ACT

Yes. The Bronchiectasis causes damaged airways that impair the normal ability to clear our airways. It is best practice to nebulize albuterol/levalbuterol first to allow the saline which you nebulize next to reach the smaller airways, twice/day. Many people also use a mechanical or postural assist also to help move the secretions, like Aerobika device, vest, postural drainage or a combination, along with huff cough and breathing techniques.

Yes. Definitely nebulizing saline. I can’t tell you whether you should use albuterol or not. And you should be doing other airway clearance techniques along with the nebulizing saline to help get the mucus out of your lungs. Nebulizing saline is two-fold. It helps thin mucus to help you get it out of your lungs and makes your lungs less inviting to nasty bacteria.

Definitely agree with the responses here. If you can get to a pulmonologist or infectious disease dr with MAC/bronchiectasis experience they will help you. There is a lot of advice on these threads for finding a good doctor. And getting a referral to a respiratory therapist or chest therapist who can help you learn airway clearance techniques was almost as important for me as getting the right doctor. I was nebulizing saline without much training and getting hardly anything until I had chest therapy.

I will ask my pulmonologist
Hopefully he will order what I need. I agree I may need to find a specialist.
Thank you so much.

All best wishes! There is a lot of shared experience & solid information here.

If your pulmonologist did not already recommend airway clearance, they are not up-to-date in managing MAC and Bronchiectasis.
That is not uncommon and not an indictment of your doc. Even though it doesn't seem like it when you are reading here, MAC is a rare disease, affecting fewer than one in 1000 people. That means even a pulmonologist may see only one or two cases per years, compared to hundreds of cases of Asthma and COPD.
It is in you best interest to find someone with experience to help you on this journey.

My pulmonologist did not recommend airway clearance as Sue spoke of above. It wasn't until being on this Mayo site that I learned about it and then googled multiple videos to demonstate all the possible ways of helping to do airway clearance, the methods. Doing the airway clearance, for me, has helped me a great deal to remove what needs to be removed from the lungs.
Barbara

My pulmonologist did not mention airway clearance also, I just learned about it in this forum, thank you everyone for sharing, I’ll ask him on my appointment next month. I’m now on my third month of the “big three” for MAC, so far on and off loose BM and poor appetite, we will all be fine , been praying for everyone!

I hope all goes well. I asked my pulmonologist. Waiting for a reply. Did yours mention water? Steam from shower is not good. Just curious because mine never did.

That definitely makes sense.
Yes I probably should see a specialist. I’m 3 hours away from Mayo Clinic in Rochester. Thank you so much