Emphysema (COPD)

Well more bad news for me.. I have

Emphysema Nothing Known to slow or Cure it

(COPD)

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Emphysema is a dangerous disease affecting the lungs. It targets the air sacs, or alveoli, in the lungs and causes them to over inflate. Fortunately an emphysema treatment is available helps to improve health efficiency. Before to go for medication treatment with generic Theophylline it is required to consult to your doctor.
April 5, 2013 at 3:59 AM

Emphysema


Published by Jan

Emphysema-
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
COPD; Chronic obstructive airways disease; Chronic obstructive lung disease; Chronic bronchitis; Emphysema; Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is one of the most common lung diseases. It makes it difficult to breathe. There are two main forms of COPD:

• • Chronic bronchitis, defined by a long-term cough with mucus
• • Emphysema, defined by destruction of the lungs over time
• • Most people with COPD have a combination of both conditions.

Emphysema is a long-term, progressive disease of the lungs that primarily causes shortness of breath. In people with emphysema, the tissues necessary to support the physical shape and function of the lungs are destroyed. It is included in a group of diseases called chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or COPD (pulmonary refers to the lungs). Emphysema is called an obstructive lung disease because the destruction of lung tissue around smaller sacs, called alveoli, makes these air sacs unable to hold their functional shape upon exhalation. It is often caused by smoking or long-term exposure to air pollution. The term means swelling
Emphysema can be classified into primary and secondary. However, it is more commonly classified by location into panacinary and centroacinary (or panacinar and centriacinar, or centrilobular and panlobular).
Panacinar (or panlobular) emphysema: The entire respiratory acinus, from respiratory bronchiole to alveoli, is expanded. Occurs more commonly in the lower lobes, especially basal segments, and anterior margins of the lungs.
Centriacinar (or centrilobular) emphysema: The respiratory bronchiole (proximal and central part of the acinus) is expanded. The distal acinus or alveoli are unchanged. Occurs more commonly in the upper lobes. Other types include distal acinar and irregular. A special type is congenital lobar emphysema.
Signs and symptoms:

Emphysema is a disease of the lung tissue caused by destruction of structures feeding the alveoli, in some cases owing to the action of alpha 1-antitrypsin deficiency. Smoking is one major cause of this destruction, which causes the small airways in the lungs to collapse during forced exhalation. As a result, airflow is impeded and air becomes trapped, just as in other obstructive lung diseases. Symptoms include shortness of breath on exertion, and an expanded chest.
People with this disease do not get enough oxygen and cannot remove carbon dioxide from their blood; they therefore exhibit dyspnea (shortness of breath). At first this occurs only during physical activity. Eventually it will occur after any physical exertion. Later the patient may be dyspneic all the time, even when relaxing. Because breathing is difficult, the patient must use accessory muscles to help them breathe; tachypnea (rapid breathing) may occur when they try to extend their exertion. They may have trouble coughing and lowered amounts of sputum. They may also lose weight.
The anteroposterior diameter of their chest may increase; this symptom is sometimes referred as "barrel chest." The patient may lean forward with arms extended or resting on something to help them breathe.
When lung auscultation and chest percussion is performed a hyperresonant sound is heard.
The patient may also exhibit symptoms of hypoxia-induced cyanosis, or the appearance of a blue to purplish discoloration of the skin, due to increased levels of deoxyhemoglobin in the blood.
Causes:

The majority of all emphysema cases are caused by smoking tobacco. Emphysema cases that are caused by other etiologies are referred to as secondary emphysema.
In some cases it may be due to alpha 1-antitrypsin deficiency. Severe cases of A1AD may also develop cirrhosis of the liver, where the accumulated A1AT leads to a fibrotic reaction.
Some types of emphysema are considered a normal part of aging and are found in the elderly whose lungs have deteriorated due to age. At about 20 years of age, people stop developing new alveoli tissue. In the years following the cessation of the development of new alveoli, lung tissue can start to deteriorate. This is a normal, natural part of aging in healthy people. Alveoli will die, the number of lung capillaries will decline and the elastin of the lungs will begin to break down causing a loss of pulmonary elasticity. As people age, they will also lose strength and mass in their chest muscles causing these muscles to become weaker. In addition, bones can start to deteriorate and a person’s posture can change. Together, all of these age-related manifestations can cause the development of emphysema. Though not all elderly people will develop emphysema, they are all at risk of having decreased respiratory function.
Other causes of emphysema can be anything that causes the body to be unable to inhibit proteolytic enzymes in the lung. This could be exposure to air pollution, second hand smoke or other chemicals and toxins.
Causes, incidence, and risk factors:

Smoking is the leading cause of COPD. The more a person smokes, the more likely that person will develop COPD although some people smoke for years and never get COPD. In rare cases, nonsmokers who lack a protein called alpha-1 antitrypsin can develop emphysema.
Other risk factors for COPD are:
1. Exposure to certain gases or fumes in the workplace
2. Exposure to heavy amounts of secondhand smoke and pollution
3. Frequent use of cooking gas without proper ventilation

Symptoms:

• Cough with mucus
• Shortness of breath (dyspnea) that gets worse with mild activity
• Fatigue
• Frequent respiratory infections
• Wheezing
• Since the symptoms of COPD develop slowly, some people may be unaware that they are sick.

Signs and tests:

The best test for COPD is a simple lung function test called spirometry. This involves blowing out as hard as one can into a small machine that tests lung capacity. The test can be interpreted immediately and does not involve exercising, drawing blood, or exposure to radiation.
Using a stethoscope to listen to the lungs can also be helpful, although sometimes the lungs sound normal even when COPD is present.
Pictures of the lungs (such as X-rays and CT scans) can be helpful but sometimes look normal even when a person has COPD.
Sometimes it is necessary to do a blood test (call a “blood gas&#8221 to measure the amounts of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the blood
Treatment:

There is no cure for COPD. However, there are many things you can do to relieve symptoms and keep the disease from getting worse.
Persons with COPD must stop smoking. This is the best way to slow down the lung damage.
Medications used to treat COPD include:
Inhalers (bronchodilators) to open the airways, such as ipratropium (Atrovent), tiotropium (Spiriva), salmeterol (Serevent), or formoterol (Foradil)
Inhaled steroids to reduce lung inflammation:
In severe cases or during flare-ups, you may need to receive steroids by mouth or through a vein (intravenously).
Antibiotics are prescribed during symptom flare-ups, because infections can make COPD worse.
Oxygen therapy at home may be needed if a person has a low level of oxygen in their blood. Pulmonary rehabilitation does not cure the lung disease, but it can teach you to breathe in a different way so you can stay active. Exercise programs such as pulmonary rehabilitation are also important to help maintain muscle strength in the legs so less demand is placed on the lungs when walking. These programs also teach people how to use their medicines most effectively.
Things you can do to make it easier for yourself around the home include:
• Avoiding very cold air
• Making sure no one smokes in your home
• Reducing air pollution by eliminating fireplace smoke and other irritants
• Eat a healthy diet with fish, poultry, or lean meat, as well as fruits and vegetables. If it is hard to keep your weight up, talk to a doctor or dietitian about getting foods with more calories.
Surgical treatments may include:
• Surgery to remove parts of the diseased lung, for some patients with emphysema
• Lung transplant for severe cases
Emphysema is also treated by supporting the breathing with anticholinergics, bronchodilators, steroid medication (inhaled or oral), effective body positioning (High Fowlers), and supplemental oxygen as required. Treating the patient's other conditions including gastric reflux and allergies may improve lung function. Supplemental oxygen used as prescribed (usually more than twenty hours per day) is the only non-surgical treatment which has been shown to prolong life in emphysema patients. There are lightweight portable oxygen systems which allow patients increased mobility. Patients can fly, cruise, and work while using supplemental oxygen. Other medications are being researched.
Lung volume reduction surgery (LVRS) can improve the quality of life for certain carefully selected patients. It can be done by different methods, some of which are minimally invasive. In July 2006 a new treatment, placing tiny valves in passages leading to diseased lung areas, was announced to have good results, but seven percent of patients suffered partial lung collapse. The only known "cure" for emphysema is lung transplant, but few patients are strong enough physically to survive the surgery. The combination of a patient's age, oxygen deprivation and the side-effects of the medications used to treat emphysema cause damage to the kidneys, heart and other organs. Surgical transplantation also requires the patient to take an anti-rejection drug regimen, which suppresses the immune system, and can lead to microbial infection of the patient. Patients who think they may have contracted the disease are recommended to seek medical attention as soon as possible.
Emphysema is an irreversible degenerative condition. The most important measure to slow its progression is for the patient to stop smoking and avoid all exposure to cigarette smoke and lung irritants. Pulmonary rehabilitation can be very helpful to optimize the patient's quality of life and teach the patient how to actively manage his or her care.
Expectations (prognosis):

This condition is a long-term (chronic) illness. The disease will get worse more quickly if one continues to smoke.
Patients with severe COPD will be short of breath with most activities and will be admitted to the hospital more often. These patients should talk with their doctor about the use of breathing machines and end-of-life care.
Complications:

• Irregular heartbeat (arrhythmias)
• Need for breathing machine and oxygen therapy
• Right-sided heart failure or cor pulmonale (heart swelling and heart failure due to chronic lung disease)
• Pneumonia
• Pneumothorax
• Severe weight loss and malnutrition
Calling your health care provider:
Go to the emergency room or call the local emergency number (such as 911) if you have a rapid increase in shortness of breath
Prevention:

Not smoking prevents most COPD. Ask your doctor or health care provider about quit-smoking programs. Medicines are also available to help kick the smoking habit, and the medicines are most effective if a person is motivated to quit.
The better part of the past few decades of research into the pathogenesis of emphysema involved animal experiments where various proteases were instilled into the trachea of various species of animals. These animals developed connective tissue damage, which was taken as support for the protease-antiprotease theory. However, just because these substances can destroy connective tissue in the lung, (as anyone would be able to predict), does not establish causality. More recent experiments have focused on more technologically advanced approaches, such as ones involving genetic manipulation. One particular development with respect to our understanding of the disease involves the production of protease "knock-out" animals, which are genetically deficient in one or more proteases, and the assessment of whether they would be less susceptible to the development of the disease. Often individuals who are unfortunate enough to contract this disease have a very short life expectancy, often 0–3 years at most.

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I smoke with my dad every single day, and he has massive COPD. Walk from one end of the house to the other and he's fully out of breath and low on O2. So, granted he doesn't move around much anymore (he's in his 70's) .. so he can sit around and smoke many right under the table still. We use a bong, glass piece, papers, vape etc.. He lives at home with me so I take care of him pretty much.

That's awesome. Good on you for taking care of family. In the end they're all we have , DGF

god bless ya man. won't get into fam. but I can't walk a flight of stairs without loss of breath nvm carrying anything. then i am on low blood pressure pills for my ptsd & bipolar/mania fits. I get pass outs I gotta grab some thing or sit from passing out a few times a day.

serious stuff, good for you being there for your dad man. still noting better then bong rips i died 17yrs ago this is all gravy to me... My kids tho well then.... We all want to be around but for how long drive safe

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I was put on Spiriva (tiotropium bromide inhalation powder) 18mcg

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My wife has copd and bout five months ago had an pulmonary embolism in her lung. That shite was scary. Don't think I've ever driven that recklessly to get to the hospital before.

She has like three different inhalers and they all cost $100.00 or more dollars. Luckily Uncle Sam has been absorbing majority of the costs.

Good lord Newguy, you take alot meds like me and the wife ....lol..*sighs*

ya man, it's just nice to relate to others even if over net.


i always know i'd need a lung maybe a heart...

Emphysema: Stages and Prognosis

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Doctors describe the severity and progression of emphysema with staging systems. Although everyone with emphysema is unique, emphysema staging can help with prognosis. However, no emphysema staging system can accurately predict what will happen to any individual person with emphysema.
Pulmonary Function Affects Emphysema Prognosis

Emphysema staging requires pulmonary function testing (PFTs). Doctors use PFTs to follow the lung capacity in people with emphysema. During PFTs, a person with emphysema breathes and blows air through a tube while airflow is measured. A person's emphysema prognosis is in large part determined by PFTs.

The lung damage in emphysema creates small air pockets in the lungs, where air becomes trapped. The trapped air makes it difficult for people with emphysema to blow out forcefully. The more air that is trapped, the worse lung function becomes. Over time, this makes it harder to breathe with emphysema, and pulmonary function test results decline.
The GOLD Emphysema Staging System

One major emphysema staging system is called GOLD. It was created by an expert group called the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease.

The major factor in GOLD emphysema staging is the amount of air a person with emphysema can forcefully exhale in one second. This is called the forced expiratory volume, or FEV1.

GOLD emphysema staging is as follows:

Stage I, Mild emphysema: FEV1 greater than or equal to 80% of normal

Stage II, Moderate emphysema: FEV1 less than 80%, but greater than or equal to 50% of normal

Stage III, Severe emphysema: FEV1 less than 50%, but greater than or equal to 30% of normal

Stage IV, Very severe emphysema: FEV1 less than 30% of normal, OR less than 50% of normal with low blood oxygen levels

GOLD emphysema staging is well established and widely used. However, GOLD emphysema staging does not include other areas of functioning that are important, such as how people living with emphysema feel.
The BODE Emphysema Staging System

Emphysema affects more than the ability to blow air through a tube. The BODE index, another emphysema staging system, measures emphysema's impact on multiple areas in life:

Body mass index (B), or weight adjusted for height
Airflow limitation (O for obstruction), measured by pulmonary function tests.
Breathlessness (D for dyspnea), assessed by a questionnaire.
Exercise capacity (E), measured by how far a person with emphysema can walk in six minutes.

The BODE index does a slightly better job at determining emphysema prognosis than GOLD criteria.
Emphysema Life Expectancy and Emphysema Statistics

An emphysema prognosis is impossible to determine in any individual person. Although emphysema staging can help identify the severity of emphysema, it can't predict the future.

There have been no large studies to determine emphysema's effect on life expectancy. The largest and best studies have only included a few hundred people. Emphysema staging is helpful, but emphysema still varies widely between two people at the same stage.

Emphysema Life Expectancy and Emphysema Statistics continued...

In other words, available emphysema statistics aren't reliable for individual people seeking their emphysema life expectancy.

That said, the higher a person's emphysema staging is, the lower their long-term life expectancy. The GOLD and BODE emphysema staging systems provide slightly different information, summarized as follows:

More than 80% of people with mild emphysema are alive after four years.
60% to 70% of people with moderate emphysema are alive after four years.
Among people with severe emphysema (FEV1< 35% normal), about 50% are alive after four years.
People with the worst possible emphysema symptoms (such as inability to walk through the house and severe weight loss) have the shortest emphysema life expectancy.

Remember that emphysema life expectancy varies widely, even between people with the same pulmonary function tests and BODE index scores. Even with the most severe emphysema, the odds of surviving one year are higher than 90%. Your primary doctor or pulmonologist can provide more detailed information.

By far, the most important determinant of emphysema prognosis and emphysema life expectancy is whether someone continues smoking. Quitting smoking is the single most important treatment to improve emphysema life expectancy.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is one of the most common lung diseases. There are many things you can do to relieve symptoms and keep the disease from getting worse like avoiding cold air, eating healthy diet and reducing air pollution.

I wish I had seen this earlier,, I have COPD as well, I don't/can't smoke anything anymore. I vaporize at night after I get settled down after work. Yes, I still work, I have been on 3 different inhalers for a couple of years now. Spireva, Pro-Air, and Advair. I had no idea that this was a progressive disease, I guess my health care providors thought I'd have to do my own homework, lol. I've been a weldor for almost 40 years now, and I still weld, and I still grind as well, llol, I think I've been pretty lucky so far, I've been diagnosed for about 5 years now, so donn't give anyone a "death sentence" just because they have this, and above all, don't give yourself one either. After I get home tonight, I'm gonna load my vape and give all of ya'll a toast! Take care, and keep on breathin', I'll be back sooner next time, I kinda like this place! :vap_smiley:

Good luck to you NEw Guy. I hope you do well with treatment... Sending good thoughts your way.

ty Rose

So i have sleep apnea and asthma and am on CPAP after a few sleep studies was determined I do Not have COPD which is great news. I love the CPAP machine if anyone uses this with a full face mask they need to try to new nasal pillows with ear straps it's like not even having it on other then the air exhaust is pretty strong

So glad you don't have it. Awesome.

dociron said:

I wish I had seen this earlier,, I have COPD as well, I don't/can't smoke anything anymore. I vaporize at night after I get settled down after work. Yes, I still work, I have been on 3 different inhalers for a couple of years now. Spireva, Pro-Air, and Advair. I had no idea that this was a progressive disease, I guess my health care providors thought I'd have to do my own homework, lol. I've been a weldor for almost 40 years now, and I still weld, and I still grind as well, llol, I think I've been pretty lucky so far, I've been diagnosed for about 5 years now, so donn't give anyone a "death sentence" just because they have this, and above all, don't give yourself one either. After I get home tonight, I'm gonna load my vape and give all of ya'll a toast! Take care, and keep on breathin', I'll be back sooner next time, I kinda like this place! :vap_smiley:

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