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Hi All: I'm a new member, Rita, and I can't figure out how to get back into the chat room in order to contribute -- so help! I am also having difficulty deleting the Digests -- I delete and they come back! I've done both delete and empty, but they keep coming back. Any suggestions? Perhaps it has to do with hotmail, because I don't use the yahoo address for my emails. So I'm sending this email to the breathe-support at yahoo.com and hope it gets where it's supposed to.

About me: I was diagnosed with COPD in 2001, with 25% loss of function. By 2002, it was 38%, in 2003, it was 48% and I've stabilized there. Medications didn't help any with breathing. I was exercising, experienced more chest pain than usual, and decided it was time to visit a pulmonologist. I was sent to a cardiologist, had bunches and bunches of tests, all negative for any problem. (My arteries are healthy!) During this time, I found an article on the net that talked about chest wall pain and trigger points -- and I had plenty of trigger points. I massage my chest regularly now, paying particular attention to those areas of sharp pain. I work them out. My chest pain has stopped nearly completely. I was also having difficulty with breathing and feeling like I was suffocating --- turns out the purple pills I was given for GERD were not helping me, and I was really having a problem with stomach motility. My GERD medication was changed to Previcid, and all the pressure I was feeling has gone. So, I feel a heck of a lot better.

Regarding my lungs, tho. The pulmonologist initially told me I didn't have COPD, but IPF. He explained the difference between COPD and IPF. He said I didn't need any medication. I didn't really understand, so I called the office and asked to speak to him about the diagnosis. The nurse and I played phone tag, until she left a message saying I should check the diagnosis out on the web, and I would learn everything thing I wanted to know. Just about every site I visited gave a grim prognosis -- between 3 to 6 years survival rate after diagnosis. Scared the heck out of me, for sure! When I called the office, I left a nasty message. The nurse called me back, telling me, "It's only idiopathic, so it's not that bad." I think she's not there anymore.

My breathing function remains about the same, and my oximeter readings vary from 94% to 97%. Taking showers exhausts me and I shake like a leaf for awhile after, and climbing stairs is pure hell! And I can't talk and walk at the same time. Other than that, I seem to be doing very well. I am to be rechecked at the end of July. The doc told me during my last visit that I have emphysema and IPF. I'm thinking about finding another doctor, but the choices are rather limited in my area.

I'm guessing my lungs are a mess and just haven't gotten around to telling me about it, at least not to any great degree. Sometimes, 'tho, I do feel like I'm a body just waiting for a germ to catch up to! That's sort of scary.

I live at a higher elevation (about 3500 ft., in the Mt. Shasta, CA, area) and I know I will need to move soon to a lower elevation. I'm not looking forward to that at all! I love the mountain air, the cold and crisp nights and the lack of traffic, hoards of people, and the noise of the cities. But, I also realize I need to be near medical facilities when this disease take a firm hold of me.

In the meantime, I do a lot of volunteer work, and recently I've taken up quilting. I figured that if I ever need to be on oxygen, or get weak and can't get around much, then at least I have a hobby where I can do all the buying via the telephone.

I look forward to belonging to this group, and I welcome the chance to finally learn how to 'do' a chat room.

I had joined, then left town, so I didn't have the opportunity to join the telephone chat, but I plan to at the next opportunity.

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