My last update in 2017 I had done Pulmonary Rehab. It was at this Pulmonary rehab that the physio/nurse confirmed from my hospital file that they new about my COPD back in 2015 when I was diagnosed with Sleep Apnea. At the time the Sleep Apnea and my heart condition was more important to treat. This was completed Feb 2017. Despite this I continued to struggle with just Salbutamol daily and Spiriva once a day. Multiple exacerbations both in 2018 and 2019.
2018 went to Mexico, Cancun. Within a day of being there I could hardly breathe and hardly walk more than 50 metres without rest. After 4 days of struggling I took my emergency steroids , prednisolone . These got me through the holiday and the flight home.
On my return I saw my GP about the problems I was having. My medication was changed and I had Forstair added to my daily drug intake. This was a life changer for me. 2019 saw a complete change with taking Spiriva ( changed to Braltus ), Forstair and Salbutamol.
End of 2019 I flew to Dominican Republic and coped really well with both the flight and the holiday compared to Mexico the year before.
Couple of things.
During 2019 I did a lot of flying with work. I had been to Japan and the USA. Now I was travelling weekly to Munich , Germany, flying out on a monday and returning on a friday. I noticed I was struggling and getting worse both breathing and walking during the year. For my holiday TUI asked for a fitness to fily letter. I contacted by GP who gave me a letter and charged me £20 for it. No tests !!
I started to monitor my flights to Germany and I noticed that my SATS were dropping in flight into the 80s and on a couple of flights into the 70s. I started to keep a record of these.
In January 2020 I had my annual spirometry at my GP and my FEV1 was now down to 37%. My GP put me forward for Pulmonary Rehab again. I also mentioned the problems flying. He wrote to my local hospital whose respiratory dept had me referred to Wolverhampton for a Fit To Fly Test. It transpires this is what I should probably have had done the year before.
It didnt take long during the fit to fly test. After 7 mins into the 20 min test my sats had plummeted and they stopped the test. I was told that I must have oxygen for flying. min 4lpm. Due to the amount of flying I do it was recommended I get myself a POC.
Then COVID hit ....... and we are all stopped.
Hospital Appts cancelled.
Decided to take the advice the consultant gave 5 years ago and took redundancy and have retired.
Finally - I learnt that with all the travelling about the Hidden Disability Scheme - Sunflower Lanyard. Made my travelling by rail and airplane so much easier.
Now have to try and find cheap insurance for holidays ... Ex Cancer, heart condition, Sleep Apnea, COPD, etc
