A woman who was originally diagnosed with asthma was later found to have COPD, a misdiagnosis that experts say happens all too often.
“I kept thinking, ‘Hey, I’m having trouble breathing here,’” [Midge Webb] told the news site. She went to see a pulmonologist who diagnosed her with asthma and prescribed her two inhalers, one for everyday use and another for emergencies. But they didn’t seem to alleviate her symptoms.
“I just didn’t feel like I was getting enough air in my lungs. It made me feel anxious because, if you can’t breathe, nothing else matters,” she said.
Eight years later, with no improvement, Webb again visited a pulmonologist who then diagnosed her with COPD.
