A little info if I may - Asthma, Emphysema, Chronic Bronchitis, Cystic Fibrosis and Bronchectisis are all COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease). In other words, if you are diagnosed with any of these forms of obstructive lung disease, you have COPD. Most people think that COPD restricts the ability to inhale but in fact, it
causes "airtrapping" in the lungs and restricts the ability to exhale. This is why people feel they can't take a breath in because the millions of tiny air "balloons" (alveoli inside the lungs where gas exchange takes place) are overinflated. Some people deal with excessive secretions with COPD while others it isn't so much of a problem. The other side of the coin from obstructive COPD is restrictive diseases such as black lung, pulmonary fibrosis, sarcoidosis or a tumor in the airways. Restrictive diseases limit the patient's ability to expand the lungs on inspiration. Then there are the poor people that suffer from both conditions at the same time.
Albuterol, Atrovent, and Xopenex are the three top medications used in COPD and are sometimes known as "rescue medications" because they offer quick results to relax the smooth muscles in the airways. Medications such as Spiriva, Advair, Symbicort are all medications used when long term results are the goal and some of these also offer steroidal benefits. People who deal with excessive and thick secretions can also mix Mucomyst in with their bronchodilator to help them cough them out more easily. None of these drugs however, will help those that suffer from restrictive type diseases.
A PFT (Pulmonary Function Test) is usually administered in two parts. Peak flows are measured before any bronchodilator medication is given to measure the extent of the obstruction. It is also repeated a second time after a bronchodilator is administered to measure how well a patient responds to the medication. There is also a part of the test that measures the DLCO to find out how badly the alveloi have been compromised. This is the area in the lungs where the gas is exchanged - CO2 returning to the lungs for exhalation and O2 crossing over into the capillaries for use by the body. The ONLY way to tell how well all this is working is to have an arterial blood gas drawn (ABG). Because COPD attacks this area of the lung, people suffering from it, especially those with emphysema, will begin to show lower than normal O2 levels and higher than normal CO2 levels in their arterial blood supply.
COPD is not reversable and can't be stopped but, its progression can be slowed if the patient takes steps to help themselves. It is in fact slow to show its ugly side and also slowly progresses. If the patient smokes, they of course need to stop immediately - easier said than done though. Proper breathing techniques should be learned and used such as pursed lip breathing and extended exhalations when performing tasks that usually make them short of breath. Pursing ones lips adds positive pressure to the alveoli (which holds them open a little longer) combined with extended exhalations = less airtrapping and more oxygen getting into the blood.
Hope this helps a little "RonJ". My email address is spicks75 at comcast dot net if you want to talk in a more private setting. I know its scary but its also very possible to live with.
