For those who have been diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and have been given a clear understanding of their life expectancy, the primary concern becomes treatment. Although there are a variety of natural treatment options available today, it’s critical to understand the full scope of COPD treatments in order to make a decision that is best for you and your current condition. With COPD treatment options ranging from traditional medicine to natural treatments, understanding one’s health, lifestyle, and the efficacy of each individual treatment is imperative to making the best choice moving forward.
With your health in mind, the Lung Institute is here to break down COPD Treatments: What’s Out There and What Can Help to give you peace of mind in choosing a treatment plan that works best for you.
Traditional COPD treatment options are what you would consider normal medicine. This includes pills, inhalers and supplemental oxygen. Pill-based medications such as pirfenidone have shown efficacy in reducing lung fibrosis which can be particularly beneficial for those with pulmonary fibrosis. Inhalers, on the other hand, can be a great resource for relieving symptoms, whether in the short-term (short-acting bronchodilators) or the long term (long-acting bronchodilators). Oxygen therapy is, in essence, the direct delivery of oxygen through cannulas (nose tubes) which works to relieve shortness of breath. Although these medications have their benefits, they aren’t without their downsides. Pills can be expensive over time, inhalers can only act to relieve symptoms (similar to an asthma attack) without addressing the progression of the disease itself and oxygen therapy is strictly supplemental; it is unable to slow the disease or address symptoms.
When addressing the disease head-on, some patients may consider surgery as a logical alternative if the stage of their disease is advanced enough—typically stages 3 or 4. In the realm of surgical options, there are two primary choices for COPD treatment: lung transplant and lung volume reduction surgery. In the former, the benefits of a lung transplant can be incredible. In transplant surgery, diseased lungs are replaced, giving the patient a new lease on respiratory function. Patients who’ve received a successful transplant can expect a dramatic change in their short-term quality of life, better respiratory function, and a greater propensity for physical activity.
However, the downsides of a lung transplant can outweigh the benefits. A lung transplant is expensive, and aside from the cost of the treatment itself, the cost of the immunotherapy drugs can be exorbitant. Further still, the life expectancy of a patient after a lung transplant isn’t exactly compelling. For many patients who’ve received a lung transplant, reaching even a year post-treatment is a feat only 55-70% of patients will achieve. Organ rejection is a common side effect, and despite the use of immune-weakening drugs (which can cause frequent illness), organ rejection is inevitable.
On the other hand, a lung volume reduction surgery (LVRS) is a procedure involving the removal of parts of the lungs that are not working properly. Within this removal process, the parts of the lungs that are removed allow the remaining lung tissue to function more efficiently, ultimately easing the breathing process and reducing symptoms. As with any invasive surgery, LVRS can present a variety of risks in tandem with its benefits. For example, many who suffer from COPD or other lung diseases may not be eligible for COPD treatment. Furthermore, 6 to 10 percent of people who have this surgery will die from complications.
When traditional treatment options appear ineffective, overly expensive, or the side effects too great, surgery may be worth a look. When surgery appears too expensive or dangerously invasive, it may be time to consider a natural alternative. Cellular therapy offers a significant middle ground in efficacy, cost, and safety. Using the body’s natural healing mechanism, cellular therapy involves the extraction of these specialized cells from a patient’s blood and isolates them before reintroducing them into the body. As these cells become trapped within the lungs, they work to reduce airway inflammation (which relieves symptoms and exacerbations) and slow disease progression. Although cells are not universally effective (currently only 84% of patients will see a noticeable improvement), they carry no risk of rejection by the body and can serve as a natural and safe alternative to traditional medication and surgery.
It’s important to know the road ahead in the treatment of COPD. Although COPD can seem insurmountable, new discoveries are being made every day in the field of cellular research, and the first step to living a longer life is finding the best treatment plan for you. Changing one’s diet and consistently exercising are among the best lifestyle changes one can do aside from quitting smoking. It may be time to consider cellular therapy. Rather than only addressing the symptoms of lung disease, cellular therapy may affect disease progression and may improve quality of life and pulmonary function. For people with lung disease, a change in quality of life could mean the difference between struggling to walk to the mailbox and riding a bike.
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I skipped the last 4 days for the writing meme so you'll have them all in one post. The answers aren't long anyway.
There's always references/small easter eggs to something I read/watched/played/wrote. Also I'm recycling my ideas a lot, but modify in order a be more subtile about it. Also, no matter what verse I'm writing, I use fairly similar rules in regards to the magic/tech. If I'm writing about Doctor Who, I won't be able to stop myself to include some sort of telepathy.
Both. I like feeling the pen in my hand, as well hearing the tip scratching the paper and seeing blank pages being filled. Also, writing on paper allows me to do sketches and I always carry notebooks with me. It's much more practical than having my Mac. That being said, I love Scrivener, the writing program I use, it's very useful to organize my project. In general, I write my first drafts and notes on paper: it's far from being perfect, but it gives me work lines, while I work more on it when I tape them. Also, I'm generally more inspired and concentrated when writing on paper.
I can think about gender and sexuality, not that I put an emphase on it: since it's just part of the characters and they aren't defined on it, I won't bring it up if it doesn't have an importance and most of the time, it doesn't: it's more hints here and there. I just want them to seem natural so the only times it'll be mentioned will be when other characters have something to say about it. Also, I like exploring moral dilemma and in general, the bit where every actions have a reason and the world is neither all black or white. It shows more with my villains: in general, it's not their motivations that makes them villains, it's their actions (doesn't mean their motivations are good though).
In English, Liminality, my NaNoWriMo, although I made a pause. And in French, Rhapsodie, a prequel for one of my other fic. Take me quite a long time because both are very ambitious and there's a lot I'm still not satisfied with yet.
Loving the little references and the adapting ideas, that's pretty nice =) I like writing on paper, too… And i like your thoughts about your recurring themes…
Yeah, it's a way for me to explore different aspects of a single idea. The themes bit was really difficult, then when I thought about stuff that happened often, it's the bit where in almost all my texts there's always at least one character whose gender/sexuality would be considerate as 'alternative'.
And thanks! The excerpts I posted before, when I replaced the characters' name by race names are from my NaNo. It's a semi-original fanfiction, who happens pre-canon and takes place in a Nord universe. Where the Narrator lives, there have been a worrying increase of undead going out of their graves, and the Narrator, who's a valkyrie is hunting a group of them. And, of course, bad things happen XD