Sputum tests: Problems producing enough sputum

Wow! I never heard of sending them to the Department of Health lab first. I usually overnight mine to National Jewish. Where do you live? I did not realize TB was even much of an issue anymore.

I'm in Minnesota - my clinic handles it for me. My county has a large immigrant population as well as a DHS detention center in our jail, so a lot of TB. It always needs to be ruled out first, otherwise it would probably go to NJH immediately.
Sue

How often are you sending a culture? I am sending it every 4 months now and the colony count is all over the place from as high as 200 to a low of 5. So far they have not suggested treatment and I am praying they don't. Luckily, I do not have any symptoms.

At first every 3 months, then every 6 months, now I was scheduled for December but have an August appointment after my exacerbation so will probably have a culture next month. My docs culture 3 samples at a time to be sure the highs/lows/odd germs are not just contamination.
My last was "less than 50"
Sue

@sueinmn Interesting about your inhaling the 7% through the nose and it burning. I have an Innispire Go and it delivers the saline so fast that it makes me cough terribly (I've also had a chronic cough for 3 years from the 2018 flu) so I inhale it through my nose and it works fine...I have to blow my nose a good bit because it runs a little during the inhalation but I've always wondered if that salt must do some good for the nasal passages. I also use my good ole Drive Power NebUltra that is much slower but I inhale through the mouth on that machine. I'm still amazed, though, at how fast the Innispire Go is and how you must lose as much of the meds as you breathe in but I'm not a scientist so I don't know if my hunch is correct. But I do know whenever I'm in a hurry or don't feel like sitting for a longer time I use the Innispire Go. It's a little spotty on working, though. I wouldn't give it 100% on performance. Sometimes it won't turn on so I have to keep playing with it. Nan

@pop55 Just out of curiosity, how do you overnight yours directly to National Jewish? Do you have to have a prescription from a doctor to do that? Mine are done at my hospital here locally but I would love to know how to get my samples to NJH instead. I'm in SC. Nan

Maybe my nose is more sensitive? Any sinus rinse feels awful (not necessarily burning) for me.
Your Innospire Go experience is not unique. My daughter has gone through several before giving up and going back to the older type. I just use nebbing as my equivalent of "Cat paralysis" (cat on lap) mentioned in a different post by some members. Also, I cough up more gunk using a slower machine with deep slow breaths,
Sue

I saw Dr Huitt at NJ and her office sends me a sputum collection kit to mail in the sputum. I go to the post office and have it sent overnight rather than just through the regular mail.

Hi Tina @tinaesims after a few months of trewatment with the big 3 drugs, I also couldn't get enough sputum up for testing. Like you all I could do was too much saliva.

But now I use HYPERTONIC saline 6% (or 7%) and that finally works for adequate sputum induction.

In some countries, you cannot buy HYPERTONIC saline in a pharmacy / drug store. But you can order it online. I get it at a discount price from the hospital where I get my TB meds, but my Pulmonologist had to wrtite a special presciption for it.

It's important to do the sputum test very soon after inhaling the 6% Hypertonic saline. Usually for 'dry' people like you or me, the sputum induction effects of inhaling don't last for very long, so we need to get onto it straight after our inhalations.

All the best, Annie

I never knew this !!! I didn't know MAC can be harbored in the nose/sinuses also! But that seems logical, of course! Thank you for this info, Heather !