[mich buckmaster]

Well, We just found out yesterday from my Dads doctor that he has the early stages of emphysema. He has upper cloudy lungs on the XRays. The doctor said IF he doesnt quit HE WILL DIE of lung cancer/Emphysema.

IS this true that if he stops he can get better, or has the damage already been done? I know you guys arent doctors but you have been through things like this too, so I am just wondering if anyone else has dealt with it.

I am a very optimistic person, SO I know if he stops he can get better.

I am always nagging him about smoking, and now I need to support him.

Any info will be VERY much appreciated.

 

[Robert W. McCoy Jr]

That if you quite smoking your lungs will recover almost 100% in 7 years.

Anybody else ever hear that..

 

[MSUICEMAN]

I would imagine there is still going to be some damage done, but that being said, he is going to get better than he is now if he quits. Quitting is never a bad thing. So he might not be a marathon runner in 8 years, but then again he prolly won't be on oxygen (trust me, seen it, my granddad died of a heart attack caused by severe emphysema which was caused by working on freighters and railroads most his life).

I'll pray for god to give your dad the strength to quit and be as supportive as you can.... its easier to transfer an addiction, go from cigarettes to something else, gum perhaps? maybe fishing, i am trying to quit, been so for a while, got it down to not much at all. I find if i'm busy i don't smoke, so go figger, all i need is a full time job! lol.

God bless and good luck to you and your father.

steve

 

[SARDog]

i smoked for about 20 years solid. before i quit it was 2-3 packs a day. It has been 12 years, and I did feel better, but now It seems I huff and puff doing the simplest things. I think the damage is already done and that it might help quiting but emphysima might be already present. I had a few relitives that died choking to death from emphy...not a pretty sight to see one get worse the last year or two...

 

[rb1]

Quit smoking does help. But once your lungs are damaged its going to make harder to breathe. and when the air is heavy
it makes it a lot harder yet; air conditioning helps but its not the cure.

That if you quite smoking your lungs will recover almost 100% in 7 years

That is if you live that long! But I haven't had a doctor tell me that and I have ask them.
RB1

 

[salmonslammer]

Sorry to hear that. Hopefully he will heed the doctors advice. I have lost both my dad and my grandfather to cancer. Pretty much a hint and a half for my a--. I have been looking at various methods of quiting since I have smoked for 14 years now and enough is enough. Addictions are a sucky thing. My daughter is 3 1/2 now and I would like to be around for awhile. Have to see her catch her first sailfish!


I figure with the money I spend on smokes I can buy the 22' islander I want next spring! Its all about the motivation.

 

[Mr. 16 gauge]

The damage is done; the lungs wont get better. However, you will preserve what function is left by quitting now. My great aunt just recently died from emphysema.....at the end she was so bad that she couldn't get from her bed to the toilet without gasping for air. Truly a horrible way to die.....gasping for breath and very slowly.

....as to the idea that your lungs will recover 100% in 7 years: if your young enough, you might regain pulmonary function to that capacity, but the lungs themselves have been damaged and that tissue doesn't regenerate.

 

[mich buckmaster]

I sure hope he quits, we knew it would happen, but now its reality.

 

[TimT]

I believe that once your lungs are damaged to emphysema, the damage is done. For instance, my mother was told years ago that 30% of her lungs capacity was gone, due to emphysema. So, she quit smoking. The other 70% of the lung has cleared up and I'm sure are in good shape. However, the other 30%'s capacity to function was destroyed due to emphysema (smoking).

Be glad the warning is in the form of emphysema, and not cancer. There's nothing worse than thinking your immune to the stuff, smoking for 50 years, and then finding out you have to go through radiation to try to extend your life another 6 months from lung cancer.

 

[wildchild]

Sorry about your dad, good luck to him.
I am a smoker also, i need to stop! I am a nurse so i know all the dangers of smoking and see it daily...

I thought this may be helpful to let you know about what is going on with your dad.
Emphysema is a chronic lung disease which affects the alveoli (air sacs) and/or the ends of the smallest bronchi (breathing tubes). The lung loses its elasticity (similar to an overused rubber band), and therefore these areas of the lungs become enlarged. These enlarged areas trap 'stale' air and do not effectively exchange it with fresh air. This results in difficult breathing and may result in insufficient oxygen being delivered to the blood. In some cases, the patients also have difficulty getting rid of a waste gas called carbon dioxide. The predominant symptom in patients with emphysema is shortness of breath.
The Lung does not heal itself, it just wont get any worse if he stops smoking.
I think i read somewhere when i was studying that people either get Lung Cancer or Emphysema. they dont get both. I cant really remember where i read that at. so i dont cant say it is a fact.

Good Luck to your dad again, it is a bugger of an addiction.

 

[Joe Archer]

I work in the medical field as well, and just spoke with a doctor. She said some alveolar damage may recover, but most damage proably will not. The thing to remember though is you will definitely cause more damage if you continue to smoke. So it is always better to quit. Easier said than done. I know because I have been quit for 4 years. Hardest thing I have ever done in my life! Statistically, you have the best chance of quitting if you combine zyban and nicotein replacement. <----<<<

 

[Fuzzz]

my grandad had it. quit smoking 15 years before he died of something else, but his emphysema never got better. shortly after he quit he could breathe a little better (not much), but that was because of quitting smoking, not because his lung funtion improved and some of the emphysema went away. he could never step up 3-4 stairs at time without having to stop for a few minutes to catch his breath.

bad stuff

 

[FlyDaddy]

I am no doctor, but I have also been diagnoes with the beginning stages of the E word. The doctor told me if I quit right then and there that much if not all could be reversed,


FD

 

[mich buckmaster]

Thank you all SOOOO much for the words of advice it helps me and I also print this out for my dad to see how others have dealt and their opinions.

Thank you!!

 

[Oct.1]

I have it. The Doc. said that if I quit it wouldn’t get worse. It’s been 9 years now. It took about 3 years before I could really say the ratifications of emphysema don’t seem obvious anymore. Glad as hell I quite.
I’m 56 now and really look forward to retirement. It’s nice knowing that I will have a few years of retirement before I die. It will be nice to have the grandkids over for the summer also. The way I was going I may have never known my grandchildren let alone have them spend the summer. My dad died from smokers cough at 47.

 

[Keith Sage]

MBMaster.
My lungs were a mess from welding, smoking and the enviroment working in the factory. Before this I was a deep diver I was able to hold my breath over two minutes, the last check up on my lungs were over 500cc in both, they said that the marathon runners have lungs like that. Tell your dad to exersize his lungs, take in the biggest breaths and hold them and do this a lot. I would bet his lungs will expand and will improve.
My doctor has me on ALBUTEROL,USP inhalation aerosol. my lungs feel better and I can still hold my breath under water for over one minute.
The best to your dad from all of us......

 

[rb1]

Blowing on coyote calls helps a lot.
I also use albuterol 4 times a day + 2 other inhalers. RB1