New member struggling with COPD

You are FAR from being alone with what you describe. This site is a fine source of information for many of the things that will cause you grief. You can use the search engine, and it may take a minute to piece together the information to give you a clearer snapshot of where you are, what to expect, and most notably, how to best handle it.
I am also 62. I also had this set on extremely rapid. I find that good days now would be considered as bad days years ago. Smoking is something I gave up immediately when I awoke in the ICU. I have never looked back, but anything that I can do to ease this burden, I am willing to do. Not everyone can just quit. It is still hard, 2 1/2 years on now. But I have the luxury of also being an alcoholic in recovery for 30+ years, so understanding addiction is natural for me. Simply another hurdle to get over.
But please save yourself from that grief and base what you are feeling, the struggles, and the results of changes you make in your day to day life. Base everything from this point in time. You have reset the starting position in life, and there is no going back. But there is a lot of hope. You can find much of it within this website. And there will always be a sympathetic ear waiting for you when you need it.
Best wishes, keep yer stick on the ice.

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I am sorry to hear about the troubles and struggles you are having. Sounds like you are in a late stage of COPD. Maybe stage 3 or 4? This disease can definitely take over your mind and make it very hard to think of anything else but the misery you are going through daily. Pretty much everyone with any stage of COPD suffers with quality of life. I am only stage 2, not on oxygen, and can still do lots of things, but mostly indoors with temperature and humidity controlled conditions. I usually cannot be outside for any length of time. Where I live it is too hot and humid for me to be able to breathe from April through October. The only way to deal with it is to come to terms with it, understand it, and do as much as possible to follow a plan that works for you to control as much as possible. From your post, I assume you are in the United Kingdom. I don't know a lot about the medical system there, but would hope you could get to see a pulmonologist. You need to discuss a treatment plan with him/her that works for you and gets your condition under control. Stopping smoking is an absolute must. I quit smoking about 10 years before being diagnosed with COPD. Even 1 cigarette a day will aggravate your condition. You must figure out what causes your flare ups. For me they are caused by weather that is too hot and/or humid, cold weather, air pollution, dust, high winds, cleaning product smells, fragrance smells, animal dander and hair, catching a cold or flu, etc. When you figure out those things, you learn to avoid them. It will take time and effort. At some point you would benefit from pulmonary rehab. It will help you tremendously. Daily exercise is a must. You have to strengthen your chest and lung muscles and keep them working at their optimum. It sounds like a lot and probably seems impossible at this point. But it isn't. You have to commit to helping yourself get control and do all you can for you. If you need therapy to help you get your thoughts under control, then please seek some help. Please do not give up and let your mind control you and your body. You must be in control. Changing the way you think and getting a positive attitude helps more than you realize right now. Is it easy? No. It is probably the hardest thing you can do. But once you can calm down and gain control of your mind, you can gain control of how you treat yourself and this condition. Don't give in. Fight back and take control. Please let the forum know how you are progressing. I am here everyday checking the forum, so you can post anytime and I will do my best to answer and encourage you as best I can. Take care and God Bless!