I Don't Like Myself Today

Good morning my friends,
Have you ever looked in the mirror and thought... UGH.... "I dont like myself today." Well, when you have COPD/Emphysema that may happen quite often to you.
I woke up this morning, looked in the mirror and decided... "I don't like myself today." You may ask "WHY", what does COPD have to do with "not liking yourself?"
Before I was diagnosed with COPD/Emphysema, I weighed in at a comfortable 145 lbs., my height 5'9" (not too bad), now I have gone way beyond that. The worst part is the barell effect it has on our bodies and the steroids that we have to take.
My clothes do not fit the same way anymore. So you see... some days... "I just don't like myself" hopefully... "tomorrow I will like me again."
I have included an excerpt from an interesting article about COPD/Emphysema explaining about the barrell chest effect for those of you who do not know about it.

Clinical Manifestations
Typically patients with emphysema will have a very distinct "barrel chest." This is due to the problem with the lungs being in constant state of hyperexpansion. The normal negative pressure required for inspiration and the positive pressure required for expiration is lost as the lungs are in a constant state of inflation. Therefore, expiration becomes an active task, increasing the work of breathing. The "barrel chest" is directly related to the ribs as they become fixed in the inspiratory position combined with the loss of elastic recoil of the lungs. Dorsal kyphosis, prominent anterior chest and elevated ribs will contribute to this appearance.

http://everything2.com/index.pl?node=emphysema

May you have a healthy and joyous holiday season.

Breathe easy,
1 2 3 Inhale ... 1 2 3 4 Exhale

Sandy