COPD Doesn’t Have To Hold You Back – Here’s What To Do After Being Diagnosed
More than 15 million people in the U.S. are affected by COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), a condition that damages the lungs and makes it hard to breathe.1 But a diagnosis doesn’t have to derail your life.
"When I discovered that COPD was irreversible and it would be with me the rest of my life, I was devastated, crushed,” says Gordon Stewart-Harrison, who was diagnosed 10 years ago. “But I immediately made a decision to not allow COPD to disable me. I was determined to be in control of my life, as opposed to COPD being in control of me."
Living comfortably with COPD means playing an active role in your treatment, which Gordon learned firsthand. It means having an honest relationship with doctors. And it means knowing when to advocate for yourself. Gordon shares three steps patients can take after being diagnosed with COPD that will help them better manage living life with a chronic condition.
1. Work With Doctors You Trust
Gordon says that working closely with his primary care physician as well as a pulmonologist has been a cornerstone in living well with COPD.
Working with doctors you trust is important because they are responsible for educating you on the disease and providing solutions to help you better manage your COPD. For example, eating a heart-healthy diet is an integral part of COPD management.2
Showing up to appointments prepared is part of how you can build a strong relationship with your doctor. Gordon recommends writing down any questions you have in advance of appointments to prevent anything being missed. You can also use a notebook and pen to write down important information to reference at home. If possible, Gordon finds it helpful to bring a trusted friend, family member or caregiver who can listen, offer support, ask questions and take notes as well.
2. Be an Advocate for Yourself
If any part of your COPD treatment isn’t working for you, it’s important to tell your doctor. After Gordon was diagnosed with COPD, his doctor prescribed several different medications over the years. The medications didn't provide the relief Gordon was hoping for, which prompted him to tell his medical team.
“My earlier treatment medications were not sufficient enough,” Gordon says. "They were not effectively giving me what I needed, and I was still experiencing symptoms."
So, he brought his concerns to his pulmonologist, who then switched Gordon's medication to TRELEGY ELLIPTA (fluticasone furoate 100 mcg, umeclidinium 62.5 mcg, and vilanterol 25 mcg inhalation powder), the first and only once-daily treatment for COPD that contains three medicines in a single inhaler.
Advocating for himself had a powerful result: Gordon was prescribed medication that helped his symptoms improve over time.
TRELEGY is a prescription medicine used long term to treat COPD, including chronic bronchitis, emphysema, or both. Not for sudden breathing problems and won’t replace a rescue inhaler. Tell your doctor if you have a heart condition or high blood pressure before taking. Do not take more than prescribed. May increase your risk of thrush, pneumonia, and osteoporosis. Call your doctor if worsened breathing, chest pain, mouth or tongue swelling, problems urinating, vision changes, or eye pain occur. Please see additional Important Safety Information below.
Taken only once a day, TRELEGY contains an anti-inflammatory ICS (inhaled corticosteroid) that reduces inflammation and swelling in the lungs, a LABA (long-acting beta2-adrenergic agonist) bronchodilator that opens airways by relaxing the muscles around the airways in the lungs, and a LAMA (long-acting muscarinic antagonist) that blocks the tightening of smooth muscle around airways to help keep them open.
"I found myself enjoying activities and longer days that previously would have left me breathless,” Gordon says. “Since taking TRELEGY, I'm more confident in the medication I'm taking.”
Courtesy GSK
3. Build a Strong Support Network
Another key component of being active in your COPD treatment journey is recognizing that you don’t have to manage it on your own. Being vulnerable can be a challenge, but informing the people you trust, including family, friends and colleagues, about your diagnosis can help you feel less alone and more supported.
For Gordon, being open about his diagnosis helped him build a more robust support system and made managing his COPD at work easier. Gordon is very active at his church and was faced with going up and down the stairs several times a day. After he discussed the details of his condition with fellow members of his congregation, they were quick to assist him with the more physically demanding parts of his job.
Gordon’s support system has also inspired him to be a resource for others who are living with COPD. Since Gordon has been successfully navigating life while living with a chronic health condition, people also turn to him when they need encouragement, particularly when faced with their own health challenges. Once he was open about his COPD, he was able to connect members of the church who also live with this condition to build a stronger support network. He says that someone at his church even asked him to talk to a family member who was a lifelong smoker about living with COPD.
Gordon refused to let his diagnosis stall his life. He finds joy in sharing his perspective and experiences to help others.
“I’ve learned how to live comfortably and breathe easier with COPD,” he says. “It doesn’t hold me back from living a full life.”
TRELEGY can help improve lung function for a full 24 hours and prevent future flare-ups, though individual results may vary.
To find out more about COPD and TRELEGY, visit TRELEGY.com/COPD or talk with your healthcare provider.
Important Safety Information for TRELEGY
Do not use TRELEGY to relieve sudden breathing problems. Always have a rescue inhaler with you to treat sudden symptoms.
Do not use TRELEGY if you have a severe allergy to milk proteins or are allergic to any of the ingredients in TRELEGY. Ask your healthcare provider if you are not sure.
Do not use TRELEGY more often than prescribed.
Do not take TRELEGY with other medicines that contain a long-acting beta2-adrenergic agonist (LABA) or an anticholinergic for any reason. Tell your healthcare provider about all your medical conditions and about all the medicines you take.
Call your healthcare provider or get medical care right away if your breathing problems get worse, if you need your rescue inhaler more often than usual or it does not work as well to relieve your symptoms.
TRELEGY can cause serious side effects, including:
Common side effects of TRELEGY 100/62.5/25 mcg for COPD include: upper respiratory tract infection; pneumonia; bronchitis; thrush in your mouth or throat (rinse your mouth with water without swallowing after use to help prevent this); headache; back pain; joint pain; flu; inflammation of the sinuses; runny nose and sore throat; taste disturbance; constipation; painful and frequent urination (signs of a urinary tract infection); nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea; mouth and throat pain; cough; and hoarseness.
Please see full Prescribing Information, including Patient Information, for TRELEGY.
You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit http://www.fda.gov/medwatch, or call 1-800-FDA-1088.
For US audiences only.
For more information, please visit trelegy.com.
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FVUADVR230004 October 2023
Produced in USA.
Sources
1. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. COPD - What Is COPD? | NHLBI, NIH. www.nhlbi.nih.gov. Published 2022. https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/copd
2. Scoditti E, Massaro M, Garbarino S, Toraldo DM. Role of Diet in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Prevention and Treatment. Nutrients. 2019;11(6):1357. doi:https://doi.org/10.3390/nu11061357
