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The vagaries of this ailment: How MAC changes without fanfare
I "graduated" to nebbing 7% saline concentration in early January this year. My throat initially protested a bit, but quickly began to behave itself. I was pleased with the increase in mucous production that followed and things rocked along unremarkably until a few weeks ago when the mucous production skyrocketed, accompanied by retching coughing, sneezing and nose running like a garden spigot. Exaggerating a bit to make the point I began to think if the session didn't end soon I'd be utterly dehydrated. The throat mucous is exclusively clear, relatively viscid, and copious. It takes 10-15 minutes following the half-hour Thumper session for the coughing and water works to resolve.
Aside from my regret that my wife has to endure what must sound like I'm on the brink of extruding some vital organ from my throat and despite the inconvenience of the episodes, I actually am pleased to be bringing up so much mucous.
My puzzlement though, and the thought behind my "Title" above is how the big change just suddenly occurred without fanfare or any signal of an impending seachange. Don
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@thumperguy I am a little surprised to hear how dramatically your response to the saline & vest have become. Like you, I experienced an increase in mucous production after the switch, but recently I have had the opposite situation - even after the neb, I have little mucous. Yes, it is a strange condition indeed.
Have you told your doc about this recent, quite dramatic change? Or, is it possible the running nose signal you may also have developed an allergy of some sort? I find that my nose behaves quite well all day if I take my allergy meds, but in the early morning when I first get up, I sneeze several times and it runs like a faucet for roughly 30 minutes to an hour, then settles down - this is before I even neb. I have always attributed it to allergies, but who knows.
Let us know how this goes.
Sue
Sorry to hear this Thumper. You are one strong guy. I have a similar reaction to 7% which is why I do 3%. Even with 3%, after running for a bit, my nose and sinuses get plugged up and my eyes run. As soon as I stop, i cough a bit and then the shortness of breath kicks in which lasts until I take Symbicort about an hour later. My doctor hates that I take Symbicort because one of the drugs in it is a steroid and bacteria grow in steroids. But what good is it if I have no bacteria but I can't breathe? Once the Symbicort kicks in, I'm good to go until the next treatment. Bah! Humbug!
Can you not use a non-steroidal like Atrovent?? I know my doctor is of the same mindset as yours, NO STEROIDS !!!
Thanks for the suggestion. Trust me, I have been through alternatives as well as cutting back on the amount of steroid, i.e. Symbicort has a formula with only half as much steroid but the full amount of bronchodilator. I have severe chronic bronchitis ( copd) which means severe airway inflammation. I cannot function at all without the steroid.
Even with the steroid, I am MAC free right now.
@thumperguy I've had kind of the same thing but around the end of February and then into the whole month of March I started sneezing, coughing a lot more and I have attributed to seasonal allergies. I even got tested for more allergies and sure enough I'm allergic to pecan trees, birch trees and bayberry trees so they've added that to my vial of the ones I'm already taking. I administer my own allergy shots twice a week. Nan
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1 ReactionOh, I understand, rits. Well, as long as it's working for you, that's all that matters! Congratulations on being MAC free !! Take care Toni
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1 ReactionNo Sue I've not spoken to my doc for several months. Due to see him in early early May. I can't imagine him suggesting anything I'd be willing to do. Plus, as I said I'm not really unhappy about the sharp increase in mucous clearing despite the yuck factor.
And Rits about being "one strong guy." I suspect one skinny, gnarly guy might be more faithful, at least to visual reality. However, I do take comfort in the likelihood that my overall immunity is good secondary to a generally healthful diet and exercise lifestyle.
And Nan, you're probably onto something. My wife is a lifelong asthma sufferer and thus exquisitely aware of environmental conditions, e.g., pollen, cold temps, cat and dog contact and so on. Despite her influence I'm typically late to consider that stuff going on in my nasal, laryngeal workings might be simply that I got a snoot full an airborne enemy.
As is often the case I feel like I haven't "paid my dues" in suffering nearly so much as so many people on the board have. My MAC is apparently not "severe." I take an Eliquis for Afib and a B-12 tab but nothing for my lung disorders. The exception being an antibiotic when I have an acute febrile flareup. Don
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2 ReactionsHi Thumperguy. I am sneezing a lot and very runny nose. It is due to the heavy pollen count here. Maybe that is what is going on there too.
Nan, you poor dear. If it's not one thing, it is another, right?
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1 ReactionYes, @windwalker if it's not one thing, it's another. But I do know that after being tested for allergies and now taking allergy shots my chronic cough got much better. For that, I'm grateful. Nan
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