From my understanding, there are two main types of COPD: chronic bronchitis and emphysema. I’ve read a lot of helpful posts from people who have chronic bronchitis or asthma, but just wondering if there are any here who have lived many (good) years with emphysema? I was diagnosed with “minimal” centrilobular emphysema almost 2 years ago, but my pulmonologist went back and looked at my old CT scans and said that there were tiny blebs present on my CTs 4 years ago, despite none of the radiologists ever mentioning emphysema. So I’ve had emphysema iat least 4 years. (I started seeing a pulmonologist because I had pretty bad Covid in late 2020 and had persistent ground glass nodules on my CT scans, nodules which subsequently went away.)
I don’t smoke, I avoid sick people, and I live a healthy life with a lot of aerobic exercise and walking 4 miles every day with my husband. I don’t have any symptoms and my pulmonary function tests have all been normal.
I keep seeing articles that say emphysema is the last stage of COPD, which of course fills me with dread and unease. So I guess what I’m asking is, is there anyone here who has emphysema and who has lived 10 or 20 years or even more without grave difficulty (eg; having to stay in bed with an oxygen tank)?
Honestly, though I was pretty scared when I first got the diagnosis, as time has gone on, many days I forget that I even have emphysema. It just doesn’t come to the forefront of my daily life because I have no symptoms. But as a daily practice I religiously avoid being around any kind of smoke whatsoever, I get my flu shot, take vitamins, and avoid sick people. But now and then I will come across an article that is pretty scary about emphysema being the last stage before death. So just wondering if anyone here can share their experience of having a so just wondering if anyone here can share their experience of having emphysema and how long they’ve had it and what life has been like? Thank you!