COPD360social welcomes new member Donald Whittaker who joins 64,234 current members of our community. Weโ€™re glad you're here!

Coach Brandon - Community Manager

Coach Brandon - Community Manager

Hello December, 360social! โ„

Here we are, stepping right into the colder part of the year. This is a great time to take a quick look at the things that help keep you feeling your best -- making sure medications are filled, keeping your usual supplies handy, and staying mindful of those early signs that an exacerbation might be trying to sneak in. A little preparation now can make these chilly days a lot smoother.

December also has a way of making us pause and look back on the year. Weโ€™ve had moments of change, moments of strength, and moments that reminded us just how important this community is. Weโ€™ve had to say goodbye to friends far too soon, and they remain close to our hearts. Weโ€™ve also welcomed new faces and leaned on the steady support of those whoโ€™ve been with us for years.

Iโ€™m really grateful for all of you. Letโ€™s head into this month staying warm, staying prepared, and staying connected. Hereโ€™s to December and to being here for each other! ๐Ÿ’™๐Ÿงก

6 days ago

Coach Brandon - Community Manager

Coach Brandon - Community ManagerWishing everyone a relaxing finish of a wonderful weekend as we start our new week! 

1 hour ago

Bob Haller

Bob Haller

Hello! I am new to this site but not new to COPD. I was officially diagnosed about 15 years ago and was warned I was on my way to emphysema long before that. I am finally at the point where enough is enough. I am tired of NOT being able to do what I want or anything for that matter. I have asthmas as well and diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and many other things. It is time to fight back but I have no energy ever. When I do get energy and do something it costs me for several days after being sore and exhausted. Having trouble keeping my O2 at or above 90% where the Dr. wants me to be. Just frustrating to me. I hope I find what would help me on here. I already read the information section and have learned more in 1 day than I have ever. Right now my biggest issue is breathing in the cold weather. Scarfs etc create anxiousness for me. I am looking into pollution respirators right now. Does anyone know if these help in the cold by warming the air some before breathing it in? Thanks in advance for any help given.

5 hours ago

Abeba

AbebaFrom Heartbreak to Action: A Pathway Forward

Dear COPD360 community,

Thank you for the heartfelt responses to Destaโ€™s story. Your question โ€” โ€œWhat can we do?โ€ โ€” is where hope begins.
In my region, non-smoking women carry the highest burden of COPD โ€” mainly not from tobacco, but from a lifetime of cooking over woodfires. For them, a spirometer is a rumor and home oxygen remains out of reach.
I joined this community to find partners in creating real change. Many of you have the resources, voice, and connections to turn awareness into action.
Here is how we can work together:
1. AWARENESS THAT REACHES THE KITCHEN
Help create local-language materials to teach families about the link between woodsmoke and lung disease.
2. ACCESS TO CLEAN COOKING SOLUTIONS
Partner to bring safe, affordable stoves to high-risk villages.
3. DIAGNOSTIC DIGNITY
My university hospital has no pulmonary unit or spirometer, despite high respiratory disease burdens. We need equipment and training.
4. RESEARCH TO DRIVE ADVOCACY
I plan to study COPD in non-smoking women, documenting fuel use and lung function. Local evidence is vital for policy change.
5. OXYGEN AS A HUMAN RIGHT
Many women remain in the hospital simply because they cannot access oxygen at home. If anyone has connections to oxygen-access projects suited for rural or low-resource settings, I would welcome a conversation If you have expertise, organizational ties, funding leads, or simply the will to help โ€” please message me or comment below. I am ready to collaborate.
Even sharing this post spreads visibility.
Desta asked, โ€œLet me go home. โ€Together, we can help bring her โ€” and thousands like her โ€” home to breath, dignity, and life.
(Image credit: John Doe / CC BY 4.0)

6 hours ago

Jazzybean

Jazzybeananswered the question PFT findings -air trapping, any comments?

Keir123 I read with great interest your frustrating journey with testing, anxiety and the search for answers. I think I am a lot older than you, I am 70 , but have gone through something similar as you for the past ten years. Basically I have felt a lot …
WildebeestKeir123KarinaDKand 2 others also answered the question Wildebeestand 4 others also answered the question

10 hours ago

DebbieB.-Connecticut State Captain

DebbieB.-Connecticut State CaptainHappy Sunday! 
Remember, you can always make your own sunshine! โ˜€
Keep a smile on your face, and you'll always be in the right place! ๐Ÿ˜€

16 hours ago

Wildebeest

Wildebeestanswered the question What causes short sharp pains in the right lung?

I get this in my left lung. It has happened for years. The pain makes it hard to take a full breath in. It usually lasts for a maximum of 5 or 10 minutes and then vanishes as suddenly as it arrived. Sometimes I can tolerate the pain enough to force a …
brydy also answered the question brydy also answered the question

1 day ago

DebbieB.-Connecticut State Captain

DebbieB.-Connecticut State CaptainHappy Saturday, friends! I hope you all have a wonderful day, filled with sunshine and joy! ๐Ÿ˜€โค๐Ÿ’š

1 day ago

Faithlynn

Faithlynn

Hello everyone new to this all and trying to understand this copd 

1 day ago

Dinna25

Dinna25answered the question Can COPD be cured/reversed?โ€‹

Shar_bear0608 Welcome, A month / 5 weeks ago I was afraid just like you have said, but try not to be. I personally have found that the exercises reduce the sob, I am fully aware we are all different and copd effects us all different. I am no expert …
Caroline West Virginia State CaptainKaren Deitemeyer - Florida State Captain also answered the question Caroline West Virginia State Captainand 1 other also answered the question

2 days ago

ZaydeBob

ZaydeBobasked the question: What causes short sharp pains in the right lung?

I'm in the midst of a long exacerbation (23 days and counting). This afternoon, I started having short duration, sharp pains in my right lung. I'm still waiting for my pulmonologist to get back to me. Besides the acute bronchitis, I still have a sinus …

2 days ago

john87

john87answered the question Has anyone here used OnlineGenericMedicine in India to purchase their inhalers?

WARNING: THIS COMPANY IS A SCAM FROM INDIA!!! They stole my money. They scam everyone, just look them up on Google. Nobody receive their order. All the reviews are fake.
Sundowner37Jean IA State CaptainSDMand 1 other also answered the question Sundowner37and 3 others also answered the question

2 days ago

EbonySuede

EbonySuede

Karen Deitemeyer, it was a pleasure to have met you the other day and thanks for all the hardwork and advocacy you do

2 days ago

Coach Brandon - Community Manager

Coach Brandon - Community ManagerMy Hearts & Pawprints Fluffy Friday โ€” this is my sweet Maks.

He joined our family during a difficult time, a therapy dog gifted to my mom when she moved back to Arkansas after her husband passed. And somehow, he ended up bringing comfort to all of us.

Heโ€™d wait for me when he knew I was on my way โ€” watching, dancing when he saw my car, howling with joy, guiding me into the driveway, and wrapping me up in his version of a hug.

We were blessed to have those years with him. A truly special soul. Lucky to share his memory.

2 days ago

Dr SK Chhabra

Dr SK Chhabra

Thank you. Pleasure to be here. I am a Chest specialist from New Delhi

2 days ago

ZaydeBob

ZaydeBob

Hi Folks,  I was diagnosed with COPD 3 years ago.  I started using Breztri 2 years ago and it really helped reduce the frequency and duration of my exacerbations. However, I'm now on Day 23 of one despite having been on Doxy for 12 days and prednisone for 22 days. I'm still coughing constantly. I'm very short of breath and weak. These are also new symptom manifestations. I think my COPD has progressed. My pulmonologist is not ordering a new lung function test, as it has only been 9 months since the last one. 
Delsym and Mucinex are helping somewhat.

My weakness is partly caused by Thrombocytopenia. My platelet count has slowly dropped since February and is now at 92,000. The docs still don't know the cause of it. I have to wait a week after finishing the prednisone before they can do more lab work and give me a diagnosis and treatment plan.

Are there others here with Thrombocytopenia?

2 days ago

DebbieB.-Connecticut State Captain

DebbieB.-Connecticut State Captaincommented onEating Well: From Debbie Bโ€™s Kitchen to Yours

โœด๏ธFESTIVE RICEโœด๏ธ1 1/4 cups water1 cup Basmati rice 2 1/2 tbsp. olive oil, divided 1 lime zest strip, 1 inch wide3/4 tsp. salt, divided 1 cup whole raw almonds 1/4 cup dried apricots, chopped1/4 cup dried cranberries 2 cups fresh...

2 days ago

DebbieB.-Connecticut State Captain

DebbieB.-Connecticut State CaptainJump for joy!!! It's Fluffy Friday! ๐Ÿ˜ƒ
Freckles Joy and Hazel Madeline are so happy to see their Mommy coming in to clean up their toys. Time to clean out all the mangled toys to make room for the new ones Santa is sure to bring! ๐ŸŽ… ๐Ÿ˜‰

2 days ago

Shar_Bear0608

Shar_Bear0608asked the question: Can COPD be cured/reversed?โ€‹

Does COPD have a cure? Can it be reversed? Can I do everything I used to do before my diagnosis (exercise/running/yoga)? I think ever since my diagnosis Iโ€™ve become very scared to do physical activities thinking I will get out of breath.

2 days ago

Abeba

AbebaA Glimpse into COPD in Ethiopia
As I joined COPD360social, I thought of Desta (name changed), an elderly woman from my clinic. Years of smoke from her firewood kitchen, the same one that fed her family, have carved illness into her lungs. Now she stays in the hospital on oxygen she cannot afford at home.
This morning she whispered:
โ€œDr., pleaseโ€ฆ let me go home. My family, my grandchildren, the cattle, the kitchen โ€” they all need me.โ€Her words hung heavy and heartbreaking.
She was not asking for comfort or medicine โ€” she was asking for her life back.
For her home.
For her dignity. 
The kitchen she longs to return to โ€” the very place whose smoke helped steal her breath โ€” is still the center of her world. 
Yet even her deepest wish may remain beyond reach. Home oxygen is a distant miracle for women like her. Desta represents thousands of mothers in rural Ethiopia, trapped between poverty and breathlessness, longing to return to the lives they built with their own hands. 
I share her story to honor her, and to open a small window into the reality I work in โ€” where COPD is not just a diagnosis but a daily struggle between illness, poverty, tradition, and the unbreakable will to keep going. This is why I joined this community โ€”to listen, to learn, and to fight for mothers like her. To make breath a right, not a privilege.

2 days ago

Coach Brandon - Community Manager

Coach Brandon - Community Manager

Just a quick reminder that tomorrow weโ€™ll be having our very first Hearts & Pawprints Fluffy Friday. ๐Ÿพ๐Ÿ’–

Itโ€™s a day to celebrate the furry or feathery little ones who brighten our lives now, and to lovingly remember those who stay close in our hearts from days past. ๐ŸŒˆ

This will be a special moment we can come back to twice a year, giving us a chance to honor the love they gave us and to let the pets we have with us today shine just as brightly.

Iโ€™m looking forward to seeing everyoneโ€™s memories and smiles tomorrow. ๐Ÿ’•

3 days ago

David Mannino, MD (Chief Medical Officer, COPD Foundation )

David Mannino, MD (Chief Medical Officer, COPD Foundation )answered the question Anyone hopeful about possible regenerative therapies in near future?

These are interesting data but the info above is from the corporate site and the results have not yet reported officially ( either to a clinical trials sit or published in a medical journal). So stay tuned!
JD85brydyKeir123and 5 others also answered the question JD85and 7 others also answered the question

3 days ago

Caroline West Virginia State Captain

Caroline West Virginia State Captainanswered the question How often I have to see my pulmonologist?

I agree with Karen, and I do take a med that requires that I abstain from eating grapefruit. This is somewhat odd, as I had just recently acquired a taste for it.
Karen Deitemeyer - Florida State CaptainDebbieB.-Connecticut State Captaindas23 also answered the question Karen Deitemeyer - Florida State Captainand 2 others also answered the question

3 days ago

DebbieB.-Connecticut State Captain

DebbieB.-Connecticut State Captaincommented onEating Well: From Debbie Bโ€™s Kitchen to Yours

๐ŸŒฟCRANBERRY PECAN CHEESE LOG๐ŸŒฟ9 ounces cream cheese 5.3 ounces dried cranberries, diced4.4 ounces pecans, chopped3.5 ounces grated sharp Cheddar cheese1/4 cup finely diced fresh chivesIn a small bowl, combine pecans, cranberries, and chives.In a...

3 days ago

Bare

Bare

Whatโ€™s the best and quietest oxygen concentrator? I currently have a Inogen. It is noisy

3 days ago

Bare

Bare

Anyone on NAC inhalation therapy? Has it helped to reduce the thickness of mucus?

3 days ago

DebbieB.-Connecticut State Captain

DebbieB.-Connecticut State CaptainHo Ho Ho !!! Happy Thursday! Let's get into the holiday spirit! Listening to your favorite Christmas songs is a good way to begin! Enjoy your day, friends! โค๐Ÿ’š

3 days ago

benj

benj

first of all i feel it very motivating to hear everyone being positive about this, im 38 and got diagnosed 2 months ago. i quit smoking straight away im at the start of my journey and still going through my 1st flare up! its scary as i am having dyspnea most of the day i just hope it goes away soon. i have hope that i can keep going but the fear has not gone away. i dont have much exept my mothers help, this page has given more hope i thank you all for that โค 

3 days ago

Shar_Bear0608

Shar_Bear0608asked the question: How often I have to see my pulmonologist?

I got my COPD diagnosis in November 2023. Still trying to understand it. Do I have to consult my doc for using any new food/drink ? That sounds a lot of work.

3 days ago

Medical Advice

It is not our intention to serve as a substitute for medical advice and any content posted should not be used for medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. We make every effort to support our members, our medical professionals cannot and will not provide a diagnosis or suggest a specific medication; those decisions should be left to your personal medical team. While we encourage individuals to share their personal experiences with COPD, please consult a physician before making changes to your own COPD management plan.