COPD

[livingwith]

My mother was 76 yrs old and fell in April, shattered her knee. She had to have surgery, found out she had her valve replacement narrowing, but went ahead to do the surgery. She had COPD but we did not know what stage. She was on O2 24 hr. low amount. While in the hospital, she developed Pneumoia-double and was on antibotics. It was helping, but then all of a sudden, she got worse, and no antiobotic would clear it up, my questions, is near the end, from using the inhalers, having the cortiso...Read the full article

[BethNC]

Hi Alisa. I'm very sorry for the loss of your mother. My dad also has severe COPD and heart disease. Just as your mother, he uses several inhalers multiple times per day and also uses a nebulizer w/ some of his breathing meds, he's on O2 almost constantly, takes prednisone daily, and also multiple heart-related meds. He is very hoarse much of the time and can lose his voice easily. Also, he constantly has a dry mouth. He has always attributed the hoarseness to the inhalers, as he notices it more after he uses them. I don't know if that's medically accurate, but that's been his experience. The O2 has a drying effect as well, as do several of his other drugs. I suppose the combination of all these things worsens the voice problem. I hope this info is helpful. I'm sure it was distressing when your mom wasn't able to speak. My prayers are with you.