Stage 2
As chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) gets worse, it limits your airflow more and more. By stage 2, your symptoms are usually no longer something you can just shrug off, they start to affect your daily life.
Since it's sometimes easy to miss the early signs of COPD, this is the stage where a lot of people go to the doctor to find out what's going on -- and may first learn they actually have the disease.
What are Stage 2 Symptoms?
Anything you had in the first stage often gets worse in stage 2. Not everyone gets the same symptoms, but you may have:
-
Constant coughing, along with mucus, that's often worse in the morning
- Shortness of breath that makes even household chores a challenge
- Tiredness
- Trouble sleeping
-
Wheezing when you exercise or during a flare-up
It can start to affect your mental health, too. You may get forgetful, confused, or have slurred speech.
How Do You Test For COPD?
As with stage 1, you'll talk to your doctor about your health history and get a physical exam. You'll also take a simple breathing test, which tells you if you have COPD. One of the results from it, known as "forced expiratory volume in one second" tells you the stage you're in.
From there, you may get blood tests, exercise tests, imaging, and more. They'll reveal important details about how COPD is affecting your body and how your lungs are working. That can help you and your doctor figure out the best treatment.
* Credit to Webmd for much of the above information
