Using the Smartvest

Had to ditch the vest myself. Just too much to deal with and for me it did not help much!

For a short some time I used Afflovest, but due to rib pain I had to stop. In addition to NAC, albuterol, 7% saline (no MAC drugs), I use the Autogenic Drainage app available in app stores, which I find to be efficient. Nonetheless, with cleaning/sterilizing/nebbing/clearance routine it seems I have more like 23 hours/day instead of 24.

I hear you scoop! Working on our health becomes ever more time consuming as we get older. I need to add 30 minutes a day for all the stretching and exercises I do to keep my pain under control, plus another 15-30 minutes for mindfulness and meditation for the same - but this plus airway clearance keep me functioning.
I like to keep it in perspective. My daughter's 45 yo BFF is fighting for her life with chemo, radiation and surgery!
And I can still work in my garden, with help for the heavy and dusty stuff! And when I dance, I'm not wearing an oxygen cannula like an acquaintance we ran into last Sunday.
Life is good!
Sue

I have been using the vest for two-plus years now. I nebulize first, then use an acapella device, then use the vest. It has been a couple of hours every day. I was a "low producer" as we are known in the field - still coughing a lot during the day and the night and not getting anything up. It was discouraging. But from this site, I got the idea to try some postural drainage techniques, and that has made a huge difference for me. I am getting all kinds of gunk out daily, hardly cough at all, and am nebulizing less. I will say that when I travelled, I did not bring the vest and I didn't feel any the worse for it. I am looking forward to seeing my pulmonologist to report these changes. It is wonderful to get snippets of time back!

Maybe you can ask your pulmonologist whether you need to use the vest every day, or can alternate with postural drainage? Whatever you do, don't give up the airway clearance - I truly believe it is the "magic bullet" to keeping us as healthy as possible with bronchiectasis.
Sue

Thank you @pled. I find that the way you do it, nebulizing then using the Acapella also works best for me. Although it’s not saying much because I still bring up very little mucus. I was instructed to do the nebulizing first, Arikayce, vest and Acapella last. By that time I am dry as bone, not to mention exhausted. I think I’ll go back to what seems to work best for me. Also, please let me know where you found the postural drainage techniques.

Thanks Sue. I won’t give it up even though I produce little or nothing at all. I’ve learned from this site how important it is. Thanks for all your help. I will look into postural drainage.

I would also be interested in the postural drainage techniques for airway clearance, Would anyone be able to post the link? I think this might help me as well. Thanks everyone for your posts as I have the same issue with the time involved for vest, nebulizing, acapella, etc. since I work full time and have issues with time management, lack of appetite lack of energy, fatigue.

I use the vest at the same time as I'm nebulizing. 20 minutes twice a day.

lvalenti, I'm not sure if I got this information from a post in this group, or if I found it during an independent google search. It is put out by Cambridge University in conjunction with the National Health system in Britain. The address is https://www.cuh.nhs.uk/patient-information/postural -drainage.
I had noticed a long time ago that whenever I laid flat on my back with my knees up, my chest would open up and I would cough in a way that I didn't cough otherwise. I didn't understand that I was coughing up gunk, because I was laying on my back and I just swallowed it. After spending time on this site, I kind of put two and two together and realized that this was probably something I could do on purpose and that it was called postural drainage, and it would be good for me.
This Cambridge/NHS paper gives many different positions that correlate to the different parts of your lungs. I am just doing one position at this time, based on the information in the report from my most recent CT. I am looking forward to talking with my pulmonologist about this, and honestly, I wonder why I had to "discover" this by myself.
I am feeling so much better since adding this to my routine. It makes me feel like all the efforts are worth it. Good luck to you.