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thorax (collapsed lung) so off to the ward I went. They put a chest drain in and I was up and about in about a week. This was the start of my problems.
About a year later I had to go through the same again experience all over again and then again about 3 months later. By now the doctors decided that the chest drains were not working and that another more radical approach was needed. So I was booked in to have a minor op to have my lung stitched back in. After about a 9 month wait I finally got my appointment to have it done. I know all has nothing to with emphysema but it is relevant to my review.

So I had the op and all was going well until they told me to exercise, I got up and started skipping and this tore the stitching out and my lungs collapsed. Not just one, both. They put two chest drains in this time one for each lung and I was soon breathing ok again. It was then decided by the doctors that I would have to have some even more radical op than before and would have to open me right up to fix the problem.
Upon opening me up and giving me the operation they discovered that I had Chronic Bullens Emphysema..

My reaction
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I was as you can imagine quite distressed by the news. I had heard of emphysema before because my uncle died from it and so had a few other people I had met in my life and all of them died quickly after being diagnosed. I initially thought that the end is near, but I was reassured that if I was to give up smoking then I could quite easily live my life out normally. Even though I had been told this I was still very scared, but because of the Morphine I could hide from my emotions. It wasn't until I released myself from hospital and the drugs wore off that it hit me. I turned into crying blubbing little baby that didn't know which way to turn.

How I have coped.
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Since being told this I have researched emphysema to find ways to help cope with the disease. I found out that the best thing is to regulate your breathing, breathing in through your mouth and out through your nose. Another thing that I have found useful is resting I found this hard at times because I am in general an active person, but now I am more than pleased to put my feet up and do nothing. This does however mean that I have piled on weight and have gone from a 28 inch waist to a 34 inch waist.

Sex can also prove to be a problem with emphysema and I have found that I only have half the stamina that I had before. So I would suggest that you get plenty of rest beforehand and try a position that does not use too much energy.
The doctor has also given me two inhalers to try and help relieve the tightness in my chest, but these don't seem to help out a lot.

What does the future hold for me?
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Although I have a progressive disease I could still live to retirement age, so I have made no plans for the future really. The only thing that I want to change is smoking, I must give up.

Note: THE ONLY CURE IS TO STOP SMOKING

Learn more about this author, Karl Dade.
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