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Help, please: Did my dad have COPD?

Hi, I decided to post here because I lost my 60 year old dad 3 weeks ago, and I am trying to understand or make sense of it, if anyone, either doctor or patient can help me, please! My dad had COPD?!

The doctors who tried to save my dad said it was flare up COPD.

At the time he passed away on a Wednesday morning, I was not there. Apparently dad was having trouble breathing, mom called an ambulance, the doctors came, the heart was fine, it was the lungs, they put him on an oxygen mask, they were going to move him to the hospital, but it was too late, he was gone.

From the end of last year Dad started to have a chronic, constant cough. I told him to get it checked out but he said it was allergies. The cough continued until this year, morning, noon, night. The only times he didn't cough was when he slept, although he would occasionally cough in his sleep.
These last few months he was constantly clearing his throat, loudly (the volume of his coughing and clearing could be heard from far away).
Also earlier this year he began to run out of breath after walking a few blocks, when running errands. The last few months it was common for him to come in from running an errand (a few blocks from home) and be heard straining for breath, he would stay like that for a little while, holding on to the table or a chair, until it would pass and he would go on with his normal life.

The reason why dad minimized it is because he had an accident when he was 19 years old, and it caused a diagragmatic paralysis on his right side; when my mom told him a few weeks ago "it can't be that you are like this, that you are out of breath" my dad said "my lungs are fine, it's the diaphragm"....
I had less lung capacity per se, because of this.

My dad smoked quite a lot, I think maybe 2 packs a day minimum, especially in his forties, and these last two years he became completely sedentary because of other diseases like type 2 diabetes, psoriatic arthritis, spondylitis aquinosa, different impingements in the spine, lumbalgia, fibromyalgia, fatty liver, etc. He took a lot of medication, lived with pain all the time, years ago, so physical exercise was always a complicated issue. He started smoking since he was 20 years old I think, so he must have smoked for about 40 years.

My uncle (his brother) also smoked a lot and died a couple of years ago of COPD because he refused to stop smoking. He had a similar episode to my dad, one day he called him on the phone saying he couldn't breathe and my dad drove him to the hospital as fast as he could. They intubated him but apparently it was too late too, and he left.

After my uncle died of COPD my dad continued to smoke just the same, he would get angry if anyone said anything to him about it. He used to say "anything will kill me before smoking".

This year a cardiologist told him to "stop smoking" but Dad didn't listen.
My dad was going to the doctors, in fact a few weeks before he had a chest x-ray, but he didn't ask for the report. The problem is that he didn't go for a spirometry. We found with mom the other day a doctor's order for a spirometry from 2014, the diagnosis (i.e. the reason to validate the study, said COPD) but dad never had the study done, and this year, since these episodes, neither, so we have no way of knowing if he had it or not.

I just want to understand, it happened so fast, does this sound like he had undiagnosed COPD?

From what I've read on the internet, he had the symptoms: shortness of breath after certain normal activities, constant cough that wouldn't go away, and mucus. But still, it was so sudden that I need to understand, it's something that's going around in my mind constantly, if anyone could tell me their opinion I would greatly appreciate it.


  1. Hi Question, and thanks for sharing this with the community. I am so sorry to learn of the loss of your beloved Dad. Please accept my condolences at this time and extend them to the rest of your family.
    You may be aware we cannot provide medical advice or diagnostics over the internet (for your own safety), but your genuine concern and interest certainly warrants a reply.
    In the most general of terms, many of the symptoms you've shared with us, combined with his lifestyle, are often associated associated with a diagnosis of COPD. You also indicated he had other comorbidities as well (diabetes, arthritis, liver disease, etc.). Again, generally speaking, COPD does not come on suddenly - it is an insidious pulmonary disease that can affect a patient gradually over time.
    It's understandable that you want to know exactly what happened to Dad - perhaps you could reach out for his physician to see what the doctor's impression is. As well, there should be a death certificate for your Dad. On the certificate, the cause of death will be listed.
    Again, I'm sorry to hear what you are going through now - losing one's parent is a hurt that can last a lifetime. I know for me, there is always an empty feeling in my heart that affects me today still.
    If there is anything we can do to assist you, please let me or any other moderator / team member know.
    Warm regards,
    Leon (site moderator COPD.net)

    1. Thank you very much for answering, it means a lot to me. The doctor who was treating him for arthritis and diabetes was not aware of my dad's respiratory problems, I am sure that in the last consultations my dad did not comment on these episodes, because he believed that his lungs were fine, he said it was his diaphragm. The cardiologist who told him to stop smoking also passed away this year, that's why I turned to the internet. On the certificate is written "COPD exacerbation and diabetes" The doctors who came that day to try to save him immediately said "This is COPD!" especially seeing the pack of cigarettes on the table. Many people tell me there is no point in researching the reason, and I understand I can't turn back time (it's what I want most in the world) but my mind wants answers, so I really appreciate you taking the time to read and answer me.


    2. Hi again, Question - and thanks for your reply and further explanation. I can easily understand what your mind wants - to turn back time (if only we could!), and to have more of an explanation from the folks caring for your Dad, if only that were possible.
      The death certificate, as you shared, provides you with a reasonable, practical, and legal cause for Dad's passing.
      It is said, hindsight is always 20/20, but we have to be able to move forward knowing what we know now. I also often wish I could have the time back when my Dad was still here but, sadly, those days are gone forever.
      I have memories (and pictures), which I cherish, and I share stories about him with my entire family - we all take solace in celebrating those memories. As old as they are, and as long gone as they are, I believe my Dad is living on through me and these stories to my children and granddaughter.
      I do hope our sharing these thoughts and ideas with one another is of continued help for you.
      I can tell you it is for me.
      Wishing you well,
      Leon (site moderator COPD.net)



  2. SADLY DEFINITELY YES!! CHRONIC BRONCHITIS!!!!

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