Hello everyone,
I'm from Germany, 40 years old and new to this forum. I think it's great that there is such a forum and it gives you hope, as there are some people here who have their COPD very well under control.
Now briefly to my story and question:
I've had shortness of breath on and off since May 2023, which I initially blamed on mental health issues. Since it got acutely worse in December, I stopped smoking straight away and finally made an appointment with my GP. A spirometry was carried out there and I was diagnosed with COPD. Unfortunately, my doctor didn't have time to talk to me about the results but simply gave me an inhaler to use immediately (Incruse Ellipta).
Unfortunately, the inhaler did not bring any improvement, but rather made me feel worse, which is why I gave it up after using it only 3 times.
Since then, I have had some good days without breathlessness and some bad days. Above all, however, I am currently having very short nights.
When it was very bad again last Friday, I called my GP and told him that I couldn't hold out like this until my appointment with the specialist. He then prescribed me salbutamol over the phone. This spray at least has a noticeable effect when the breathlessness gets worse, but my sleep is still poor.
Today I had another appointment with my GP because of my high blood pressure and my sleep situation. He prescribed a different antihypertensive and a different long-acting inhaler (Onbrez Breezhaler).
On leaving the surgery I asked about my PFT levels and of course did a bit of research. I would like your opinion on the values. Are they more likely to indicate asthma? I'm afraid to use the new inhaler because the instructions say not to use the medication for asthma. What is your opinion on PFT? Of course I know that there are mixed forms of COPD/asthma and that ultimately only an appointment with a specialist can clarify the situation. I'm just a bit doubtful because I keep finding it very difficult to breathe. Thank you very much for your assessment. And thanks again for having this community.