Help for wife
My wife has copd,the help she gets from her doctor is nil,she has an inhaler and that is all .They have not given her any advice how to cope she also has fibromyalga and is in constant pain with that she can only walk about 15 ft and it is like she has just ran a marathon, does anyone have advice on any aids or other things that might help with her breathing.
CommunityMemberb137b8,
Unfortunately, there are no doctors here and medical advice is something no one on this forum board is qualified to give. If your current medical team is not helping with advice to help cope with COPD, then find a better medical team. Do you have a pulmonologist? If not, that would be where I would start. A few other things you can do is read as much information as you can find on the internet about coping and controlling COPD. Since everyone's COPD is different, there are no set of rules to go by. It is a medical condition that is individual to each person who suffers with it. What works for me, might not work for you. What aggravates my COPD, might not bother your wife's COPD. Has she had a PFT breathing test to determine the extent of her COPD? Sorry I cannot be of more help. Not being a doctor or a pulmonologist, there is no way to really give advice on what she can do to aid her breathing. Like I said earlier in this post, you need to find a better medical team and a pulmonologist to determine a proper treatment program for your wife. I wish there was more I could do for you. Take care and God Bless!
HI.
Welcome to our community. Thank you for your post here. Your dedication to seeking solutions for your wife is truly commendable. I would like to add here that I agree 100% with the comment of above. If your wife is not receiving the support she needs from her current medical team, considering alternate doctors might be a beneficial step. Specifically, seeking a referral to a pulmonologist, who specializes in lungs and COPD, could open up new avenues for tailored treatment -- be it medications, aids, or other approaches. What do you think? John. community moderator. I don't know where in the world you live,but in the UK it is not possible to just change your doctors it is very hard to get another doctor.
Hello! I too live in the US, so again things are a little different here right? Wondering has your wife been back to the doctor since she got the inhaler that is not helping her? There is many medications out on the market for both COPD and Fibromyalgia that maybe the doctor would prescribe something different if he/she knew that the current treatment was not working. Another thought was maybe your wife could make an appointment with her doctor and that both of you could go in. Why you too? From my own experience I get side tracked easily when at the doctors, answering questions and trying hard to pay attention to what I am being told. What happens is that I am so worn out with pain and not breathing well that I miss telling the doctor all the issues my current medical conditions are causing, even if asked that question, the brain fog and lack of being able to concentrate just messes with me and my ability to advocate for myself at times. Could this be happening to your wife? I know have my husband or another adult family member go with me to many of my appointments. Before we go, we as a "team" set down and make a note of what we would like to discuss with the doctor and what we would life to come out of the visit if possible, from nothing special to trying a new medication. Please keep in mind that it might take a few tries of different medications to find the one that works the best for your wife. Oh and the person that goes with me talks as much as I do to ensure all the discussion points we wanted handled gets covered. Just a thought from another suffer of multiple chronic medical issues. Best to you both! 
It's getting that way here in the U.S too. Even as an established patient it often takes me months to get in to see any of my doctors, but a pulmonologist is a great idea! Best of luck in that department. Stay tuned. You may read something in this, or conversations in another post that you could bring up with her current medical professional until you are able to find a lung specialist.
