https://www.copdfoundation.org/COPD360social/Community/COPD-Digest/Personal-Stories.aspx?Category=2

Mq-Lungs Guardian, Eldorado Springs, CO (2026)

04/19/2023

The four essentials all people with COPD need

A great doctor
I suppose this one goes without saying. But you will want to have a doctor who is empathetic and understanding.
Find a doctor who will take the time to adjust your treatment regimen as needed and explain things in an easy-to-understand manner.
Most certainly, a great COPD doctor can go a long way to helping you with all other aspects of living with this condition.

A COPD action plan
So, what do you do if you experience new or worsening symptoms? A COPD action plan is a plan you work on with your COPD doctor.
It is a plan that helps you to determine what actions you should take if you are experiencing new or worsening symptoms.
The plan includes things such as: Are you allowed to tweak your medicine regimen? Should you call your doctor?
Should you have someone drive you to the ER? Should you or someone around you call 911?
The idea here is that you will want to seek help when needed.

A treatment regimen
Thankfully we live in a time when many great medicinal options are available to you.
Finding what medicines work best for you is often said to be a matter of trial and error.
However, COPD treatment may involve much more than just taking medicines.
It may include using machines such as CPAP or BiPAP.
It may involve participating in pulmonary rehabilitation.
Your great doctor should work with you in helping you to find the best COPD management regimen that works ideally for YOU.

A management plan
So, what are you going to do to keep your COPD in check? If your doctor has prescribed medicines,
you’ll need a plan for when you will take them.
You will need some kind of strategy to remind you to take your medicines when they are due.
You’ll need a place to store your medicines.
I know some members of this community say they set their phone to alarm when their medicines are due.
Some members keep their pills organized in pill organizers or pill boxes.
I had one member recommend that I use a 30-day pill organizer.
That way, you only need to organize your pills once a month.
Do you use inhalers? You will want to work with a healthcare person
(a nurse, your doctor, or a pharmacist) to learn how to use the proper inhaler techniques.
A good inhaler technique lets you get the most out of the medicines you inhale.

04/16/2023

Targeted Lung Denervation for COPD
What is targeted lung denervation?
Targeted lung denervation (TLD) is a one-time, non-surgical, outpatient procedure.
The procedure is designed to reduce airway nerve activity.

During the procedure, a doctor inserts a thin, flexible tube through the mouth into the main airways of both lungs.
Once in place, the doctor inserts a small balloon through the tube and uses it to inflate the airways.

An electrode then delivers targeted radiofrequency (RF) to the nerves on the outside of the airways.
The tube is rotated, and the electrodes deliver RF several times to interrupt the nerve signals.

How does targeted lung denervation help manage COPD?
When we breathe, airflow in our lungs is controlled by communication along a nerve pathway that links our lungs and brain.
Research shows that in people with COPD, the nerves located on the outside of the airways are overactive.
In turn, these tell the brain and lungs to increase levels of mucus and tighten the airways. This makes breathing more difficult.

COPD drugs work by temporarily blocking some of these nerve signals to keep airways open and mucus levels down.
While these drugs can help with COPD symptoms, they do not always effectively control flare-ups.

TLD disables some of the nerves located outside of the airways.
This prevents them from sending an excess of signals that increase mucus and tighten the airways.
This reduces the risk of COPD flare-ups.

One study looked at 46 people who received TLD. Researchers looked at the long-term impact of TLD COPD flare-ups,
lung function, and quality of life over 3 years. The rate of people having at least 1 moderate or severe COPD flare-up included:1

70 percent at the 1-year follow-up
61 percent at the 2-year follow-up
46 percent at the 3-year follow-up
Lung function and quality of life remained stable over 3 years of follow-up visits.
This is a promising finding since most research shows that both lung function and quality of life decline as COPD progresses.

04/12/2023

How to Prevent a Flare-Up

Exercise
You must push yourself every day to exercise and move your body around.
This helps to strengthen the upper body and moves that stubborn mucus.
Take a walk around your neighborhood, a grocery store, or your own living quarters.
If you find it hard or are unable to exercise, consider chair exercises, or chair yoga instead.

Just choose to do something
Whatever you choose to do, do something to move around. Set a goal to get a certain number of steps per day.
It doesn’t matter what your goal is. The idea is to get started. I know it is not easy to follow an exercise routine every day,
in fact, some days are especially hard, but it is so very important to the state of our health.

Breathing and nutrition
Exercise also includes breathing exercises. Practicing breathing will help to train your brain in how to breathe through anxiety.
Our bodies need proper nutrition now more than ever. No more sugary foods with high carbohydrates because they cause nasty bloating.
Too much of a good thing can also be bad so following a proper food guide will tell you not only what to eat,
but also what portions are acceptable.

Positive thinking
This is maybe one of the hardest things to do when you suffer from COPD. However,
if you can find a way to gratitude and positivity, it will change your daily life for the better.

04/08/2023

The Role of Your Pharmacist in COPD Management

Medication reviews
If you are on multiple medications and it is becoming confusing to keep track of them all,
most pharmacies provide the option to book a private 1-on-1 session with the pharmacist.
The time will be spent going over your medications in depth. If any drug-related problems are identified,
your pharmacist will usually connect with your doctor to inform them of the issue.
This service is often provided at no cost to the patient.

Drug counseling
When you are prescribed a new drug, your doctor may not have time to go over the drug in extensive detail.
This is where your pharmacist steps in.
Pharmacists can inform you of the most common side effects and identify whether there are drug interactions with your other medications.

Financial assistance
If you are prescribed a drug that is not covered, your pharmacist may help you identify other agents that are covered by your insurance.
They may connect with the doctor and provide their recommendation so that a new prescription is sent over.

Emergency supplies
We have all had to deal with emergencies where we run out of medications before we are able to connect with our doctor for a new prescription.
In these cases, your pharmacist may provide you with an extension or emergency refill so that you don’t have to go without your medication.

Administering vaccinations
There are several vaccines that are recommended if you have COPD; some of them are a 1-time series,
and others are recommended yearly.
Most pharmacists are able to administer vaccines, which is often more convenient than waiting at your doctor’s office to
have the vaccine administered there.

04/04/2023

Encourage self-care
Keep in mind that our caregivers need to replenish and renew themselves every once in a while.
Nobody can work efficiently for extended periods of time without taking a break. It’s not selfish;
it’s a necessity that many simply try to ignore. Self-care makes the biggest difference in how our caregivers feel and increases what they are able to give back.

Recreational fun
My partner is a sports fanatic. I encourage him to attend live games and events when he can.
Sometimes it means just giving over the TV for a night so he can watch a game.
He likes to golf as many times as he can during the summer months.
I try my best not to make any appointments to make it possible for him to go.

Alone time
Giving your caregiver alone time every day is an excellent way to let them rejuvenate.
My partner is an early bird but I sleep late. He takes care of the dog, puts on a pot of coffee,
and experiences quiet time by reading for a few hours in the morning. Since I sleep in, this is 'me time' for him.

Family time
Encourage your caregiver to maintain a relationship with their family, and friends outside of you and your house.
I make sure to ask for what I will need before he leaves and find a way to entertain myself while he is gone.

04/01/2023

Why is a cough so important?
A cough is a reflex. In fact, the medical term for this is “cough reflex.”
Your cough reflex is a part of your immune system.
It’s one of the many natural mechanisms to help keep your lungs sterile or free and clear of germs.
Generally speaking, coughing is meant to keep your lungs healthy. Your airways are lined with a thin layer of sticky mucus.
When you inhale germs, these germs stick to the mucus, and the mucus balls up the germ.
This creates phlegm in the back of your throat.
This phlegm irritates nerves along your airways and this triggers your cough reflex.
This sends a signal to your brain to make you cough.

What happens if you don't cough?
Some people are unable to cough and others are able to cough but it is ineffective.
An ineffective cough means the phlegm may linger in your airways. When this happens,
it may create a breeding ground for germs. This increases your risk of developing diseases like pneumonia.
Pneumonia may trigger COPD flare-ups. It may cause respiratory failure and even death.

Enhancing a COPD cough
COPD is a disease that may generate extra mucus. And this mucus may linger in your lungs.
It may become thick and difficult to bring up.
Or, in some cases, you may not be able to generate enough flow to produce an effective cough.
So, we have some strategies that may help enhance your cough.
All of them are things that you can do on your own,
as they are quite simple. All of this is an effort to keep your lungs free and clear of germs.
It's a way of keeping your lungs healthy.
That is why coughing, while sometimes frustrating, is very beneficial.

03/28/2023

Incontinence and Shortness of Breath
Have you noticed that anytime you get short of breath, it leads to an urgent need to use the washroom?
First comes the inability to breathe, and if you don’t get it under control, along comes needing to run to the bathroom.
This loss of control is a highly uncomfortable feeling, and it is the ultimate betrayal.

The other night my husband and I were finishing dinner, and I took the last bite of my dinner roll with a big swig of water.
As they mixed in my mouth, it seemed to bottleneck and plug my throat. The bread seemed to expand and get more deeply lodged.
I could get no air in my throat, and no sound was coming out.
I was beginning to panic, so I had to concentrate on breathing through my nose along with controlling my thoughts.
This is when seconds feel like minutes and minutes seem like hours. Not able to breathe and lack self-control.

Preparing for moments of incontinence
In hindsight, I should have had my husband put towels under me and released myself of the burden. Instead,
I allowed my mind to race with two problems. How would I get my breath, and how would I get to the washroom?

It played a part that caused my shortness of breath to be exasperated. The anxiety that it caused was immeasurable.
In the future, and if these episodes become more frequent, I could consider some of the following:

Having incontinent pads or underwear for adults readily available
Practicing drills, much like we do fire drills. Knowing what you and your caregiver should do to make it easier for everyone.
Learning to meditate and fully practice mindfulness to help myself enhance and control my breath.
If this hasn’t happened to you, or you don’t know what I am talking about, you are among the very lucky.

What things do you do to avoid the embarrassment of incontinence?

03/25/2023

Sleeping: Recliner vs Bed
Sleeping is never easy when you have COPD. In the early stages of COPD,
I developed a nagging cough that intensified when I lay down to sleep.

Laying down exacerbates that cough, and we can and will cough until we elevate ourselves.
When coughing begins, it interrupts our sleep by waking us several times every night.

Benefits of coughing
Coughing is good for you. A productive cough, which accompanies mucus, allows us to rid our lungs of irritants that
can make us sick and cause shortness of breath. Coughing helps us to rid the irritants by moving mucus and expelling it up
and out of the lungs. Having a cough is a symptom of issues that are lurking. Pay attention to your cough and journal its changes
and what it could mean to you. Any significant changes in mucus production, such as color and texture, should be reported.

It could be time to begin your action plan, helping you feel better sooner, and it could save your life.
Sleeping in an elevated position might also help keep GERD at bay.

Sleeping in a recliner
From time to time, those with COPD will sleep on a recliner chair instead of our bed.
Having had abdominal surgery many years ago and unable to get comfortable in my bed,
I slept on my husband's recliner chair for many nights.

This works for those of us with COPD because it helps to elevate our torso, and that helps us to control our cough.
It also allows you to bend your legs while you sleep. We do have a hard time sleeping on flat surfaces.

COPD is a disease that often robs us of the sleep we need to repair our bodies.
I find it hard to recover the next day when I don't sleep well. My situation turned dangerous,
and I needed to find a way out of this pattern. Whatever your preference,
work on finding ways to make sleeping a celebration.Find ways to celebrate sleep.

03/21/2023

What are COPD triggers? What are some possible triggers? Some common triggers.

Weather
The weather can affect your lung health. Extreme heat and extreme cold can make breathing harder. High humidity also can be harmful.
Try to avoid going outside in extreme temperatures. If you have to go out when it is very cold, cover your nose and mouth with a scarf.
This helps warm the air you breathe.1,3

Allergens
Exposure to allergens can be harmful to people with COPD. Allergens are the things that trigger allergic reactions. They can include:3

Dust
Pet dander
Mold
Pollen
Try to vacuum often and keep your house clean to reduce allergens. Reduce clutter that can also collect dust in your home.
During allergy season, avoid going outside when pollen counts are high.3

Air pollution
Air pollution and bad air quality can make breathing hard for many people. Air pollution can come from factories, cars, smoke,
or other fumes. Check the air quality before you go outside. If the quality is bad, consider changing your plans.

The air quality inside your home can also affect COPD symptoms. If you have a fireplace, the smoke it produces can hurt your lungs.
Cooking and chemical fumes can also build up in your home. Make sure your house is well-ventilated.

03/18/2023

The Learning Curve of COPD

Finding my focus
Having a hobby works well for me. The only problem is that I tend to become focused on things and can’t put them down until they are either done,
or I am exhausted trying to finish them. Knitting, sewing, writing, or when all else fails I always try to learn something new.

Helping others helps me
My main focus for the most part is contributing to support groups. This helps to take the focus off of my breathing as I help others practice solutions for their breathing.
My motto is to learn what I teach. Regardless, staying busy is the key and when I can do that by helping others it really is a double win.

Having days to rest
Lately, I need rest days built into my schedule, and for the most part, I can do it unapologetically. Like it or not,
I have come to a place in my life where if I don’t listen to my body, my body reacts in a negative way.

Spending more time with books and music
I want to turn the tv off and turn the music back on, especially the oldies. Our generation had some great music and I want to revisit that.
My goal is to reduce the time I spend phone surfing and instead I want to listen more to music. My phone is my constant mate and is always eager to spend my time.

03/14/2023

The do not's of COPD

*Do not smoke. It is one of the leading causes of COPD
Not all people with COPD smoke or have smoked. Some developed their COPD in the workplace, others from secondhand smoke,
and others genetically.

20, 30, and even 40 might seem to be too young to have COPD. That is young, but it does happen.
It is not just for people in the 50 or older category.

*Do not take medications prescribed for others
Do not take diet medications unless prescribed by your doctor. Some medications can affect your heart and more.

Also, do not ever take medication made for an animal. Oxygen is a medication prescribed for each individual.
So not take it unless prescribed.

Do not turn your oxygen up higher than prescribed
Please do not take it upon yourself to increase your oxygen. Always get your doctor's approval first.

03/10/2023

Is it a Cold or the Flu?

Could your cough be due to the flu or a cold? Sometimes it is difficult to tell - and since both can exacerbate
COPD - it is important to be able to distinguish the differences.

According to WebMD, colds “usually begin abruptly with a sore throat followed by symptoms such as clear,
watery nasal drainage; sneezing; fatigue; and sometimes a low-grade fever.”

“A mild cough is a common cold symptom. The cough won’t get much worse, but this common cold symptom
is likely to last into the second week of your cold. If you suffer from asthma or other lung problem, a cold may make it worse.
If you are coughing up dark mucus — or if you are feeling a lot of distress in the lower parts of your lungs —
you may have a bacterial infection. It’s a good idea to touch base with your doctor to find out if you need to be seen.
Usually, there is no fever with common cold symptoms. In fact, fever and more severe symptoms may indicate that you have the flu and not a cold.”

With the flu, people might feel very weak and fatigued for up to two or three weeks.

“You’ll have muscle aches and periods of chills and sweats as fever comes and goes. You may also have a stuffy or runny nose,
headache, and sore throat,” WebMD.

Mq-Lungs Guardian

04/19/2023

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03/10/2023

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