Hi all! I hesitate to post asking a question as there are so many on this board really struggling with this disease, but then I thought, well, they are the experts! And I am a collector of information, lol.
I'm 61 years old and about, a year and a half ago I was diagnosed with asthma and COPD. I don't have a bad cough, or a lot of mucus, so most likely I have more the emphysema component. My Dr tells me my asthma is moderate/severe and I'm at moderate COPD stage. All in all not too bad. I use Advair 250/50 twice a day and rescue inhaler as needed. I needed it a lot the first few months while they were trying out different meds, the Advair finally did the trick. For the first year I rarely needed my rescue inhaler and my O2 was usually around 94, 95, 96.
Over the past maybe 6 months, I've been more short of breath, with my O2 around 91-94, 95 when I'm feeling great! In the morning it's lower, around 89, 90, 91, then goes up for a few hours and I feel much better, mornings are bad for breathing and talking! I usually can't finish a sentence the first couple of hours. In the evening, my O2 goes back down, anywhere from 88-92.
My chest almost always feels tight, sometimes like there's a band tightening around it. Many days now I need to use my rescue inhaler mid morning as it's just too difficult to try and talk and do much of anything. One moning, I had to do it twice as there was no change. After using the rescue twice in about 3 hours it finally calmed down. One other thing I have noticed, actually it began around 6 years ago, and has gotten worse over the years, when I raise my arms over my head, to put dishes away, reach up for something, I get very short of breath and my O2 drops. Taking a shower is difficult, I get pretty short of breath doing that, too.
I guess my question is, is this simply the normal progression? I have a family Dr but haven't needed to see a pulmonologist at this point. I did have the spirometry test and my FEV1 (?) was 67%. Which isn't too bad compared to many on the board!
Thank you for any advice and information you would like to share!
Terry