davidad

I want to know if anyone here has it and is able to continue to ride.

Rollfast

I would hope so, but you should avoid things like the smoky days we've had all summer and take it at a more relaxed pace. Your physician can be of a lot more help perhaps.

Best of luck and health as you can get.

Maelochs

Seems to me the diagnosis is just some guy saying something. You can ride as well after he said it as you could before.

I was diagnosed with asthma when I was five. It alwsys bothered me. Finally, as an adult, i decided that being asthmatic was too limiting ... so I quit.

Unfortunately I still sometimes have symptoms of asthma ... but that's life. I still do whatever I can.

I think @Rollfast has it right. Figure out what helps and hurts, and do or don't do those things. But I cannot see how not using your lungs will help.

I used to be really fit ... so asthma symptom, even if they lowered my capacity, left me with plenty of capacity. Ten I got really fat, so asthma symptoms make things pretty hard. I am trying to get a little more fit, because the more I can breathe, the more I can breathe when I can't breathe so much.

Enjoy that bike as much as you can. Why not?

Brocephus

"Seems to me the diagnosis is just some guy saying something. You can ride as well after he said it as you could before...."
LOL, well said !!!

CliffordK

I am seeing several notes on the web about benefits of exercise with COPD.

While the COPD may not be reversible, endurance exercise may well help with oxygen consumption, and is considered to be an overall benefit.

gobicycling

I have just been through about 2 years of horrible pulmonary diagnoses - supposed to die in just a few years, etc. Really bothered me. Then, I figured, what the Heck - nothing has changed about me except someone's diagnoses. I will just keep cycling, swimming, walking, resistance exercising, stretching, keeping my weight, BP, etc., where they should be, and go on with my life.

Guess what - after about a jillion tests, I referred myself to National Jewish Hospital (best in the nation on respiratory diseases) who now state that my original diagnosis was incorrect. I have something, extremely rare - (maybe 400 folks in the entire world are known to have it) - but not a terrible something. So, I just keep on living as before, and have actually markedly increased my endurance.

The mindset is critical. Once you start thinking about yourself as "sick" you start acting that way. DON'T DO THAT. The statements above were very wise. You are still the same, keep on going. Don't get doctored to death. BTW, I am almost 79 years old.

Colnago Mixte

I think the AMA trolls these boards, so you guys watch out for incoming!

BTW, I completely agree.

raceboy

Ronsonic 

I do and I keep riding. My strava times are in the upper half of the field in road and off-road segments and in my 60s that's pretty decent with or without COPD.

Watch your triggers. When you ride use a warm-up and meds routine that works for you.

Cuyuna

Danhedonia

+1 to what people said, with an added thought: the diagnoses can and should change one thing immediately, which is your preparedness for potential issues. I don't know what that preparedness would look like, but you'll find out, and if you're smart, you'll be more prepared. Analogy: you are told you have asthma. You still do the same stuff, but now you carry an inhaler.

CliffordK

Keep in mind that respiratory diseases can KILL.

Keep up to date with your flu vaccine.
If you haven't had Pneumovax, ask your doctor if it applies.
Others? DPT?

davidad

Thank you. If I can get lined out I will be back on the bike. The humidity and pollution is rough here.

canklecat

Do what your doctors and physical therapists advise. They'll know your condition best.

I've known several folks with COPD, including family members. The single most significant factor was smoking. Those who quit lived longer and had a better quality of life. Some could not quit smoking and declined rapidly, usually within only 2-3 years.

My granddad had been a heavy smoker but quit in his 50s when he developed early symptoms of what would later be diagnosed as COPD and, finally, congestive heart failure. But he lived to age 82 and was still relatively mobile, gardening and doing yard and house chores, until only his final year or so, when he needed a lot of prednisone to reduce inflammation around his heart and lungs. Most of his mobility limitations were due to an old back injury and knee replacement that didn't heal well because he didn't cooperate with physical therapy. If he'd been able to overcome those physical disabilities and stayed active he might have lived longer or enjoyed his final couple of years more.

In contrast, a neighbor and another friend who were only in their late 60s couldn't stop smoking and declined rapidly. Part of the complication was lack of oxygenation to the brain. This led to confusion and disorientation, combined with the familiar mood swings associated with long term use of prednisone. The combined complications contributed to their decline. Without live-in aides they would occasionally run out of oxygen in their tanks, and would rapidly become so confused and disoriented from lack of oxygen that they would fall or pass out. Stopping smoking might have improved their prognosis.

If you don't smoke but there are other contributing factors, including air pollution or respiratory irritants in your area, consider moving to a healthier region. Check daily air quality reports and see if there's any pattern that coincides with your symptoms. For some folks ozone action days are the worst, even if they have no other allergy symptoms. In some cases the best, or only, solution is to move.

I stopped smoking more than 20 years ago and never was a heavy smoker. But I was experiencing more problems with bronchitis and pneumonia, along with seasonal allergies and asthma. Now I have a constricted trachea from a badly swollen thyroid, which interferes with breathing during heavy exertion, so my bicycling effort is somewhat limited. Much as I love living in my part of Texas (Fort Worth), I'm allergic to pretty much everything here. So eventually I may need to consider relocating if my respiratory problems worsen. But I have no COPD, just a constricted airway, so it's too early to worry about needing to relocate.

CliffordK

You didn't mention where you are. Midwest?

There are masks that are supposed to help with the fire smoke we're having here in the west. I don't know about other pollutants. I'm not sure how it would affect you as breathing may be more difficult.

Keep the exercise up. Indoor trainer/exercycle?
Ride in the winter and the rain?

davidad

Texas gulf coast between Houston and Galveston. Hot, high humidity and pollution. Seems the problem is scaring on the lung tissue. Future doesn't look promising.