Hope for COPD

My lil Tiny last summer in Myrtle Beach. So, things are kinda crazy in my life right now. Most of you know about the move, I still haven't made... Too many loose ends to tie up before I can do that. Had a friend that needed a place to stay, she stole from me, and has tried to cause trouble for me. Oh well... Won't be helping her again. This old house is FULL of stuff from my parents and I have to find a way to get rid of all of the things left here, get the yard in order, and all presentable. Thing is I have zero help. So, I have to hire help to take care of everything. Good help is hard to find.  Also, some of you might remember my trip from hell last summer... Well, I am going again. Call me crazy, I know. Haha. Just can't let my father go alone. Hoping to get over this massive chest cold before we leave on Friday. Remember, if you have COPD, you want to take an expectorant, NOT a suppressant. An expectorant will help thin the mucus in your lungs and you will be be...

New Study for People with Severe to Very Severe COPD This research study is testing whether a new investigational drug that targets eosinophils (a type of white blood cell) could help patients with  COPD   (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) control symptoms and reduce exacerbations (flare-ups) that lead to hospitalizations. The new investigational drug will be compared to oral and inhaled corticosteroids, the current standard of care for COPD. More about the study: The study drug (Benralizumab) is administered by Subcutaneous (under the skin) injection (SC). There will be 3794 participants in this trial If you are interested, please find the full study details and eligibility criteria listed  here . Eligibility Criteria: Participants must: be between 40 – 85 years old have been diagnosed by a medical professional as having severe to very severe COPD be a current smoker or former smoker Participants must not: be taking any steroid medicat...

How to Improve Indoor Air Quality in 14 Easy Steps Face it, upon the diagnosis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) which is an umbrella term that includes emphysema and chronic bronchitis, you have to constantly consider if the environment you are in is safe for your respiratory health. With a diagnosis of a chronic lung disease there are numerous lung irritants no matter where you go, but the one place that should be your respiratory safe haven is your home. Today we will be discussing 14 tips on how you can ensure that your home is free of symptom worsening lung irritants so you can relax and actually enjoy the time you spend at home. Enough chatter, it’s time to get into the nitty gritty details of how to effectively improve your home’s indoor air quality starting today. The Three Types of Substances that Reduce Indoor Air Quality: Allergens – This type of substance causes your body’s immune system to have an allergic response. Typically the most common sources of...

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...

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...

Stress Awareness Month #4 8 Items to relieve stress!  While I love movies, music, and games to help relieve stress... Sometimes, I am just not in the mood for them. Exercise, breathing, and humor, are things that work well too. But, what are some other things you can do? Well, here are MORE ideas on how you can reduce that terrible stress! Here are some of my favorite items! I am only suggesting one supplement, one I have used for many years. This B Complex can help provide energy, restful sleep, and is a immune system booster. Great for times of great stress, or as a general everyday supplement.  Nature Made Stress Complex Tablets My eldest daughter suffers from terrible anxiety and has found this first item to be something that really helps her. It is a great stress reliever too! And, I have to play with it when I visit her. LOVE this stuff! Kinetic Sand Because we have COPD, we must be careful of the air quality we are breathing into our fragile ...

Top 6 Foreign Films to watch when you are too sick to get out of bed. I love foreign films! You know, the ones you have to read and watch at the same time? You should never watch a foreign film with voice over in your language, unless it is filmed in your language! LOL You lose the feelings, the drama, the intensity. Here are my 6 FAVORITE movies, ever.  There is some sensitive subject matter discussed and shown in these films. So please be warned, they may be a trigger for some.  The Scent of Green Papaya This Vietnamese film follows a young servant girl named Mui into adulthood where she is now serving a handsome pianist whom she has admire for many years. This is a beautiful film, one I can watch over and over.  Ma Vie en Rose This amazing French language film follows the lovable Ludvic whose gender was chosen at birth to be male, as he professes his wishes to be a girl. His family humors his wishes, but this causes trouble for his p...

Dearest You, I just want to take a few minutes to thank you for reading, commenting, sharing! It really means a lot to me that you read my posts, share my tweets. I hope that the content I put out is helpful to you, and if there is anything you would like me to cover just leave a comment for me!  You are the reason I do this every day! We need to be informed so that we can make educated decisions about our care, or the care of a loved one.  As we spread information, we help patients learn about their illness. Not only are we helping others with COPD, but other chronic illnesses as well. We are keeping information fresh in medical professionals minds, raising awareness to the issues we as patients face.  As some of you may know, my mission this year is to erase the stigma that comes with a COPD diagnosis. That stigma, is preventing much needed funding for research, and the research itself to be done. Don't get me wrong, there IS research being done and...

What is this IODINE that I keep posting about? IODINE, is an amazing site and Chrome browser extension!  Why am I writing about this? I am always reading and posting new information about COPD research and information. This tool will help you, as it helps me, make the best of the research and information.  When we can really understand what we are reading, we can better understand our disease, treatment  options, medications, and better communicate with our doctors about our concerns. Education is POWER! You install it to your Chrome browser and it will search for medical terminology or jargon, then highlight and translate it to simpler terms when you move your mouse over it!  This makes reading medical information a breeze for those who have little or no medical background, or even those that have been out of service for many years. Like a refresher course! This picture shows you what it will look like after being installed,...

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 s ent 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 li...

WHAT IS A SPOONIE??? I used to look at people so differently.  Especially, the people parked in the handicap parking spots. I didn't really see them.... Never really thought to much about them. When I did think of them, it was to help them load their van with the groceries they bought, or let them know the door in  back  was still open. But a part of me, was jealous that they got special treatment. Now... I look at them, HARD. That is now my special parking place! Then I look at myself...  I don't look sick.  Sure, I have gained weight due to my illness. But, there is nothing on the outside that screams I need this parking place. I have no wheelchair, no crutches, no service dog, I have all of my limbs. Now, I just look like I am too lazy to walk any further.  I know. Some of you may know. We have a secret.  Within our able looking bodies, hides a serious disability. One that takes our breath away, limits the amount ...