Join Today & Get 4% Cash Back Then 6, 7...Up to 10% Off Reorders!

April 13, 2008, 10:37 pm
Flag as Inappropriate zebra  

My father had an episode which resulted in him being in the hospital for a week. He thought he was having a heart attack or stroke, but they determined he was underweight, had low oxygen levels, and COPD. While we're getting used to what it is, we're still trying to grasp what it means for the rest of his life. He's put on weight and been allowed to not wear the oxygen tank, but he gets winded easily.Is there any other long-term effects we should anticipate?

I'm sorry to hear that you dad is ill. It's hard for families to have the leader of the family being sick. Be sure to ask your doctor as many questions as you have. You have every right to get answers and he's the best person to ask about your dad's prognosis.

Do the doctors know what happened to give COPD to him? I hope your father doesn't smoke because that is one thing that really contributes to the disease a lot. If he has allergies you might want to redo his home and get rid of as many allergens as possible. Getting one of those machines that totally cleans the air might be a good first step. Getting allergy free bedding and getting him new pillows might also be a good first step for the family to do.

I also have heard that switching to the Mediterranean diet is the best thing he can do right now. Give your dad lots of fresh vegetables, have fresh fruit as his daily dessert, use olive oil as the source of fat, have some dairy, mostly cheese and yogurt, and some, but not a lot of, fish and poultry. At the most four eggs weekly, and very little red meat. And if he can stand it, some wine in low to moderate amounts. LOL! It comes out to less than 25% of fat in the diet.

Good luck!

I think that since COPD is a chronic obstruction of the lungs, then some of the possible long term side effects are nutrition, breathing and sleep.  High protein, high calorie diet to prevent muscle wasting, and encouraging exercise and activity during the day will improve sleep at night.