1. < MAC & Bronchiectasis

Albuterol to open airways

Posted by bsardella @bsardella, Nov 20 5:10pm

I am not producing very much mucus when using my Aerobika so my doctor prescribed albuterol to open the airways. I watched a presentation by Dr. McShane a few months ago and I think she recommended using a saline solution rather than albuterol. My doctor doesn’t recommend saline. It’s all very confusing! Does anyone have any thoughts about this?

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jc76 | @jc76 | Dec 1 8:13am
In reply to @bayarea58 "@jc76 if you put in the google search bar “mindfulness practice for sports to overcome past..." + (show)
@bayarea58

@jc76 if you put in the google search bar “mindfulness practice for sports to overcome past injuries” the AI tool will pull up many resources for you to check out. Too many for me to cut and paste for you! Explore and find what works best for you. Good luck!

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@bayarea58
Thanks for feedback and reply.

I will follow your guidelance and google the search.
Thanks again

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jc76 | @jc76 | Dec 1 8:24am

@bsardella
I am not familiar with Aerobika so can't comment on that.

I have been through a lot of different advise on inhalers. What works, when to use, etc.

Not one of my doctors has ever said not to do saline rinses if they help and make you feel better. The only guidance I got was NOT to use the saline rinse after doing an inhaler that goes into sinuses. If you have allergies or live in areas with lot of pollen ect. the saline rinses can really help clean out sinues.

Saline solutions are usually inhaled into sinuses. Abuleterol is a bronchial and lung inhaler. I do know that there are some type of vapor inhalers that I have done in past when inhaled salt water during a swim race to help reduce inflammation in bronchial areas but this was a prescriped device.

What my pumlonologist had tole me now regarding bronchial restrictions when swimming was to use Albuterol prior to race and not use Advair or Atrovent as an ongoing treatment. But this is for me specifically.

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helen1000 | @helen1000 | Dec 2 7:19am
In reply to @irenea8 "How does a vest that uses magnets work? Is it safer for rib bruising or pain..." + (show)
@irenea8

How does a vest that uses magnets work? Is it safer for rib bruising or pain etc?

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I use smart vest, and it does not bruise rib or cause pain.

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narelled23 | @narelled23 | Dec 4 7:19pm
In reply to @becleartoday "If your doctor doesn’t recommend saline, he or she is not a bronchiectasis expert. To advocate..." + (show)
@becleartoday

If your doctor doesn’t recommend saline, he or she is not a bronchiectasis expert. To advocate for yourself, you might want to request a three month trial with .9 isotonic saline. Isotonic saline is the same salt level as our bodily fluids -tears, blood -so it would be a conservative approach and I find it difficult to believe that a pulmonologist would push back on it.

I’ve heard that there is an overuse of albuterol in our community. Just because one person is using it doesn’t mean everyone else should. A very experienced respiratory therapist told me that people usually know when they need it. They have tightness in their chest. However, the gold standard is when you have your Pulmonary Function Tests, first have them without albuterol and then with albuterol. If there is a substantial improvement with the albuterol then perhaps it’s worth using.

There are side effects with albuterol and levalbuterol, including jitteriness and the possibility of reflux from relaxing the LES, the lower esophageal sphincter.

In the meantime, depending on what’s available in your community, you might want to try to find someone who understands BE well and regularly attends PE and NTM conferences.

The good news is that over the next three years the COPD foundation along with NTM Info & Research will be certifying centers throughout the US. In this first round of certifications, 33 centers were approved. The goal is to reach 150. So, if there isn’t an expert available in your community now, there might be in the near future. However, in the meantime, you might think about going to one of the centers.

Remember… Never change your current care without first discussing it with your medical team.

I hope this is helpful,
Linda Esposito

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I agree with this approach. I was following the Lung Matters protocol of salbutamol followed by Hypertonic saline for 18 months and my reflux problems worsened. I decided to stop the salbutamol and there was a noticeable improvement in my reflux (which can cause bronchiectasis). However, I have very loose mucus and produce a cup and a half each time I nebulise...for whatever reason...however I have convinced myself this is a positive thing - I don't need the salbutamol and also recently I got rid of an NTM infection purely through nebbing with 6% hypertonic saline. Good luck with it.

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