Scared to death here. I am 51 one yrs old, quitting smoking as of yesterday. Two week ago went to doc for regular yearly thing. Ordered chest xray because she heard a "rub"? Yes I have a smokers cough and shortness of breath. She just sent me in the mail a one sentance letter that says "lungs show hyperinflation--suggests emphysema" I need to call another med center to make an appointment to have a lung function test. My question is do Hyperinflated lungs always mean emphysema? If so will my quitting smoking now be to late to help? Help!

Hi pcof,

There is probably a pretty good chance that you may have Emphysema. All the indicators are there. Having said that, I want you to realize that COPD/Emphysema is something that can be managed and although we can't stop the progress, we can manage it and slow it down considerably. You have already started the first order of business by giving up the smoking. It is not an option, but a requirement if you wish to control the rest of your life. You are now 51 and if you quit now, you can fully expect to be around with us until your mid-70's or early 80's. I have very severe Emphysema and I can tell you that it is not the horrible disease that we all have a mental picture of. There will probably be changes in lifestyle in later years, but that is further down the road. Right now, you have a fear of the unknown, but in the next while you can educate yourself about COPD and your anxiety will decrease substantially.

All the best,

Phil

Scared to death here. I am 51 one yrs old, quitting smoking as of yesterday. Two week ago went to doc for regular yearly thing. Ordered chest xray because she heard a "rub"? Yes I have a smokers cough and shortness of breath. She just sent me in the mail a one sentance letter that says "lungs show hyperinflation--suggests emphysema" I need to call another med center to make an appointment to have a lung function test. My question is do Hyperinflated lungs always mean emphysema? If so will my quitting smoking now be to late to help? Help!

It's not too late to help.

That "smoker's cough"; that's probably chronic bronchitis. Do you get bronchitis every time you get a cold? Does it sometimes go into pneumonia? In both of your lungs? Do you have asthma?

If you quit smoking and you have asthma and chronic bronchitis, those two conditions WILL improve. You will have fewer and milder episodes of both.

Do you have asthma? I'm almost certain you have chronic bronchitis if you have a smoker's cough. Is it worth it to ease the grief from those conditions?

Quitting smoking will also reduce the rate of progression of emphysema, by the way.