“
As we enter the second half of March is
it nice that at last it is steadily becoming warmer, although like
many there is as yet no sign of spring growth or trees coming into
leaf yet. Even better is not having had an infection for over three
weeks now. Yes it does not sound long but this winter after having
one after the other it really seems like a milestone.
March though is a month that I hate
most, being that I have an allergic reaction to some tree pollens
every March, and yes the air is starting to fill with them now even
though we cannot see the growth. I have this every year, and it goes
to my chest. So badly did it do so a few times when I was young I
went along for a chest x-ray to make sure there was not something
serious there. Of course now I have severe COPD this really is a
double whammy. So for the first time am using anti histamines which,
thankfully, seem to be working.
I still have my usual problems even
without the chest infections, getting breathless far too easily, I
hate climbing my stairs at home and only ever go up there as a last
resort because of getting out of breath, although meantime trying to
get some exercise even if walking is far too painful an exercise for
me. I find walking very embarrassing as I feel that people are
looking at me as I hobble along with a stick, even maybe with pity,
as I have to stop so many times as I wait to regain my breath. Part
of the problem maybe also that my mind does not feel as old as my
failing body or to be more precise lungs.
The most useful tool I have at this
moment is my little oximeter. Apart from telling me my oxygen
saturation levels it also give pulse rate. And this can give me an
almost foolproof method of determining if a suspected coming chest
infection is in fact one. When a chest infection starts to set in it
is harder for the heart to pump blood through the lungs, and the
pulse rate shoots up – and it will stay high while resting. Mine is
usually high anyway ( around 82 while resting) – but if I notice
while relaxing I cannot get my pulse below 90 then down go the
antibiotics and a trip to the doctor. Oxygen levels fall too at this
time. This is a little gadget that I would recommend anyone with COPD
to get. They are available on ebay for around £50 although some are
much more than this. I also used this tool to see how far my oxygen
levels dropped after climbing my stairs. Watching that fall to 80
while sitting and getting my breath back is an education – although
after a minute it does start to rise again quite fast. The normal for
a person without lung disease is about 98 and climbing the stairs
will not effect it.
Like many I have a select group of
friends on the social networking site 'facebook', and a question was,
Do you think Derek is a party animal?'. The answer was yes. Oh how I
wish I had both the energy and the breath to be one, alas, although
once I were, many years ago, nowadays it is more of feet up and watch
a movie on the TV, with the occasional glass of lager. The question
of course was answered by someone that has not met me for many years
and is not quite aware of how severe my problems are nowadays –
although I blog on COPD forums I tend to not talk about my health on
facebook and some would not be aware I am ill, well it is a nice
little escape to chat about anything but COPD. A big change from my
younger days when I was always out. Although even nowadays get a warm
evening and I will ask my lovely wife Lynne to drive us up the pub
where there is a great outside table area so we can relax in the
fading light and enjoy a drink outside.
The one thing I love about summer is
being able to be out in the open air – I have always been a
countryside and nature lover – and am sure that we will drive to
many lovely places with the camera and stop in places we can relax
and enjoy what we see. Where we live we have mountains to admire, the
Gower heritage coast only an hours drive away, and many other places
of interest. Being an amateur meteorologist I am forecasting a good
summer this year – much better than the recent ones, so hopefully I
am right and we can get out and enjoy often. I have though already
invested in a nice fan as of course the muggy warm nights can at
times be as bad as the cold. Can't win can we:-).
But for now – I look forward to the
trips we will take this summer, to the sea, the country, the Brecon
Beacons, in fact anywhere my wife and I can get a nice breath of
fresh air while we sit and relax taking in the beauty.:-)
”
