Bronchoscopy ILD

Good morning - I had one last year when i had been coughing significantly for 5 months. Xray and CT showed significant crud and I was down to 30% lung capacity. So mine was done in a surgical room with full anesthesia. I had lots of people in the room - 2 anesthesiologists 2 respiratory therapists some nurses and the pulmonologist (and an intern). The machine they use is huge. So a very crowded room! It feels scary but they made me feel comfortable and told me everything they were going to do upfront. Then the mask went on and you are out immediately. They told me when I woke up I would cough a lot since they had to vacuum (my word not theirs!) out the crud. As soon as I opened my eyes in recovery I was coughing. The coughing was really awful but I held it together and got to go home a few hours later. Slept all day. Wasn’t a pleasant day but absolutely worth it. You will be fine and I hope you feel so much better afterwards!

Hi there, I did not see your first post but want to reassure you that it will be okay. I am an Alpha-1 patient and my recent bronchoscopy is literally saving my life. I had my first bronchoscopy in July, a requirement of the clinical trial I just joined. On the outside I look healthy. 97% lung function and only recently showed the slightest sign of emphysema. Because I "appeared" fairly normal, my doctors did not push for treatment nor felt the need to do a bronchoscopy. My recent bronch for the trial showed the addition of bronchiectasis which normally wouldn't have been detected. I was very scared as I don't do that well under anesthesia and can say it went great. It's best to do it now before you get into cold & flu season. I didn't have any sore throat. Very minor hoarseness and my lungs just felt a little heavy as if I were fighting an infection which was very brief. The night of my procedure I went out to dinner with my spouse & felt very normal. I wasn't even that tired. Now, I have to get another one in December & am actually looking forward to it to see if my treatment has helped my lungs. You've got this.

My last scope was done as another described but the only difference was while they did it they washed my lungs. They found I had bacterial infection in my lungs. I was very grateful they found the infection and treated it.

Hi. These posts have been so helpful. I have ILD and 70% lung function. Escalated out of the blue and will now be send me starting OFEV next week. I’ve not have a bronchoscopy..