I Fought COPD With Pulmonary Rehab and a Lung Transplant - Article Health

An important aspect to improving breathing and lifestyle if you have COPD (or any type of breathing impairment) is pulmonary rehabilitation and exercise. I have COPD/emphysema and was so exhausted just breathing; it was difficult to do any exercise.

But I enrolled in pulmonary rehab and discovered that the effort is just way too simple for the amount of benefit you get from it.

Through the program I learned how to control my breathing. You do upper-chest exercises and stretching and treadmill work. I couldn't walk over two minutes at 1 mile per hour on the treadmill—my legs were weak and my lung capacity was poor. But I went twice a week for about 40 to 45 minutes.

I had to be able to walk six minutes to qualify for a transplant and I couldn't. After three months, I was able to walk six minutes and more. Even though I was still quite ill, this exercise greatly expanded my abilities to function in "normal" life. I have seen people who couldn't walk for two minutes, but after rehab they could walk for 20 minutes or more. I saw miracles happen there.

I had a lung transplant
One piece of advice I have for people with COPD or any lung disease is to be proactive with their treatment. I received a lung transplant because of research and persistence with my insurance, primary-care doctor, pulmonary doctor, and transplant hospital.

I was diagnosed with COPD in 2003. By then, I couldn't walk a flight of stairs without having to stop. I was put on various medications, including Advair, Spiriva, and albuterol inhalers, and after a bout with pneumonia in 2004, I was put on oxygen 24/7. My lung capacity (FEV1) was down to 11%. (A person with healthy lungs has an FEV1 of around 70%.)

I was so sick that my pulmonologist told me I wouldn't likely be able to ever walk more than about a block.

After I qualified for Medicare and purchased supplemental insurance, I started asking my pulmonologist about lung transplants. He said he didn't think Medicare would pay for it. I kept calling my supplemental health insurance company and National Jewish Health, which led me to the transplant services at University of Colorado Hospital. I got tested, and I believe that because I already had pulmonary rehabilitation and a transtracheal procedure, I met the requirements, which most people don't. Miraculously I was on a waiting list for a lung for only nine days.

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