Dennis was diagnosed with COPD in 1996. In 1999 he was forced to take medical retirement because of his COPD. In 2005, he underwent LVRS (lung volume reduction surgery) in an effort to regain his quality of life. Three days after surgery, he developed pneumonia and instead of leaving ICU in one week, he was there for one month. His stay in the hospital/rehabilitation facility lasted another 45 days. When he was released, it was with 24/7 oxygen at 4L. His diaghram was not functioning as it should and the muscles in his body were atrophied to the point he used a walker to get around the house. His inability to control the anxiety and fear was making daily therapy and exercise impossible. Simple things like taking a shower, and sleeping in a bed were not conquered until the middle of 2006. His recovery ground to a halt. He imprisoned himself in the house, tied to his oxygen concentrator. He didn't trust the portable units enough to go anywhere except to the doctor's office.

The anxiety increased when we sold our home in August 2007 and began the process of building a new home on our son's property. While the house is under construction, we are living in a 28' travel trailer with a small 12x20 building for Dennis' therapy as well as my office.

It has been an extremely slow recovery and in January 2008, the doctor indicated that his lungs had recovered from the ordeal but his body had not.

Keeping Dennis motivated to stick to his therapy program became impossible. His excuses ranged from "its too hot", "its too cold", "don't feel good", constipation, diarrhea, and everything else he could come up with.

In May, I talked to a cabinet maker about our cabinets for the house and when I told him about Dennis' condition, he told me about a product that had been successful in helping someone else with COPD. I asked Dennis if he would be willing to try it. He said he would try anything to get back some quality of life. I am not listing the name of the product until we see definite unquestionable proof that it has helped. However, I decided to post his progress in the form of a journal for others to see.

Our first order arrived on June 30 and Dennis began with 4 ounces a day. He continued 4 ounces a day for one month to see if there were any adverse affects. There were none. When our cabinet contractor came by to measure for the cabinets in July, he asked if Dennis could tell any difference. We told him that he had not noticed any changes. He suggested that maybe Dennis needed to drink more each day. He called the man who had seen such terrific results and found out that he had taken 8-10 ounces a day.

So, when our new order arrived on July 25th, Dennis started taking 8 ounces a day. By the middle of August, Dennis began to show more motivation toward his therapy (an increase in energy maybe?). I also noticed that there appeared to be a change in his skin texture. It was no longer paper-thin and translucent. The broken blood vessels showing horrible black & blue areas under his skin were gone and something that he had lived with all of his adult life seemed to be changing. Fatty cysts had covered his back along with horrible acne since his teenage years and nothing he had ever tried had made a difference. During a recent shower, I noticed that he currently only has 3 and that two of them seem to be reducing in size. I will watch this and report on the status again later.

I will note here that Dennis is still fighting drowsiness everyday. He just falls asleep sitting in a chair at least once every morning around 11:00 am and then again in the afternoon. This may be caused by inactivity (usually happens before and/or after his therapy session).

On August 28th I started giving Dennis 9 ounces at breakfast and 3 ounces at lunch. We will see if there is more to report in a few days.

Having just been "officially" diagnosed with COPD, I found this site extremely informative and enlightening. At 62 and a life long smoker, like the vast majority of smokers I chose to ignore the warning labels, what does the government know anyway? More importantly I ignored the early warning signs my body was giving me over many, many years.

I went from playing 18 holes of golf daily, always walking and carried my bag (my "job" allowed this pleasure - 36 holes on weekends!) to today where I huff and puff when trying to do any form of physical exercise, like walking from my car to the store, forget walking through a Mall.

I just had a CAT Scan done 16 days ago here in France, where you get the results within 15-20 minutes, plus you get to keep the CD of the whole scan, which incidentally works on any PC, so when you get bored you can get a really good look at your innards

The written diagnoses from the Specialist to my Doctor (General Practice) included a one page copy of 4 pictures from the thousands of "slices" from the series of three scans performed. You do not have to be a medical specialist to see the problem. Any person and I repeat any person looking at those four pictures would know something is wrong.

Okay, I have a choice, stop smoking now or prepare for my funeral in a year or two at most. How hard is it to stop smoking knowing it will kill you in short order? I have tried darn near every patch, gum, etc. During each new attempt one of two things happens, I become a potential serial killer or I become a potential serial killer. So, I light up just one more to calm me down, and the cycle begins all over again. Three a day, five a day and soon I am back to a pack or more a day.

I make attempts to manage through this period with a bit of satirical humor, but COPD is not a joke and smoking will kill you.

My favorite quote, which fits me well, is:

"I have great faith in fools; self-confidence my friends call it." - Edgar Allan Poe

Submitted by: Robert Toy, Toulouse, France