Nancy,
I would like to mention that when I joined this group 3 years ago, few of us had heard of, or tried, the 7% saline solution nebulized daily. Then, one-by-one, many long-term MAC-infected members decided to give it a try. As one of those, I was "fading away" on the big 3 - weight loss, fatigue, cough and digestive issues after 4 years of continuous illness and 20 months of antibiotics. With my pulmonologist and ID doc, we decided that my lungs looked better, even though MAC culture were still positive, and it was time to stop the drugs. I could only manage to work at anything for 2-3 hours a day, and napped every day, sometimes twice.

In December 2019, I started nebbing twice a day with both levalbuterol and 7% saline. By last summer, I dropped the levalbuterol neb unless my asthma was acting up. I also use Mucinex to keep the mucus thinned, a LABA inhaler and Singulair, all to help keep both my bronchiectasis and asthma under control. I could manage up to 4 hours a day of being active - but was done by 4 pm, and often needed a nap.

Now I neb with the saline once a day, but only until I start coughing up mucus. I have finally regained a little weight, my digestion has improved, and I have not had an exacerbation in 18 months. I have regained energy - recently working long days in my yard and my daughter's home, with only one or two "recovery" days per week.

I am not saying this will happen for everyone, but sometimes "less is more" and simple remedies can be helpful. Who would have thought saline would be better than antibiotics for getting my life back?

Sue

Jump to this post