Hi Jill.
My main symptom is coughing up gunk all day long and overnight. Things are especially challenging in the morning due to mucus accumulation while I sleep. Airway clearance usually only buys me about 15-20 minutes of peace before the gunk factory kicks back in. It’s not much fun, as you might imagine. Contributing factors include BE, frequent infections including four or five lung bugs since last September, scarring and blebs and bullea, and a 5 cm cavitary lesion in my left lung. Six months of antibiotics for MAC did not reduce the coughing or mucus hypersecretion. I also take NAC and Mucinex every day. Most of the issues are in my upper lungs. One of my docs suggested meeting with a thoracic surgeon, while also noting that I might not be a good candidate for surgery due to low BMI and other factors. We also discussed palliative care. My current game plan is to stay aggressive with airway clearance, and I will probably be restarting antibiotics since a recent sputum test was positive for MAC. As always, hoping things turn around in my favor. Doing lots of research, taking various supplements, and trying to put on a few pounds. Forward on, as they say. I hope your health situation improves.