1. < MAC & Bronchiectasis

Caffeine use to assist AC

Posted by snoei @snoei, Aug 16 7:55am

Does anyone with bronchiectasis notice that using caffeine helps with airway clearance? I was diagnosed with mild bronchiectasis April '23 and am still trying to figure out what works best for me. Thought I had an adequate routine until 2 episodes of hemoptysis in late July. I normally do decaf unless I am having a low energy day. Thanks for any thoughts.

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the MAC & Bronchiectasis Support Group.

Mentor
Sue, Volunteer Mentor | @sueinmn | Aug 16 8:56am

@snoei Funny you ask that, as I sit reading Connect with my morning coffee in hand. I have essential tremor, and my neurologist suggested stopping caffeine a couple years ago. I weaned off and quit, but then a friend who "must" have her 2 morning cups came to stay for a while. I could not resist the lovely aroma, and had my single mug of cafe au lait, then we went for our walk. Without even having used my saline neb or Aerobika, I was coughing up mucus.
So over the next few days, I experimented - as long as I took my Primidone (for the tremor) before breakfast and only had one cup, the coffee loosened the mucus without worsening the teemor. Green tea did not have the same effect. When we were on the road, if I missed my morning coffee, my chest was tight by evening. If I drank a vente form the coffeeshop, my tremor worsens.
Personally, I found my "sweet spot" - one cup of coffee in the morning. I get to keep my 50+ year little vice, I get the caffeine boost, I do have easier airway clearance, and it doesn't worsen my tremor.
Airway clearance is a constant experiment for me - for now, this works.

REPLY
4 replies
kdiago1564 | @kdiago1564 | Aug 16 9:08am

I have had the same experience! I was trying to do Airway clearance + Aerobika before drinking coffee each morning to avoid the GERD factor but a) I found I was too tired for that! b) I have also found that the caffeine from one cup of coffee does something to loosen mucus (whether it's stuck in my throat or what I can't say) but I am able to cough some stuff up without doing anything so I'm going with it! 🙂

REPLY
1 reply
liz440 | @liz440 | Aug 16 9:44am

A theory why coffee works: coffee raises heart rate so heart pumps more blood faster to lungs and more blood to lungs allows coughing up mucus.....this is a guess! Kind of like exercise LOL.

REPLY
ace71 | @ace71 | Aug 16 10:35am
In reply to @sueinmn "@snoei Funny you ask that, as I sit reading Connect with my morning coffee in hand...." + (show)
@sueinmn

@snoei Funny you ask that, as I sit reading Connect with my morning coffee in hand. I have essential tremor, and my neurologist suggested stopping caffeine a couple years ago. I weaned off and quit, but then a friend who "must" have her 2 morning cups came to stay for a while. I could not resist the lovely aroma, and had my single mug of cafe au lait, then we went for our walk. Without even having used my saline neb or Aerobika, I was coughing up mucus.
So over the next few days, I experimented - as long as I took my Primidone (for the tremor) before breakfast and only had one cup, the coffee loosened the mucus without worsening the teemor. Green tea did not have the same effect. When we were on the road, if I missed my morning coffee, my chest was tight by evening. If I drank a vente form the coffeeshop, my tremor worsens.
Personally, I found my "sweet spot" - one cup of coffee in the morning. I get to keep my 50+ year little vice, I get the caffeine boost, I do have easier airway clearance, and it doesn't worsen my tremor.
Airway clearance is a constant experiment for me - for now, this works.

Jump to this post

I read all your comments Sue. I'm new to mac etc. I have my first appointment at mayo in September. You always have such down to earth comments, and ways to navigate through life. Thank you!

REPLY
snoei | @snoei | Aug 16 3:59pm
In reply to @sueinmn "@snoei Funny you ask that, as I sit reading Connect with my morning coffee in hand...." + (show)
@sueinmn

@snoei Funny you ask that, as I sit reading Connect with my morning coffee in hand. I have essential tremor, and my neurologist suggested stopping caffeine a couple years ago. I weaned off and quit, but then a friend who "must" have her 2 morning cups came to stay for a while. I could not resist the lovely aroma, and had my single mug of cafe au lait, then we went for our walk. Without even having used my saline neb or Aerobika, I was coughing up mucus.
So over the next few days, I experimented - as long as I took my Primidone (for the tremor) before breakfast and only had one cup, the coffee loosened the mucus without worsening the teemor. Green tea did not have the same effect. When we were on the road, if I missed my morning coffee, my chest was tight by evening. If I drank a vente form the coffeeshop, my tremor worsens.
Personally, I found my "sweet spot" - one cup of coffee in the morning. I get to keep my 50+ year little vice, I get the caffeine boost, I do have easier airway clearance, and it doesn't worsen my tremor.
Airway clearance is a constant experiment for me - for now, this works.

Jump to this post

Maybe not a vice since coffee has been found to have favorable effects on heart health and decreases risk of Parkinson's disease. Thank you for sharing your experiment! I may try one cup/day of half-caf since limiting caffeine is important with osteoporosis.

REPLY
Mary | @mjb24 | Aug 16 7:05pm

I always have a productive cough in the morning while I have my coffee but never made the connection. Tonight I made eggs for dinner and we had coffee. Sure enough I started up with a productive cough. I also find that laughing brings it on. So that's the answer, a cup of coffee and a good laugh 😊

REPLY
pacathy | @pacathy | Aug 17 8:58am

Caffeine is a brochodilator, though a weak one and improves PFT’s for short periods of time. I thought I remembered that from nursing days and did a very quick look. This study was done for asthma patients.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7053252/

REPLY
1 reply
liz440 | @liz440 | Aug 17 9:31am

Had half a cup of coffee this morning and non stop mucus producing coughing. It works!

REPLY
AZ | @equanimous | Aug 17 10:31am
In reply to @gigiv "About coffee and the lungs: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-84348-w" + (show)

Thank you for sharing this study, Gigiv. It is extremely interesting to learn about the potential benefits of coffee! A must read!!

REPLY
View MoreView Less
Please sign in or register to post a reply.