Hi @lmanells Welcome — I’m really glad you found our group. Living with bronchiectasis can definitely bring ups and downs, and it’s understandable to feel stressed or anxious at times. If you’d like to share a bit more about what’s been hardest for you lately, that might help us offer ideas or experiences that fit your situation best.
I have a terrible time trying to fit two treatments a day for my Bronchiectasis. First nebulizer with saline and albuterol and then flutter valve. Then you have to clean everything. My life is very active and I didn’t feel like I had enough time in the day before this. I am very stressed and anxious about how to do this.
Any ideas or thoughts from people going through this. Thanks.
JJ
I’ve had MAC in the past. Now I have ABPA and bronchiectasis. I too am supposed to do a nebulizer twice a day. I also have albuterol and Wixela. Now I have sinus problems. I had sinus surgery in July because I became s mouth breather all of the sudden. I can breathe now but I have to do sinus rinses twice a day. Sinus infections may be something I have to deal with from now on. I get your anxiety. I had to see a therapist for awhile because I was so pissed off with all of this and none of my doctors are able to tell me how and why I have this.
Welcome to Connect. I've found this is a caring and helpful group. Do you have infection in addition to the bronchiectasis? Do you bring up a lot of mucus? That info will impact the suggestions. Is the saline 7%?
I've done a couple things to save time. The first compressor I had for nebulizing was very slow (I could've spent day doing saline) and I bought a faster one-Proneb Max. That helped. There's a much faster mesh one, Pari e-flow. It's pricey, but goes on sale around holidays, I hear. It's also more fragile.
I bought a Bololo baby bottle sterilizer and love it for ease of cleaning and storing.
When MAc cultures came back negative and I was getting no sputum, I asked doc if I can do it daily rather than 2x/day and they ok'd it. It would not be a good idea if you have infection or a lot of mucus.
There's good info in ABC thread on various topics if you haven't seen that. Also, for specific questions, you can search using the little magnifying glass that is in heading in main page or you can start a thread.
Welcome to Connect. I've found this is a caring and helpful group. Do you have infection in addition to the bronchiectasis? Do you bring up a lot of mucus? That info will impact the suggestions. Is the saline 7%?
I've done a couple things to save time. The first compressor I had for nebulizing was very slow (I could've spent day doing saline) and I bought a faster one-Proneb Max. That helped. There's a much faster mesh one, Pari e-flow. It's pricey, but goes on sale around holidays, I hear. It's also more fragile.
I bought a Bololo baby bottle sterilizer and love it for ease of cleaning and storing.
When MAc cultures came back negative and I was getting no sputum, I asked doc if I can do it daily rather than 2x/day and they ok'd it. It would not be a good idea if you have infection or a lot of mucus.
There's good info in ABC thread on various topics if you haven't seen that. Also, for specific questions, you can search using the little magnifying glass that is in heading in main page or you can start a thread.
@pacathy Interesting that your doctor said 1x a day would be O.K. because you do not have an infection. Do you do your nebulizing/therapy in the evening or morning the 1x a day.
I would think we still have the same amount of mucus to get up and out each day infection or no infection????? I thought that the 2x a day was to get all up that accumulated during the day with eating etc. etc. and the morning for all that build up in the lungs at night???? Have you noticed no mucus plugs, less mucus plugs or more mucus plugs. I call the mucus plugs the specs that come up that are soft and colored....yellow/yellow green tinge.
Just wondering.
Barbara
@pacathy Interesting that your doctor said 1x a day would be O.K. because you do not have an infection. Do you do your nebulizing/therapy in the evening or morning the 1x a day.
I would think we still have the same amount of mucus to get up and out each day infection or no infection????? I thought that the 2x a day was to get all up that accumulated during the day with eating etc. etc. and the morning for all that build up in the lungs at night???? Have you noticed no mucus plugs, less mucus plugs or more mucus plugs. I call the mucus plugs the specs that come up that are soft and colored....yellow/yellow green tinge.
Just wondering.
Barbara
@blm1007blm1007 People don't have the same amount of mucus. The body secretes more when there's inflammation, especially in the setting of infection. Think about having a cold-there's much more mucus is present. Google inflammatory cascade. With an infection in lungs, more mucus is produced, especially colored mucus. Some people's immune systems overreact, causing chronic inflammation and even more mucus.
About 25 percent of us have dry bronchiectasis with little sputum production. Since my sinuses are under control, I have very little sputum. It's why some of us need sputum induction or bronchoscopies to get specimens.
Personally, I wouldn't call soft mucus a plug. A plug is usually mucus that is drier and harder than regular mucus and "plugs" airways. I had a few on CT's.
I do clearance in the morning. I figure it helps lungs stay clearer. Expanding lungs is easier and happens more naturally when upright during day. I'm also less likely to get busy and skip it.
Btw, it was the Mayo doc I asked about cutting it back 2 years ago. She called to tell me bronchoscopy culture for MAC was negative, a surprise to them. My Penn doc agrees it's ok.
@blm1007blm1007 People don't have the same amount of mucus. The body secretes more when there's inflammation, especially in the setting of infection. Think about having a cold-there's much more mucus is present. Google inflammatory cascade. With an infection in lungs, more mucus is produced, especially colored mucus. Some people's immune systems overreact, causing chronic inflammation and even more mucus.
About 25 percent of us have dry bronchiectasis with little sputum production. Since my sinuses are under control, I have very little sputum. It's why some of us need sputum induction or bronchoscopies to get specimens.
Personally, I wouldn't call soft mucus a plug. A plug is usually mucus that is drier and harder than regular mucus and "plugs" airways. I had a few on CT's.
I do clearance in the morning. I figure it helps lungs stay clearer. Expanding lungs is easier and happens more naturally when upright during day. I'm also less likely to get busy and skip it.
Btw, it was the Mayo doc I asked about cutting it back 2 years ago. She called to tell me bronchoscopy culture for MAC was negative, a surprise to them. My Penn doc agrees it's ok.
@pacathy What do you mean by “sputum induction”? I know I have mucus because I cough it up, but I can’t seem to get it in my mouth where I can spit it out. I almost always end up swallowing it. Is sputum induction something the pulmonologist does, or is it a technique that one can learn?
Thank you for the helpful info that you so often offer.
Thank you for the kind words.
Sputum induction is usually done by respiratory therapy, gradually increasing the saline percentage to stimulate coughing in order to get a specimen. It's less invasive than a bronchoscopy and often tried first.
Don't feel bad that you can't get it out. The therapist told me it's "not rare" for them to be unsuccessful. I only got a small "inadequate" bloody amount.
Are you using 7% saline and huff coughing before you try. That would increase your chances, I think, since you can get it loose and to throat.
Welcome to Connect. I've found this is a caring and helpful group. Do you have infection in addition to the bronchiectasis? Do you bring up a lot of mucus? That info will impact the suggestions. Is the saline 7%?
I've done a couple things to save time. The first compressor I had for nebulizing was very slow (I could've spent day doing saline) and I bought a faster one-Proneb Max. That helped. There's a much faster mesh one, Pari e-flow. It's pricey, but goes on sale around holidays, I hear. It's also more fragile.
I bought a Bololo baby bottle sterilizer and love it for ease of cleaning and storing.
When MAc cultures came back negative and I was getting no sputum, I asked doc if I can do it daily rather than 2x/day and they ok'd it. It would not be a good idea if you have infection or a lot of mucus.
There's good info in ABC thread on various topics if you haven't seen that. Also, for specific questions, you can search using the little magnifying glass that is in heading in main page or you can start a thread.
@blm1007blm1007 People don't have the same amount of mucus. The body secretes more when there's inflammation, especially in the setting of infection. Think about having a cold-there's much more mucus is present. Google inflammatory cascade. With an infection in lungs, more mucus is produced, especially colored mucus. Some people's immune systems overreact, causing chronic inflammation and even more mucus.
About 25 percent of us have dry bronchiectasis with little sputum production. Since my sinuses are under control, I have very little sputum. It's why some of us need sputum induction or bronchoscopies to get specimens.
Personally, I wouldn't call soft mucus a plug. A plug is usually mucus that is drier and harder than regular mucus and "plugs" airways. I had a few on CT's.
I do clearance in the morning. I figure it helps lungs stay clearer. Expanding lungs is easier and happens more naturally when upright during day. I'm also less likely to get busy and skip it.
Btw, it was the Mayo doc I asked about cutting it back 2 years ago. She called to tell me bronchoscopy culture for MAC was negative, a surprise to them. My Penn doc agrees it's ok.
@pacathy Thanks.
Scoop also indicated to me that "mucus plugs" are drier harder. What I bring up that I call mucus is clear in the clear solo cup. As a matter of fact I realized recently that my white kitchen sink (that gets cleaned and bleached regularly plus boiling water for the drain) had no longer been looking stained yellow and I believe that represents the mucus going from yellow to clear!????
I see the pulmonologist this next week and will be taking in to him what I bring up to have him clarify what we call that which I am continuously bringing up..... small soft yellow/light green tinge soft pieces. I also took pictures of what I bring up to show him. So hopefully one way or another I will get the medical 'scoop' of what these are.
Thanks for the suggestion of looking up 'inflammatory cascade'. I had not come across that before.
Wonderful that your culture for MAC was negative. Hoping my second submitted sputum sample again tells me good news as the previous...."MAI not showing no respiratory pathogens".
Barbara
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Hi @lmanells Welcome — I’m really glad you found our group. Living with bronchiectasis can definitely bring ups and downs, and it’s understandable to feel stressed or anxious at times. If you’d like to share a bit more about what’s been hardest for you lately, that might help us offer ideas or experiences that fit your situation best.
-
Like -
Helpful -
Hug
2 ReactionsI have a terrible time trying to fit two treatments a day for my Bronchiectasis. First nebulizer with saline and albuterol and then flutter valve. Then you have to clean everything. My life is very active and I didn’t feel like I had enough time in the day before this. I am very stressed and anxious about how to do this.
Any ideas or thoughts from people going through this. Thanks.
JJ
-
Like -
Helpful -
Hug
2 ReactionsI’ve had MAC in the past. Now I have ABPA and bronchiectasis. I too am supposed to do a nebulizer twice a day. I also have albuterol and Wixela. Now I have sinus problems. I had sinus surgery in July because I became s mouth breather all of the sudden. I can breathe now but I have to do sinus rinses twice a day. Sinus infections may be something I have to deal with from now on. I get your anxiety. I had to see a therapist for awhile because I was so pissed off with all of this and none of my doctors are able to tell me how and why I have this.
-
Like -
Helpful -
Hug
6 ReactionsWelcome to Connect. I've found this is a caring and helpful group. Do you have infection in addition to the bronchiectasis? Do you bring up a lot of mucus? That info will impact the suggestions. Is the saline 7%?
I've done a couple things to save time. The first compressor I had for nebulizing was very slow (I could've spent day doing saline) and I bought a faster one-Proneb Max. That helped. There's a much faster mesh one, Pari e-flow. It's pricey, but goes on sale around holidays, I hear. It's also more fragile.
I bought a Bololo baby bottle sterilizer and love it for ease of cleaning and storing.
When MAc cultures came back negative and I was getting no sputum, I asked doc if I can do it daily rather than 2x/day and they ok'd it. It would not be a good idea if you have infection or a lot of mucus.
There's good info in ABC thread on various topics if you haven't seen that. Also, for specific questions, you can search using the little magnifying glass that is in heading in main page or you can start a thread.
-
Like -
Helpful -
Hug
4 Reactions@pacathy Interesting that your doctor said 1x a day would be O.K. because you do not have an infection. Do you do your nebulizing/therapy in the evening or morning the 1x a day.
I would think we still have the same amount of mucus to get up and out each day infection or no infection????? I thought that the 2x a day was to get all up that accumulated during the day with eating etc. etc. and the morning for all that build up in the lungs at night???? Have you noticed no mucus plugs, less mucus plugs or more mucus plugs. I call the mucus plugs the specs that come up that are soft and colored....yellow/yellow green tinge.
Just wondering.
Barbara
-
Like -
Helpful -
Hug
2 Reactions@blm1007blm1007 People don't have the same amount of mucus. The body secretes more when there's inflammation, especially in the setting of infection. Think about having a cold-there's much more mucus is present. Google inflammatory cascade. With an infection in lungs, more mucus is produced, especially colored mucus. Some people's immune systems overreact, causing chronic inflammation and even more mucus.
About 25 percent of us have dry bronchiectasis with little sputum production. Since my sinuses are under control, I have very little sputum. It's why some of us need sputum induction or bronchoscopies to get specimens.
Personally, I wouldn't call soft mucus a plug. A plug is usually mucus that is drier and harder than regular mucus and "plugs" airways. I had a few on CT's.
I do clearance in the morning. I figure it helps lungs stay clearer. Expanding lungs is easier and happens more naturally when upright during day. I'm also less likely to get busy and skip it.
Btw, it was the Mayo doc I asked about cutting it back 2 years ago. She called to tell me bronchoscopy culture for MAC was negative, a surprise to them. My Penn doc agrees it's ok.
-
Like -
Helpful -
Hug
3 Reactions@pacathy What do you mean by “sputum induction”? I know I have mucus because I cough it up, but I can’t seem to get it in my mouth where I can spit it out. I almost always end up swallowing it. Is sputum induction something the pulmonologist does, or is it a technique that one can learn?
Thank you for the helpful info that you so often offer.
-
Like -
Helpful -
Hug
4 ReactionsThank you for the kind words.
Sputum induction is usually done by respiratory therapy, gradually increasing the saline percentage to stimulate coughing in order to get a specimen. It's less invasive than a bronchoscopy and often tried first.
Don't feel bad that you can't get it out. The therapist told me it's "not rare" for them to be unsuccessful. I only got a small "inadequate" bloody amount.
Are you using 7% saline and huff coughing before you try. That would increase your chances, I think, since you can get it loose and to throat.
-
Like -
Helpful -
Hug
2 Reactions@pacathy
My saline is only 3%
JJ
@pacathy Thanks.
Scoop also indicated to me that "mucus plugs" are drier harder. What I bring up that I call mucus is clear in the clear solo cup. As a matter of fact I realized recently that my white kitchen sink (that gets cleaned and bleached regularly plus boiling water for the drain) had no longer been looking stained yellow and I believe that represents the mucus going from yellow to clear!????
I see the pulmonologist this next week and will be taking in to him what I bring up to have him clarify what we call that which I am continuously bringing up..... small soft yellow/light green tinge soft pieces. I also took pictures of what I bring up to show him. So hopefully one way or another I will get the medical 'scoop' of what these are.
Thanks for the suggestion of looking up 'inflammatory cascade'. I had not come across that before.
Wonderful that your culture for MAC was negative. Hoping my second submitted sputum sample again tells me good news as the previous...."MAI not showing no respiratory pathogens".
Barbara
-
Like -
Helpful -
Hug
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