The Secret to Thriving with COPD

by Dawn Lawson, Rachel Garrod

If you have been diagnosed with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, this book is nothing less than a manual on how to save your own life.

THE SECRET TO THRIVING WITH COPD is written in two voices. Rachel Garrod is a twenty-five-year veteran in the battle against pulmonary disease. Dawn Lawson was diagnosed as “very end-stage” in January of 2015 and told she would not live out the week.

We will explain pulmonary rehabilitation. What it is and how you can use it not only to keep the health you have you have, but to regain some of the health you have lost.

We will attempt to explain why, in so many cases, it is a secret.

Rachel Garrod was at the forefront of pulmonary rehabilitation. She found herself, time and again, trying to climb over a wall of medical professionals who insisted that sick people should stay sick. She has participated in hundreds of studies that prove conclusively that rehab works, and she continues to help people diagnosed with COPD find the road to health.
Sadly, that mindset still exists. Ongoing rehab, for the most part, is not available.

Dawn Lawson found out about pulmonary rehabilitation from Facebook. When she asked for a referral, she was told she was “too sick”. Facebook told her “They are wrong. Fight for it.” She did, and two respiratory therapists and an exercise physiologist literally brought her back from the dead.

A typical internet search on COPD gives you inhaler ads, the four stages, and tells you that COPD is a disease that worsens over time.

Pulmonary rehabilitation can turn COPD into a manageable condition that improves over time.

Genres: Nonfiction, Health

231 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 18, 2021

About the author

Dawn Lawson lives in Northern California, America, with an amazing housemate and the pack of dogs that owns them both. She is the author of HOW TO ROB A BANK IN DRAG, an autobiography, THE SECRET TO THRIVING WITH COPD and is working on SHIMMER, a speculative fiction novel.

Reviews

[Wulfwyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have COPD. I found this book provided me with useful information and exercises. It told me more than I was told when given my diagnosis and oxygen. I really appreciated Dawn Lawson telling her story. I have found, with another illness, that often I learn the most from others walking the same path. Certainly is true here. I recommend this to anyone who has COPD or is caring for someone with it.
*I won an electronic copy of this book in a Goodreads Giveaway. I am voluntarily leaving my review that is based upon my experience reading this book and doing the exercises in it.*

[Paula Cox · Rating 4 out of 5]

I did learn some information to help my husband who is in the early stages of COPD. With this book, I will be able to help him build stronger muscles and breathing techniques that he did not have before reading this book. I would definitely recommend if you have COPD or know someone who does. It could help prolong their life.

#GoodreadsGiveaway

[Terry A Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Book!

This book has been a life saver. Things in the book are better than a physician's explanation or example charts.

[Ashley · Rating 2 out of 5]

***I received a free e-copy via Goodreads Giveaways in exchange for a honest review.***

I didn't finish this. Hard DNF for me. Been attempting to read this for months and finally had to cave for my own mental health.

My grandmother suffers from COPD and a few other lung ailments. I entered to win this, in hopes of being able to learn something that I would be able to teach her, to help her breath and live better. I finally had to just skim through, looking for the exercises and bypass the bloated parts of uselessness. I probably missed some but that couldn't be helped.

I showed her a couple of the exercises that I discovered but I'm not sure if she has been able to attempt them, at her age. 😢

There may be some very helpful advice/tips/exercise in the book but it gets lost with the horrible editing, actually... a complete lack of editing.
During the personal accounts of the COPD sufferer, irrelevant information is shared, over and over and over. And, with the medical accounts from the professional side, it feels like they are dragging out the book with filler, sharing what the other person already said, instead of "hey... These exercises will help you" and listing a proper how-to.

This book might help someone if they wade through the excess and dig out small nuggets of vital information, because for a book that is suppose to help someone struggling to breathe and function, it's really long winded. Feels like a money grab to take advantage of people that are desperate for help.

[Johanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolute must-read! Full of relevant and life-changing information, heart-warming (and heart-rending) anecdotes and real life stories of the author's journey to improving her health, and how readers can use what she learned to do the same in their own lives as well. I'm so grateful for all of the wonderful information the author has learned and shared in this book, which I've gleaned from in hopes of helping a loved one who was diagnosed with a chronic breathing condition (not copd, though one Dr wanted to pin that on him). He also is seeing an epigeneticist who has completely changed his diet and found multiple toxicities through testing which he's now working on chelating and detoxing from, all of which has helped improve his health and breathing dramatically. As I said, I'm so very grateful for every resource I can glean from to learn about effective methods to recovery. If you or a loved one suffers from a chronic breathing condition I HIGHLY recommend this book, in conjunction with a good integrative/naturopathic doctor who can do extensive testing to get to the root of the problem and help the body heal.

[Eliza · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was diagnosed with Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF) four years ago. For more than two years, I relied on prescribed medications, but my symptoms continued to worsen. My breathing became more difficult, fatigue set in quickly, and simple daily activities started to feel exhausting.Last year, out of both desperation and hope, I decided to try a herbal treatment program from NaturePath Herbal Clinic. I’ll admit, I was skeptical at first. But within just a few months, I began to notice real changes my breathing became easier, my energy improved, and I could do more without feeling completely worn out.It has been a life-changing experience. I finally feel like myself again better than I have in years. If you or someone you love is struggling with IPF, I truly recommend looking into their natural approach. You can contact them on their website www.naturepathherbalclinic.com

[Kath Watermann · Rating 5 out of 5]

For the past few years I have had difficulty working out in the yard, and then in 2018 it got harder and harder to breathe. After many tests, it was a CT scan that showed Emphysema, and scarring in my lungs. I quit smoking 8 years ago, but the damage has been done. I got to a point I couldn’t catch my breath and was coughing so hard I thought the top of my head would blow off; nothing was really working to help my condition. Finally, I started on the COPD formula, and with the help of this treatment, I’m active again. Its effects on emphysema are amazing; all my symptoms gradually faded away. I breathe much more freely now and no longer need my oxygen cylinder! Visit Uinehealthcentre. net to get this formula. I'm surprised a lot of people with COPD/emphysema haven't heard of the formula.

[Vivian · Rating 4 out of 5]

I started on COPD Herbal treatment from Ultimate Life Clinic, the treatment worked incredibly for my lungs condition. I used the herbal treatment for almost 4 months, it reversed my COPD. My severe shortness of breath, dry cough, chest tightness gradually disappeared. Reach Ultimate Life Clinic via their website at www.ultimatelifeclinic.com . I can breathe much better and It feels comfortable!