Begin coughing up mucus before I even get out of bed in the morning

@karen10225 Hi Karen, back when my MAC was at its worst, I was coughing almost 24/7 and you are correct, it was totally exhausting. I eventually figured out that if I did my last airway clearance of the day just before bedtime, I could get about 4 hours of solid, restful sleep. Then I figured out if I woke up coughing in the night or early AM, it was helpful to get up and do what you might call a "mini" session - get a drink of warm water, do a few rounds of huff coughing and get a bunch of stuff out - then I could fall asleep for a few more hours.
Another thing that helped was sleeping elevated on pillows. What was least helpful was to lay in bed coughing, because it just didn't effectively bring up mucus.

Now, several years past the severe coughing stage, I still have nights or days when my cough threatens to ruin sleep or an activity. I grab the Aerobika and do a mini-session and seem to calm things down.

Great suggestions from Sue!

What are you doing for airway clearance and how often?

I nebulize with 7% saline once a day and I try to walk every day. The weird thing is that about four times a day without doing anything I will start to cough up a good deal of mucus. Because of all those automatic events of airway clearance, I don’t do anything else. I have tried the Aerobika, but for some reason I can’t get anything up using it. It is all so random that I don’t like to go out anymore because I never know when it will happen and how disruptive I will be to others!

I feel your pain. Coughing is so disruptive and everyone around you thinks you're ill with some contagion. I've gotten into the habit of clearing before I leave the house for any event. I also keep a supply of Luden's Wild Cherry lozenges in my pocket. According to Sue, the pectin in the lozenges help with coughing. I have found this to be true as long as I have also cleared my lungs. It's amazing, even the smallest amount of mucus/phlegm seems to cause coughing. Talking also leads to coughing for me. Dr. McShane (airway clearance video posted on this site) explains why.

Since you are coughing so much I would suggest increasing the nebulization with 7% saline to 2 times a day. First thing in a.m. and then again in p.m. If you find you're too tired for the p.m. try to squeeze it in around 4pm before dinner prep etc. Then you could try some ACoB or AD before bed. It takes time to perfect your technique. Personally, I would be proactive to remove airway mucus and not depend on coughing fits as airway clearance.

What has worked well for me especially is autogenic drainage. I used to use the AD app but I found that was a waste of time after consulting with a RT. I no longer use aerobika, unless I get desperate.

Start here if you have not learned autogenic drainage. Hope this is somewhat helpful.
https://bronchiectasis.com.au/resources/airway-clearance-videos
PS - I know there are differing opinions on exercise replacing airway clearance. Some people can get away with this substitution. I am not one of those. My very experienced RT who has worked with CF and bronchiectasis for decades says a resounding no, but maybe you will be among the people who can get away with it.

Thank you for the good advice and the airway clearance videos. I think I will experiment with the autogenic drainage. It’s so weird to me that I go to a top rated hospital in LA for my pulmonologist and ID doctor and they are rated like third in my state, and yet they never talk about airway clearance or RT who could teach me this. I get all my ideas from sites like this one! Thanks again.

I have the same issue Karen. Then when i get up my husband does chest PT which helps.
Mucous collects during the night so its important to get it up.

this is happening to me too. I thought it was Copd

I told my DR. I didn't want to go out either because of the cough. He prescribed me a pill called Benzonatate 200 mg. It doesn't make me sleepy or loopy. He told me to take 1 hour before I go out. Was able to go to dinner and dancing without that cough. I am sure that it would not be good to take it every day because we need to get up the mucus but he wanted to help me be able to go out with my husband and friends to a concert or dinner without that nagging embarrassing cough. It worked. I have only used it a couple of times. I am cautious with it.

I, too, find that if I start coughing during the night or first thing in the morning, it's best to get up and do some clearing. Also, for those spells that come at times during the day (just before bed is a frequent one), I've recently found that adding the Aerobika with long breath-holds helps get things up and out, with the least amount of fuss. We all find the ways that work best for us.
Anna

This is a great help, Sue. Thanks a bunch. I do my last rounds of Aerobika shortly before bed. I still cough up quite a bit first thing in the morning, but not being wakened during the night. You are a trouper!!!