his life will be more limited now, but he has a choice between limitations and death.

Thanks Noddy - it's a bit worrisome to know it's life-threatening. And as for 30-70% - I wasnt sure which way it was...checked with the report - it says 30% damage. Yes, he has quit.... though he's having a pretty tough time stopping himself from smoking...I'll read up the thread someone started - about kicking this habit...

sakhi--

Is he using the patch?

Seaglass here has 65% lung capacity left. One of the reasons I left the cold, damp east coast for the environs of Hawaii.

Find now, after not smoking for 15 years that I am highly allergic to nicotine, and I go into horrific sneezing spasms when exposed to nicotine, whether it is newly second hand, on someone's clothing, caked on walls and windows et al.

Now try to explain that to a smoking partner in the grips of an nicotine addition. It's a bitch.

Take care, seaglass....

my dad, unfortunately, keeps going back to smoking once in a week or so. And then repentance sinks in and he quits again...

sakhi,

I live with COPD. I used to smoke like a chimney and never thought I could give it up. The patches helped enormously. Every now and then I would fall off the wagon, but I would get back on it.

Things to remember.

If he falls off the wagon, he can get back on.

Don't nag him about it. The addiction is horrible. He knows what it is doing to him. He wants to stop. But it is so hard to do.

He needs positive encouragement. For example, if he normally has a cigarette every hour, and you notice he has managed to go an hour and a half between fags, congratulate him. This has been a great victory for him. Tell him what a great feat he has accomplished. It will spur him to try harder and maybe next time he will aim for two hours between cigarettes.

But for heaven's sake don't criticise him if he doesn't make it. Support him by assuring him he will get there the next time.

Spend time with him. Distractions help.

Most importantly remember, if he falls off the wagon he can get back on.

Thanks, lezzles...I think I need to praise him a little more and I'll take care not to criticize him much. From about 12 cigarettes a day he has come down to about 6 per week but he looks dazed, at times. Is that a side affect of quitting smoking?

Yes, Noddy, he does use the patch. But he has stopped using it of late - he says it doesnt help him much...

The patch is not sure-fire. It didn't work for me, I had to just bear down and quit cold-turkey.

Not that trading one habit for another should be encouraged, but since his health is in such dire straights, it _might_ be advisable to keep a can of snuff around so that when an overwhelming urge strikes he can placate it without further damage to his lungs. Just a thought.

I will tell him that....he can use that method if it suits him.

I guess it's like people who give up alcohol. One day at a time is what you strive for. There are some days I don't even think about cigarettes and there are days when I would kill for one! That's when you have to go and do something to take your mind off it.

The worst temptation for me with smoking is when I'm among family and friends who still smoke - that's when I really want one and that is when I am most likely to give in and have a cigarette. On those occasions when I have done that, that is when I felt dizzy and dazed - just not used to them any more and the lack of oxygen going to the brain does befuddle you a bit.

What medication is your dad taking for his COPD? Possibly the dazed feeling has something to do with that as well.