Get Informed: COPD
COPD: Overview
COPD, also known as Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease or Chronic Obstructive Airways Disease (COAD), is a lung condition that consists of heavy sputum production (chronic bronchitis) and destruction of lung tissue (emphysema). Most often caused by long term exposure to cigarette smoke, COPD is a common cause of shortness of breath in older patients - often made worse by infections and/or exposure to air pollution.
- Last Text Update:
- 2010-Jul-30 10:49 PM
- Last Data Update:
- 2010-Jul-26 10:21 PM
1 in 47 people have COPD
iGuard is currently monitoring more than 47,688 patients with COPD from around the United States as shown on the heat map below. These figures suggest that roughly 6.44 million Americans have COPD with women being 2 times more likely to be affected than men.
< 21
21-39
40-59
60+
Age (Years)
Medications used for COPD
Drugs commonly taken by iGuard users for COPD are listed below, together with the percentage of patients that take each drug.
|
Commonly Used Medication Name* (Hover mouse over name to see medication class) |
% of Patients | Average Risk Rating | Has Generic Available |
|---|---|---|---|
| Advair | 25% |
|
No |
| Proair HFA | 16% |
|
Yes |
| Spiriva | 14% |
|
No |
| Singulair | 7% |
|
No |
| Flovent | 5% |
|
No |
Less than 5%: Symbicort, Combivent, Mucinex, Prednisone, Atrovent, Xopenex, Pulmicort, Theophylline, Fluticasone
*This list is NOT EXHAUSTIVE - Only drugs used by a sufficiently large number of iGuard users are listed.
**Medications are sometimes known by different brand/generic names, depending upon how they are packaged or used.
Global Patient Feedback for COPD ( Post a comment )
Question/Comment:
No... only if your doctor wants you too. Prednisone is usually given for 70 to 10 days. After which your Dr. should put on a regularly used med for controlling your COPD. There are many... Ad-Vair, Spriva, Flovent, Atroveny amd so on. These type of meds help control your COPD on a daily basis, were as Prednisone is used as a kind of emergency breathing yrement to open your lungs and keep them that way. But, as shown above, Prednisone will cause you to gain approx 20lbs is thar short week of use! I am sure that when you talk yo your Dr. next, he (she) will go over everything I just said and more.
52 year old Male – Source: iGuard United States
Posted: 2010-05-31 12:49:17
Question/Comment:
My doctor recently lowered my advair from 500 down to 250. Is this normal and why do I sometimes feel so winded.
54 year old Female – Source: iGuard United States
Posted: 2010-04-23 21:24:13
iGuard Answer/Reply:
Sometimes dosages can change, but you can also use an inhaler like albuterol (Proventil and Ventolin are brand names) in between doses of Advair. Ask your doctor if he/she feels this is appropriate therapy for you, and if so, he/she will give you a prescription.
Posted: 2010-06-15 13:17:33
Question/Comment:
My breathing started about 5 years ago with a serious bout with flu. The illness lasted for nearly a month and I never got over the difficulty breathing. I was diagnosed with COPD by a pulmonary specialist soon after that. Could this be another cause of COPD.. I did smoke until 1978 and Have never smoked since.
76 year old Female – Source: iGuard United States
Posted: 2010-04-07 14:41:27
iGuard Answer/Reply:
The flu most likely did not cause COPD, but it may have triggered it to become more noticeable. The smoking was most likely the cause of COPD, even though you stopped a long time ago. There are many medications available to manage COPD and it is wise to have a pulmonary specialist help you manage your COPD.
Posted: 2010-04-18 13:37:09
Question/Comment:
I am a 51 yr old Hispanic female who has been diagnosed with STAGE 2 COPD in June 2006. I have been given Prednisone treatment recently and have noticed a enormous weight gain (104 to 134 lbs) since last May (was weaned off Morphine Patch in May 2009/used for 19months)Could that had been the cause of my low weight? Or is Prednisone still in my system making me gain so much?
51 year old Female – Source: iGuard United States
Posted: 2010-04-05 03:46:07
iGuard Answer/Reply:
Prednisone is known to cause weight. It increases appetite and can also cause fluid retention. It can cause "moon face", where your face appears more round than it typically would. Try to watch your diet and exercise. You can speak with your doctor about possibly decreasing the amount of prednisone that you take. Also, there are inhaled steroids available for COPD that have less side effects than taking prednisone by mouth. You may also want to ask your doctor to recommend a diet and exercise program to help you manage your weight.
Posted: 2010-04-18 12:41:05
Question/Comment:
I am a 67 year old female with COPD and lung cancer. My husband is 63 and has COPD, but has much more trouble breathing, getting winded, etc than I do. Does this sound plausible?
67 year old Female – Source: iGuard United States
Posted: 2009-11-10 20:21:33
iGuard Answer/Reply:
COPD, or Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, is a progressive disease. Progressive means the symptoms worsen with time. It does sound plausible that your husband could have more trouble breathing and getting winded. His COPD could be more severe, which would cause those symptoms to be more pronounced. Many treatments are available to alleviate the symptoms of COPD. Your husband should talk to his physician about his treatment regimen so that he can find a regimen that helps improve his quality of life.
Posted: 2009-11-11 14:17:05
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Patient Comments About
COPD