The term comorbidities sends a chill down my spine and with all that is in me I want to say that I have none, but as most of us with COPD and in fact, just the most of us who are older adults’ denial will not make comorbidities go away.  When we look at the definition of the term, we find that it is not as ominous as it seems.  Morbidity brings the picture of deadly to the forefront as in morbidly obese.  The term comorbidity only means having one or more conditions simultaneously.  These conditions do not even need to be chronic conditions, so this paints a much less ominous picture.  One of the things that we find to be true is that comorbidities cause conditions to be more costly and difficult to treat.

A list of common conditions that exist with COPD according to the Sixth Annual COPD in America Survey are listed below:

Anemia, Anorexia, Asthma, Congestive Heart Failure, Depression/Anxiety, Dementia, Diabetes, GERD, Lung Cancer, Osteoporosis, Pulmonary Hypertension, and Sleep Apnea.  This information was current as of 2019.  I did not find more recent data from this group.  COPD.net included hypertension, pneumonia, coronary heart disease, atrial fibrillation, and muscle weakness.

I will be pursuing these comorbidities in coming posts.

The best thing that we can do is to surround ourselves with a great team of physicians that will work together to provide us with the best outcomes.  I guess that I am a doctor shopper because I have hired and fired some physicians during my quest for good health.  Some I fired because they sent me to a specialist for every little thing like a sinus infection for instance, others I fired because they thought that they were the “be all end all” solution to my health problems, and some because they rolled their eyes and dismissed my concerns as if I were a hypochondriac.  Even if I were, I needed kind and thoughtful attention and not they eye roll.  I now have a team of 3 physicians who communicate with one another and share test results and information and treat me with dignity and respect.  They even know me by name when they meet me on the street.  I know that this familiarity might not be possible in a more metro area, but you can create a team.

#COPDfoundation #comorbidities #Right2Breathe #oxygen360 #COPDnet