"I guess I'm confused. I was diagnosed earlier this year with COPD, but "thought" I had no symptoms. Then my husband told me how much I huff and puff, etc. I had written that off to age (I'm 72) and being out of shape. We are full-time RV'ers and bikers and travel in the summer. We usually head for the mountains and I was concerned about the higher altitude (we are from Florida) affecting my breathing so I asked my doctor for an inhaler which she prescribed for me (stioto respimat). I found myself seriously out of breath climbing a small hill in Arkansas and sat, gasping for air for a good 10 minutes before I could get up and go into the RV. Shortly after that, I started using the inhaler daily and it has been working well. However, quite often, right after using the inhaler I find it hard to take a deep breath for a couple of hours. After that time, I'm good the rest orf the day and thorugh the night until the next use. Today I had a lot of trouble all day long trying to take a deep breath. Is this common?"