'My lungs are twice their normal size'
Living with COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease)
I was working as an assistant in a care home, when I first noticed I was out of breath. Just walking upstairs or turning a patient over in bed tired me out. I was only about 38, so I knew something wasn't right. My doctor reckoned it was asthma, because that runs in my family, and gave me a blue inhaler to use. But over the next couple of years, I got worse. So I knew it was more than that.
Eventually, I was referred to a respiratory specialist who diagnosed chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. I was smoking about 20 a day at the time, and was told that this had probably helped bring it on. COPD means my body finds it harder to get rid of the air in my lungs, and so it's harder to get fresh air into them. My lungs are now twice the size of a normal person's, because they've lost their elasticity.
There's no cure for COPD, but you can work to keep it under control. I've given up smoking, which has definitely helped and, even though I often don't feel well enough to exercise myself, I know that also helps. Unfortunately, my COPD's so bad I had to give up work in 2001. I find little things exhausting, like Hoovering or going to the shops. But luckily, my eldest daughter, Zoe, 26, helps me out.
It can be hard on my two youngest kids, because I can't always do things with them. But I've got a brilliant respiratory nurse who visits me, and I'm due to start a rehabilitation course soon.
My advice to anyone with COPD is to give up smoking, get some exercise and make sure you plan your day properly, so that you have regular breaks.
Julie Underwood, 47, Coalville, Leicester
For more information and advice, visit www.lunguk.org or ring their helpline on 08458 505020
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