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← Return to 7% saline continues to deliver.
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7% saline continues to deliver.
MAC & Bronchiectasis | Last Active: Nov 19, 2021 | Replies (85)Comment receiving replies
Sue, do you use abuterol inhaler or do you neb with it?
My doc recommended one puff of inhaler and neb with 7% saline followed by Brio. However he said to increase times if needed. I don’t cough, but if I “huff” cough randomly throughout the day, I can hear the rattle and need to clear my throat. I wonder if this means I need to increase amounts of time and start neb with albuterol. I neb albuterol alone when I was first misdiagnosed from another pulmonologist. I got dizzy so he switched me to Brio. Now that I’m educated 😂 I see one does not replace the other! I’m so thankful I went to another doc who did a CT and found bronchiectasis.
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I neb duoneb or levalbuterol before the saline, my primary switched me to this when I had a flare and it is much more effective than the puffer. Then I stop several times during the saline neb to move around, bend over, etc. - that helps bring up a lot of mucus. Sometimes, I stop after half a neb if I'm coughing well, then go back in an hour or two and finish. That is very effective for me.
I use my long-acting inhaler as soon as I get up and again at bedtime. My primary says those are the most effective times because if you use it while you are still coughing from the neb, you may cough it right out of your lungs.
You are right - after years of dealing with lungs, there is always more to learn. Also, years ago I found albuterol makes my tremors much worse, and was switched to levalbuterol, which used to be a very expensive brand-name drug called Xopenex, but is now available as a generic in both inhaler and neb.
Sue