I posted this a few months ago, but think that it needs another review. It is so important that people with COPD do not fall for the con artists who pretend to be doctors and offer junk medicine that does nothing but relieve you of some of your hard-earned money.
When I first began posting, I promised to keep you apprised of the good guys when it comes to places to go for information and to find some new friends who understand what you are going through. I have not done a particularly good job of that because I got sidelined by some other important issues. I am going to right that wrong when it comes to places to go to find good information and good people. I will probably leave some people out, so feel free to correct me and we will address it in another post.
The first place that I want to mention is COPD360Social. This is a chat format where you can meet people like you who are willing to share information. It is the main site associated with the COPD Foundation. You will also find up-to-date information on anything that you would like to know about COPD. http://copdfoundation.org
The COPD Foundation is also sponsoring an oxy talk coffee hour hosted by Mike Hess. Mike is a respiratory therapist and is working on making oxygen therapy more user-friendly in a project called Oxygen360. This is a virtual meeting that occurs one time per month. To get the invite and link to the next oxy talk contact Mike at mhess@copdfoundation.org
Stephanie Williams is also hosting a once-monthly virtual meeting for people to join and to get on that list contact Stephanie at swilliams@copdfoundation.org
Racecar driver and foundation member Joe Morrison also holds a virtual meeting on the 2nd,3rd,4th Tuesdays at 4:30. You can find the information on his Facebook page Right2Breathe.org – Asthma and COPD Education, Awareness and Screening. If you click on the about tab you will be taken to a page where you can scroll down to the bottom of the page and register to receive invitations to the Pulmonary Chat Online which is the name of the virtual meetings. https://Right2Breathe.org
There are also email lists which you can join that great information and you can ask and get your questions answered. One of these lists is EFFORTS. The list is managed by the emphysema foundation, and you can join by going to http://emphysema.net Introduction to EFFORTS and Membership (emphysema.net)
The American Lung Association has a website dedicated to COPD. The site is called Inspire and you can get email updates from them. You can also attend a virtual better breathers club through them. http://inspire.com
The last site that I will mention is not the least. I am mentioning it last because it is a coalition of reputable organizations that are working on issues concerning the lungs. https://uscopdcoalition.org
I will follow up with a list of legitimate dealers for oxygen equipment.