How to stay healthy with Bronchiectasis

@janeb Hi Jane - If you have been living with bronchiectasis successfully for 2 years with few flareups and no further damage from the MAI, I would say keep doing what you are doing now.
If you are feeling worsening lung symptoms, like cough, shortness of breath, fever, fatigue or recent weight loss, it might be time for another doctor visit.
I am curious about the "flare ups" - what symptoms do you have that make you seek care? What diagnostics are perfomed before meds are prescribed?
Sue

My coughing increases, I notice an increase in phlegm (I use a flutter valve nightly) and I experience a general loss of energy and shortness of breath.

@janeb Hi Jane.... I have learned from this site that showerheads are a breeding ground for MAC. Many on this site take baths or use a specific head that can be opened up to dry. If I am dying for a shower, I personally have a stock of cheap shower heads from Lowes for about $2-3 which can be removed afterward so that water is not pooling in it...then tossed after a few uses. As to other things to avoid....swimming pools and hot tubs are high on the list. Gardening, especially around peat. I use a surgeons mask that filters out viral and other pathogens etc when I garden and also when flu season hits when grocery shopping or in close contact with people. I am not sure if I am overboard or not but those are my precautionary measures.
I find that for me, keeping a pretty pure diet is important to overall health and lung health. I try to eat mostly natural foods. (plant-based.)

I just did come across this video on specific foods for lung health and thought it might be helpful. It is mostly veggies and fruits as you will see...but, yay, chocolate is included also!! Dark chocolate is my weakness, though now I can certainly feel better about it. Also, look into NAC as a supplement which is great for the lungs.

Here is the food/lung video: https://www.brighteon.com/dae77fd0-f67a-4574-a437-32b55b66b718

Here is a brief article on NAC benefits inclusive of the lung: https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/nac-benefits#section1
and a more in-depth one on NAC mainly for lung health: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2706612/
So...that is my contribution....stay as healthy as possible! Best wishes!! Good luck with those scary fires!
Kate

@janeb Hi Jane - Glad to hear your doc has found a plan that works for you!

@janeb Hi Jane.... I have learned from this site that showerheads are a breeding ground for MAC. Many on this site take baths or use a specific head that can be opened up to dry. If I am dying for a shower, I personally have a stock of cheap shower heads from Lowes for about $2-3 which can be removed afterward so that water is not pooling in it...then tossed after a few uses. As to other things to avoid....swimming pools and hot tubs are high on the list. Gardening, especially around peat. I use a surgeons mask that filters out viral and other pathogens etc when I garden and also when flu season hits when grocery shopping or in close contact with people. I am not sure if I am overboard or not but those are my precautionary measures.
I find that for me, keeping a pretty pure diet is important to overall health and lung health. I try to eat mostly natural foods. (plant-based.)

I just did come across this video on specific foods for lung health and thought it might be helpful. It is mostly veggies and fruits as you will see...but, yay, chocolate is included also!! Dark chocolate is my weakness, though now I can certainly feel better about it. Also, look into NAC as a supplement which is great for the lungs.

Here is the food/lung video: https://www.brighteon.com/dae77fd0-f67a-4574-a437-32b55b66b718

Here is a brief article on NAC benefits inclusive of the lung: https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/nac-benefits#section1
and a more in-depth one on NAC mainly for lung health: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2706612/
So...that is my contribution....stay as healthy as possible! Best wishes!! Good luck with those scary fires!
Kate

@alleycatkate There is a lot of literature about how NAC can help, but what is missing is literature that describes any adverse effects of an overdose of NAC. What I would recommend for anyone who is taking NAC is to keep track of any changes in symptoms, and stop or consult a doctor immediately if there is an adverse effect. At one time, I read some literature that suggested that an overdose of NAC could have the opposite effect and cause an increase in oxidative stress by causing an alternate biochemical reaction loop. I've been looking, but not finding related literature.

It is from my own experience that I make these suggestions and I have allergic asthma. I did take the same dose that was mentioned in the links from this post NAC 600 mg twice a day, and after a few weeks I did experience my lung function improve and the phlegm was easy to clear, but a few weeks after, I developed thirst that increased every day and became excessive. I wasn't able to tolerate eating protein foods like meat because it increased my thirst. Proteins are made of connected amino acids which digestion breaks down, and NAC also is an amino acid. I stopped taking NAC on the 5th day of the thirst. I was drinking a lot of water around the clock, but couldn't quench the thirst and had to get up several times at night. I called Poison Control and asked about overdoses of NAC, but they didn't have any advice to offer. The next day, there was slight improvement in my thirst, and it actually took 5 days to resolve which was the same amount of time it took to get to that extreme. In all fairness, I was also taking a supplement that was made from cruciferous vegetables which also helps the body detox. It may have been an effect caused by the combination of these. The detox supplement said not to take it if you have gallstones, and what also happened is that the normal amount of bile (which is stored in the gall bladder) was decreased in my intestines. Bile is what colors the end products of digestion, and without it, it is colorless. That symptom is an alarm that something might be blocking a bile duct (which could have been inflammation or gall stones). Everything returned to normal within a few days of stopping the supplement and the NAC. I did see my doctor and had an ultrasound of the bile duct and nothing was wrong. I discussed all of this, but there was no explanation as to why this happened.

Since then I have taken NAC infrequently, but no more than 600mg per day, and not every day. I don't want to do this experiment again. I think there are a lot of unknowns even among health care profressionals about what happens when too much a good thing is too much. There are a lot of benefits of NAC and it is a precursor to glutathione which is a master antioxidant in the body, so it's not a bad thing, but pay attention when you try any protocol for adverse effects. Overdoses of vitamins can be toxic too, and I just wanted to share the information in case someone else has the same experience.

This literature does describe an overdose of NAC that was fatal, but it happened as a medication error in using NAC to treat a patient after acetaminophen poisoning.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4354467/

Hi Jennifer, What brand of NAC were you taking? Unfortunately there are very little if any FDA regulations on supplements such as NAC. Perhaps your reaction could have been from some added ingredient. Some of these supplements are produced in China, buyer beware. I like the LifeExtension brand and am taking 600mg twice daily. I can tell my sputum is getting easier to cough up and with more of a clear color.

@poodledoc I think it was the store brand from The Vitamin Shoppe. I didn't have any adverse reactions to it at 600 mg per day. I'm glad it is helping you. I have had problems clearing my lungs because of physical issues due to thoracic outlet syndrome, so my ribs don't expand properly, and it lets phlegm stagnate which leads to infections. I'm working on that in physical therapy, controlling allergies, and using good surgical masks when I will be exposed to dust or irritants, and all of that along with some generic Mucinex now and then is working. I think my best improvement is coming from progress in physical therapy and using myofascial release to reduce the pressure and get muscles around the chest moving better. I don't buy anything edible from China, at least according to labeling. Thanks for your recommendation.