Anointed's Story
My mother passed in 2009 with COPD. I was her sole caregiver 24/7. At the time I didn't know I had lung cancer. Anyway, in 2013 I had a chest X-ray for my annual checkup and the X-ray said I was clear. Then I started getting a pain in my right lower side so they ran a CT Scan which picked up I had three nodules on my left lower lobe in my lung. I was put on high doses of antibiotics and it cleared the two nodules but one module remained. So the doctor wanted to wait and watch. Every three months the nodule was getting bigger. Finally, in Feb, 2015 I went to a Thoracic Surgeon who did Vats Surgery. I was in the hospital for four days. I was diagnosed with Stage l Adenocarcinoma in my LLL and they removed it.
So far, I've been in remission for over a year. I was told I had asthma. Found out its COPD. Recently I had to go to the ER because I was gasping for air. The ER put a steroid shot in my IV. Sent me home with predisone and dual neb treatment every two hours. Now I'm told I have COPD. I still gasp for air. I can't walk to the bathroom without feeling exhausted. Sometimes my throat closes up on me when I drink or eat something and I can't get air in or out. With that happening, I have to relax my mind and not panic or it will be worse. It's a terrible feeling of fear and panic not being able to breathe. I've been on so many inhalers and neb medication but nothing helps. If this is the early stage of COPD, I don't want to see stage four. My mother's COPD was not like this. She had moments of feeling like it was hard for her but she was in her last stages. I smoked for over fifty years plus cancer and COPD runs high on both sides of the family. I know what to expect with lung cancer but to me, COPD is worse than cancer. Plus a year ago I found out I have diabetes ll. Does anything I've said sound like what you have gone through? I'm open for help in this journey!
Thanks for letting me vent.
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