Well we had an appointment with my pulmonologist, I guess as a general follow up which was nice since I had not actually seen him since my latest spirometry test.
The doctor seemed ok with where things are at. Seems good with the fact that my new pacemaker is helping with recuperating time when I do have a bout with ‘short of breath’ and says maybe come back in like 6 months.
Frustrations came to the surface when my wife began asking a few questions and basically got the only answer the doctor could give – that’s part of having COPD, some things are not fixable.
My wonderful ‘sidekick for life’ cares so much, but like me gets so frustrated with my bouts of ‘short of breath’ and lack of ability to take really good, deep breaths without breaking into a cough before getting it done.
Granted my COPD, though listed at late Stage III due to a FEV1 number of 32, is not as rough and nasty as many I share with on the internet group pages – but it is bad enough to keep me disabled.
No I am not on oxygen 24/7 because I seem able to keep a consistent level of 92-93 and with my pacemaker helping during recuperating times it seldom drop below the 88 level, at least at this point in time.
Yet I still get so ‘short of breath’ when attempting to do any major physical activity for more than 10-15 minutes at which time I need to take a break for that recuperate time.
Yet I still struggle going up and down a lot of stairs without having to stop for a moment or two or three.
The time ahead for now looks steady and as long as I keep working on those dutiful daily exercising by walking or traveling the back roads (in my mind) on my stationary bike that time frame could be long enough for plenty of memories and good times.
So back to the questions of the doctor, who agrees that we could try some other meds but most of those are of a powdery substance and my lungs have been down that road and caused more problems than they were fixing.
Frustration is just part of the deal with my battle with COPD and I know I have come to grips with that, at least most of the time – now to help the wonderfully, caring sidekick understand that those frustrations are real and will not go away, they are just part of the deal I/we have been given.
Her frustration does come from sometimes not wanting to realize that I will never get better, but instead it is just a question of how long I can keep the eventual progress of my COPD from taking the lead.
So today was one of those days of frustrations, doctors and time – something which I am sure many of you reading this can relate to.
As always – if you or anyone you know have any symptoms involving lung and breathing functionality, and they linger over and over while disrupting a lifestyle – then please ask questions and get it checked out.
Remember always that without breathing a person is without life itself.
With that I bid to all – smiles, prayers, blessings and steady breathing – Mr. William.
(Copyright@2014, CrossDove Writer)
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