Hi there Good People!
I had a terrible respiratory illness at age 33 and bam- I developed what doctors thought was asthma. But after getting tons of PFT’s they determined i didn't have any airflow reversibility or it’s too limited to be asthma. This shocked me because Ive always been healthy and have never smoked or been around much in my life. I also tested negative for alpha 1 ant gene. I also have NO allergies. So, i just up and have copd at such a young or at least - younger age- and ive never smoked. So odd and very upsetting. Of course, thankfully, my pft shows “mild obstruction”. BUT, my shortness of breath, mucus production and exacerbations are not mild feeling! Im on Breztri (its newer) and it helps but i feel like i always get sick (cold, run down, etc) on it. Recently it was discovered that I also have an immunodeficiency where i have low immunoglobulins so my doctors think im just more prone to respiratory issues. Makes sense. Anyway, so, i do as much as i can to keep healthy and tame my symptoms but it all feels like my lungs have a mind of their own. I eat well. Im a mom of a toddler so my life is more demanding than i feel my health would prefer. My biggest fear and sadness is this disease will progress and ill be on an oxygen tank by the time im 45 or something. I just feel so angry this happened to me for no good reason but such is life. I realize many of you struggle so so deeply day in and day out with your disease. So, please accept my sincerest apologies if any of this understandably makes you feel sad, invisible or offended. Please know ive been reading and studying a lot and i very much take you and your reality into my mind and heart. So to get down to it, while i realize everyone is different, id love to hear peoples stories who were similar to mine and how they are currently doing.
Thanks very much for your time and effort in reading this.