I heads CT scan. The doctor said I was showing signs of early emphysema. I m in the process of quitting. Everything I find on the Internet is scary/negative. If I quit now, I was wondering if I could live a normal life. I wasn t sure what the prognosis was since I didn t have to schedule an appointment with the pulmonary doctor. Just looking for Hope or good news I guess.
Thanks for your question on Chat Doctor. I can understand your situation and problem. Chronic smokers are tended to have emphysema. It is actually structural and functional disease of lung. Cigarette smoke causes constant inflammatory reaction and damages lung. So better to quit smoking as soon as possible. You need to quantify the damage in you. For this you need to get done PFT (Pulmonary Function Test). This will diagnose emphysema. It will also tell you about severity of the disease And treatment of emphysema is based on severity only. You may need inhaled bronchodilators and inhaled corticosteroid (ICS). So quit smoking as soon as possible, consult pulmonologist and discuss all these. Hope I have solved your query. Wish you good health. Thanks.