Asthma copd

[Theodoreb]

I just got a lung function meter can I ask what result you get on a good day and whether you classs yourself as severe or moderate or mild please?

Sorry it's a peak flow meter

you should look up a peak flow chart online, as your age and height have an impact on it, my best with mild asthma has been 400 but I'm quite petite so someone else my age whose taller would get a different score.

Yes I agree, a person's predicted best is relative to age and height.
However it's also relative to them as an individual. It doesn't matter what anyone else can do, only what you can do relative to your own best score. I know people with very severe asthma who have a very high peak flow, yet others with only mild asthma whose peak flows are much lower.

I have copd and on a good day I can do 300 although on a average day it's 250 on a bad day much worse. I just wanted to know others scores as I'm anxious about covid and wanted to reassure myself.

The thing is anyone else's scores are irrelevant to yours. Someone else might say they can do to 500 which sounds amazing but then if their best is say 800 then 500 isn't good at that time for them. Likewise someone might say they can do only do 200 but actually that's their best so really good for them.

But I do understand the anxiety, and being anxious is hard. Do you have a plan for what to look for with your COPD? I don't have much experience of that but in asthma there would be various levels relative to your best which would help in knowing if things were deteriorating. I assume that's what you're concerned about?

@DottyGiraffe
I am young I am only 32 was diagnosed when I was 30 stopped smoking straight away. What I wanted to know was how serious my condition actually is as I have been sent a shielding letter. I didn't think it was that bad and want to be able to tell when I need to go to hospital and when my chest is actually bad for a virus or infection or bad for copd reasons.

I was just planning on charting and seeing what makes it bad.

I think that's a very understandable thing to be thinking. The shielding letter could be to do with the medication you're on as opposed to your condition itself being severe, or due to recent (in the last year) issues with it even if it's controlled now.

Keeping a record of your peak flow would probably be a good idea anyway (I say probably because I know it is in asthma but don't know much about COPD), then you'll know what's normal for you and if things are dipping etc (as you've suggested).

It's really hard though with both asthma and COPD because we can guess why we have symptoms (hayfever for example) but it's difficult to know for sure. My advice would be to seek advice if your breathing is at a level where you would normally do that.

I’m being meticulous with Athsma medication and my peak flow monitoring so I can spot any potential issues. One other thing it might be worth checking is your sats (clip on finger thing) as GP asked if I had this during a telephone call last week.