Female, mid fifties, 5' 6", 174 lbs. Quit smoking 6 yrs ago. Smoked for 30 years, 1.5 pack to 2 pks a day. Diagnosed with COPD a year ago. Apparently developed sinus and/or allergy problems at the same time. I do NOT cough unless the sinus/allergy problem is acting up and then I cough up mucus frequently, and blow my nose constantly. I use Claritin D for that, it helps.
I have Rx for the COPD, Advair 500/50, use 1 inhalation twice a day. Also Rx for ProAir, used PRN. NEITHER med does anything for me. My symptom, for the supposed COPD, is difficulty breathing, especially with ANY physical exertion. I have a hard time breathing while drying myself off after showering, or carrying a gallon of milk from store to car. It is easier to breathe while standing (harder to breathe while sitting), harder to breathe if I eat too much. I walk VERY slow and even slower if there's a slight incline. A steep incline, even taken slowly, causes light-headedness. ANY time I move too fast (which is still slower than normal), I get light-headed.
In the past year, my toenails have developed black streaks. First it was just the great toe, then it was also the next 1. Now it's 3 toes. The streaks aren't constant but it is every day. No particular time of day or activity, and just on the right foot. No tingling or numbness in any limb.
I also suffer from insomnia. Go to bed at night and sleep 5 - 15 minutes, awake for hours, only to snooze another 5 - 15 minutes, or not. Or go to bed and lay there for hours, snooze 5 - 15 minutes and lay there another hour or 2, then give up and get up. I very frequently get very drowsy watching TV, reading a book, browsing online, working on the computer, driving, while standing or sitting, doing nothing, doing anything. I can lay down to sleep and snooze 5 minutes or not at all, and I'm still drowsy. I have Rx for Zolpidem 12.5mg, extended release and have used it for several years. I still have difficulty GETTING to sleep most of the time when I use it (which has progressed to nearly every night now), and every night I use it I only sleep 2 to 4 hours. I have used Zolpidem 10mg. It helps me to fall asleep, but I don't sleep more than 30 minutes. I gave up caffeine 6 years ago, when the sleep trouble first started.
I also have short term memory loss, progressively worsening over the past 3 years. I can't remember diddly squat. I can write notes to myself to help me remember and forget where I put the note, or not even remember I wrote the note. I can't remember a word I want to use. I went to find a droplight yesterday and could only come up with the words "light up thingy". I open my desk drawer to get something (stapler, tape, eraser, whatever) and forget what I want AS I'm looking for it. Sometimes when I backtrack I can remember and sometimes I can't. I lose stuff and sometimes I eventually find it (or my son does) but I have no recollection of having put it where it was found and it's usual found where it doesn't belong. And yes, I have put the cereal in the fridge and the milk in the cupboard. 40 year habit dictates I hook my car keys to my belt loop so I don't often lose them.
I've had a few tests done, like a CT scan and ultra-sound on lungs, stress test, sleep study. No one has found any reason for the breathing difficulty (other than attributing it to COPD), or the insomnia. Lung scan showed a white haziness both lungs, a 3cm nodule in one of them, and doc said a third of each lung isn't functioning. No problems with my heart. 1st sleep study 4 years ago showed I woke more than a 22 times in a 6.5 hour period but no reason for it. 2nd sleep study 4 months ago still didn't determine any cause, but I didn't see the results so I don't know how many times they concluded I woke up.
I can still drive, been doing it since I was 16, but sometimes forget how to get to some place I've been hundreds or thousands of times, like work or home. I don't forget WHERE I live or work, just how to get there. If WalMart wasn't 2 miles down the road I'd forget how to get to it. I can't tell you what date it is 10 seconds or 10 minutes after looking at my watch, but I remember the birth dates of my immediate family.
Yes, I am depressed. I am sick of this. Sometimes I wish that 3cm nodule in my lung would develop into full blown, end stage cancer so I can get this **** over with.