7% Saline Solution

@toni1132 @windwalker I too use levalbuterol, both in neb and inhaler, for the same reasons as Terri - albuterol and salumedrol gave me worse than "jitters" - unmanageable tremors, and a racing heart. Levalbuterol used to be only available under the brand name Xopenex, very expensive and not covered by many insurance plans. It is now available as a generic. Mine comes from Walgreens, and I have been able to get the generic all over the country, but have heard that a few chains still only have the more expensive name brand, so you might need to shop around. I especially find the levalbuterol helpful when I get bronchitis and have to neb every 4 hours - doing that with albuterol was impossible for me! Sue

Thanks so much, I am writing all this down so I can talk to my doctor about it. I didn’t even know there were other options for me.

@cynthiajewell7 This is the beauty of Mayo Connect - we all learn from each other, and in turn can help teach our family, friends, even health care providers. The sheer volume of information out there is so great that nobody can absorb it all.
My primary and infectious disease doc both learned about 7% saline from me, and thanked me for it. However, your results may vary - not every physician is open to accepting information from her/his patients - I got "fired" by one for questioning my treatment plan and asking for further consultation... but it turned out well because I have a great new pulmonologist.

I was on the .3 and it never bother me. I got the 7.% and it never loosened anything up and I found that it made me goofier than I already am. I felt mixed up lost. Just like i think an alzheimer patient feels. I stopped and I am smart again. Seriously I have stopped . When u have mac u will try anything and some things work and some do not. I am in canada and took me 15 years to even find out what I had. I did go on the 3 drugs for 6 months and now I am just taking antibiotics as required, Getting scared because they are working less each time. Phage therapy may be the only cure. My dr is very great and helpful whenI ask for somthing to try. He suggested Biocidin. There have been good results of breaking down the out side shell of the bug and allowing the antibiotic to penetrate it. That is the abbreviated explination . Thank you all for your input. gm

@garry
Sounds like you have a great Dr who will even consider alternative options.
I would be interested if you know more about the biocidin or the phage therapy. Phage is not covered by insurance right?
I believe when antibiotic resistant infections like this develop the answer isn't just throwing more antibiotics at them. In the world of antibiotics they just don't seem to be able to come up with new ones. But a better plan is to make the antibiotic resistant bacteria such as mac more susceptible to the antibiotcs we already have.
Shari

I didn't know it was effective against MAC! can it arrest it? cure it?

@oram Welcome to Mayo Connect, and to our group. We have a wide variety of experiences with bronchectasis, MAC and other related infections.
Hmmm...I don't think any studies have shown that 7% saline can cure MAC. If you read them carefully, they say the MAC bacteria cannot survive in a 7% saline solution. Other Non-tubercular mycobacteria (NTM) are sensitive to other levels of saline.
NTM are very tenacious, but generally slow-growing bugs, and are all over our environment, so exposure to some is unavoidable unless we live in a sterile bubble. It is believed (though I don't know if it has been proven) that having a high level of saline suppresses growth of more bacteria by creating a less-welcoming environment. I don't think you could ever inhale enough saline, and deep enough, to reach every bit of lung tissue, so I doubt saline would ever cure MAC in the lungs.
That said, we neb 7% saline (or 3% if that's not tolerated) to keep our cough productive so we expel the mucus where MAC sets up its happy little colonies and grows them in our lungs. And we use our lung clearance devices or tachniques to help it along, as well as other meds like albuterol as prescribed.
Living with bronchiectasis and MAC, one uses every advantage to try to stay healthy and off the nasty meds required when infections worsen.
I saw in your first post that you have had blood in your sputum, and that the 7% saline didn't produce an immediate result for you. Have you been coached in other techniques to bring up sputum, like huff-coughing, a device, postural drainage or percussion? You can find lots of information about these here or on-line. Feel free to look around and come back to us with your questions.
Sue

What an excellent, explanatory post; and to think you don’t charge for your services. Thanks Sue.

Thank you. I printed and mailed it to my pulmonologist. Result: He prescribed a vest and 3% saline.

Hi Don, I started the 7% saline about a week or so ago. It takes a little getting use to but the article from PubMed convinced me that this is a very good route to travel. Corny is good, especially now a days. Thank you!