Skip to main content

Is it COPD? Or something else?

Is it COPD? Or something else?


Every week I scour the internet and medical journals for new COPD related information. I came across this news article, by a small TV news Team. I thought it was important to get this information out globally. So I sent out a Tweet about it. 

 I got several replies thanking me for the tweet! 

 Apparently, this is something that medical professionals need to be more aware of when diagnosing and treating COPD patients or others with respiratory ailments. 
Open         Collapsing Collapsed

 In a nutshell, the trachea and bronchi become weakened, flaccid, and collapse usually when one is breathing harder than normal, eating, crying or, you guessed it... Coughing. 

 I have ALWAYS told my doctors that when I have an exacerbation, it feels like my throat is closing. I can't get air in or out. So this is something I will be having checked at my next appointment. 

 If you too feel like this, it can't hurt to mention it to your doctor and ASK for testing! PUSH for testing if they brush off your concerns. It is okay to stand up to a doctor that is not listening to your concerns. Or change doctors, this is your health we are talking about. 

Here are some links to the articles so you can read directly from the sources. 

Here is the original story from WCVB Channel 5 Boston's News Leader, about a young woman named Jennifer Champy who was misdiagnosed for many years. 


Here are two more links related to the story:



(If you use Chrome, you may want to install the IODINE medical jargon translator to help you understand some of the terms used. It is FREE, follow this link http://www.iodine.com/translate then click the purple install button.)

As always, thank you so much for reading!
~April


 Please join the Facebook group HOPEforCOPD for more support! 
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

COPD Unaware

COPD Unaware A guest post by Duke Reeves  Despite the advances in medicine and technology, COPD rates and the financial burden of COPD continue to rise. While part of the rising rates can be attributed to a growing population, the bottom line is that the majority of COPD cases are preventable through awareness and education.  The most common symptoms and signs of COPD are shortness of breath, chest tightness, coughing up mucus, and a chronic cough. Looking at these symptoms, it’s easy to see how we can brush them off and assume they are from a common cold or old age. However, by brushing these symptoms off we are setting ourselves up for a potentially rude awakening. COPD is a progressive disease which means the longer it goes untreated the more damage it’s going to cause. The best way to ensure you live a full life with COPD is by catching the disease as early as possible. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) predicted COPD would become the 3 rd leading cause of death in
Post a Comment
Read more

COPD at 40

COPD AT 40 Hi everyone, let me start by introducing myself. My name is Justine Peach. I am a 40 year old woman with a beautiful 16 year old daughter and I live in Melbourne Australia. I used to have a wonderful job that I loved doing. I worked as a nursery hand in a wholesale plant nursery. I moved between two different areas every six months. For the first six months I would be doing all areas of the work place. I would transplant baby plants into trays on a conveyor belt or moving trays of plants to their designated area to grow. Once ready we would be moving the trays from the ground to a trailer attached to a buggy and put them down ready to pick orders. Staking tomato plants, or watering the entire stock. Sweltering on hot days in greenhouses. There were many different areas and depending on staff and stock as to what our job for the day would be. The other six months I would spend at the main nursery department as a dispatch worker. Getting plants ready to load on t
Post a Comment
Read more

Am I Unworthy Of Love Because I Have COPD?

Post a Comment
Read more