COPD is usually progressive and not fully reversible¹. The symptoms experienced will vary depending on the severity of the disease and include:

Cough: the most common symptom and usually the first to develop is a chesty (productive) cough. The extra mucus produced needs to be removed from the lungs and coughing is the body’s natural way to do this. As the condition worsens the cough will become more persistent and more mucus is produced. This is the first sign of the lungs becoming damaged.

Breathlessness/wheezing: feeling short of breath and wheezing starts to happen as the damage to the lungs progresses. At first it may only occur following exertion such as climbing the stairs or walking to the shops. However as the disease progresses this will worsen and shortness of breath can even happen whilst resting. 

^{1 https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/qs10/chapter/introduction}