@pacathy I use 7% saline twice a day followed by aerobika. When I nebulize the saline, the coughs in the beginning are often dry and as I go on (about 15-20 minutes) they get wetter and I start bringing up mucus, BUT I seem to get it up to just before my throat where it stays until I decide to swallow it.. Is it possible that I don't have enough mucus to get it into my mouth? It feels pretty substantial as I swallow it but I don't really know how much is enough.
After nebbing I do aerobika 15 exhales into the device. Then I do huff coughing of two varieties. First I take a long inhale followed by 3 forceful quick huffs. I do this twice. Then I take a quick but full inhale followed by a long huff & do this three times. I do the whole aerobika routine 3 or 4 times, depending on how much mucus I seem to be getting up. Sometimes I get more from doing the aerobika. Sometimes I seem to be drained after the nebbing and the aerobika /huff coughing doesn't produce much. I do the variations of short and long huff coughing because I read that depth of the huffing can get to deeper or shallower parts of the lungs. I can't remember where I read or heard this. Perhaps I made it up (!!), but I have noticed that sometimes the long inhalation with short huff produces more mucus, and some times it is the very long huff that brings it up. Sometimes there is nothing from anywhere. I would really like to be able to capture the mucus because I have MAC and PA and I would like to see how things are going. I really would NOT like to have another broncoscopy.
As you well know, everyone has variations and routines that are different. I went into the excruciating detail above because I have found that I have benefitted from others' ideas and practices, especially with regard to nebbing and airway clearance.