Hi Diane:
I have been using 7% saline for about 4 months. I was really coughing a lot to the point that I strained my muscles in my chest. After some experimenting, I discovered that if I breathed very gently, slowly, and not too deep for several minutes of the treatment, I would not cough too much. Then after that time I could breathe more deeply for the rest of the treatment.
Last week I attended an NTMr zoom with Dr. Pamela McShane on airway clearance. One thing she suggested was after nebbing to take 3 slow deep breaths and hold each for 3 seconds, then do the aerobika lying down. I have trouble getting mucus up, and find this helps. Another thing I discovered was that if I sit up to do the huffing and coughing, I have a better chance getting mucus out.
Hope this helps.