Making Lifestyle Changes Due to COPD

I'm sure the list is long with all the things that we can not do or that are too hard for us to do because of our COPD. My family probably gets tired of hearing me mention the things I can no longer do, since I know I get frustrated at myself when I dwell on them.

I believe that we can set ourselves up for failure or depression if we let ourselves dwell on these things. Instead of dwelling on them or getting depressed about the things I can't do, I decided to look at things a little differently.

Adapting your routine for bad breathing days

Can I really not do these things anymore, or do I just need to alter how I do them? If I really can't do them, is there something else that I can do to take their place?

If I can find a way to adapt and do tasks more slowly, I will continue doing them myself. For instance, I can’t get down on the floor anymore to do some chores that may need to be done lower to the floor or on the floor.

I now use a little stool that I can sit on. Although standing up from the stool can be difficult, it allows me to complete my tasks. I sit on it to reach my lower cupboards or dust my lower shelves.

On bad breathing days, I vacuum in short intervals and take frequent sitting breaks to recover. While I’m still sitting in my chair after recovering, I will sit and vacuum the area around my chair, rest, and then get up and finish.

I am the same way with the rest of my house cleaning. I sit and rest and go back at it again.

Getting help with cleaning

There are quite a few things that I am just unable to do anymore, which include mopping the floor on my hands and knees or scrubbing the shower like I used to. Those are the things that I ask for help with. My husband will do these things or any of my kids offer as well.

Recently, I have been paying my granddaughter to do it for me. She reminds me that I don’t need to pay her and that she wants to do it for me.

I want to pay her though and tell her it is very nice that she wants to do it for me and she should offer to others. That is the right thing to do, but I enjoy paying her so she can save the money that she needs to travel with me like she wants this summer.

She wants to go to the next Alpha-1 conference so she can help me with everything. She is such a sweetie.

Adjusting your grocery shopping habits

Another thing I've changed is how I go shopping. Most of the time now I shop online and drive to the grocery store to pick it up. My husband will do the shopping if needed, but I think we both prefer the pickup. It saves our energy for other things.

I know a lot of us don’t like to get out anymore because it’s so hard at times. My suggestion for that is to have someone drop us off and pick us up at the doors.

Bring a walker, wheelchair, or scooter so we can keep getting out and doing the important things. Even if it’s just getting out for a ride in the car, I think we need to get out as much as we can for our mental health.

Lifestyle changes with COPD

These are just a few things I have changed so I can still do things I enjoy. It can be hard at times, but I want to keep doing as much as I can for as long as I can, so I'll keep adapting or get help with certain activities.

Of course, we are all in different stages in our COPD life, so these adaptations may not be the same for everyone.