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Albuterol to open airways

MAC & Bronchiectasis | Last Active: 13 hours ago | Replies (27)

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@laureltn

Yes, in a recent webinar, she said to use the Albuterol (or Levalbuterol) to open the airways first, then do the nebulizing of saline. She also said it's more effective to do nebulizing first and then vest and Aerobika afterward, much to the dismay of a lot of people in my support group because of time constraints. It makes sense with a traditional vest particularly because it is squeezing the airways and working against getting the saline into them to wet them down to allow you to clear the mucus.

But something she said in that same webinar is one of the reasons I've continued with Albuterol, even though my PEF didn't change with it when tested at NJH. She said that NTMs like to hang out in the very small airways at the ends. Yikes. I was first prescribed Albuterol when I got my Monarch vest about three years ago and have used it since. Of course when I was on Arikayce, it was recommended to continue it to avoid bronchospasms. My pulmonologist and I discussed my continuing or stopping it when I saw him last week, and since I tolerate the Albuterol well, I will continue to use it for now. Been off all meds since June and so far so good!

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Replies to "Yes, in a recent webinar, she said to use the Albuterol (or Levalbuterol) to open the..."

Yes, I remembered her comment about NTM hanging out at the periphery, so when my pulmonary therapists explained what Albuterol does, opens the airways so medications (saline) can get in deeper, I thought “oh, ok, I think I want that”. Still, I haven’t noticed any difference in AC with or without. I do follow her suggested protocol of doing saline before and separate from vest, Aerobika, active breathing. One thing that Dr McShane suggested that I haven’t tried yet but is next on the list is to try doing two vials of saline, to really wet things down I believe is how she put it, before moving on to the vest/Aerobika/active breathing, etc. That of course increases the time needed which as you point out is already increased by doing the saline separately. I am still somewhat of a newbie to everything and working to get more efficient at all the things, but I have very little mucus, if any, so trying the extra saline seems worthwhile to me. Congratulations on finishing your antibiotic protocol, wishing you all the best!