How many people cough?

After nebulizing and the smart vest or aerobics I get the mucus out by using warm saline (packets) water and gargle This helps get the mucus out of the bs k of my throat.
I also have chronic rhinitis and do saline nasal rinse as part of the airway clearance. I end with Colgate Cool Mist alcohol free mouth wash and gargle with it. It is amazing how much this gets out that was left behind.
It bubbles when you gargle

I don't cough much at all. But since my MAC returned I am trying to use the aerobika and huff breathing to stimulate a deep cough which is productive of bright yellow sputum. It is important to get the sputum out if the lungs. I am not taking the meds this time.

Hi Bon,
I cough a lot throughout the day. And, especially when I nebulize 7% saline with my aerobika. I look at that as a good thing because the goal is to expel as much mucus as possible. I do not, however, cough up mucus when using my (HillRom) vest. And, interestingly enough, when I went for a second opinion on my BE and MAC, the pulmonologist who is an BE/MAC expert made a curious comment, saying that he did not think the vest does much. I am still using it 2x per day, just in case. But, it really doesn't seem to do much in terms of bringing up mucus even when I huff cough during or afterwards. I cough when there is mucus that has to come out. I could feel it in my lungs and it presents as a very pronounced tickle.

Did you take the big three and then it came back?

I couldn’t hack the roughness of the vest on my ribs. They are letting me return it…thank goodness….

I had a little persistent cough with some episodes of horrid coughing before my abnormal CT’s. The docs didn’t take it seriously.
Once I had the “terrible CT” and saw a pulmonologist, he was very concerned and diagnosed me with asthma and gave me meds to get my PND under control. That helped some and got rid of the horrid coughing episodes. After my culture for Mac was negative, Mayo switched my inhaler to one with a steroid and gave me their triple spray for PND. The nagging little cough improved remarkably within 24 hours of the switch. I do airway clearance faithfully, but don’t produce sputum.

I was treated in 2020 for 10 months with the big 3 but the treatmenf guidelines were not followed. I did not complain because the pulmonologist was very busy treating covid cases and I didn't want to be a complainer. The meds made me very sick. My new pulmonologisr is young and more on top of things. I wanted to hold in tx because I am allergic to multiple antibiotics. She is monitoring CT scans. She said there is a 50% relapse rate even with correct treatment. I am 78 years old

I cough a little but often throughout the day. I start my day with aerobika and cough/huff but i still do not cough up or produce anything. My pulmonologist at Northwestern said its the nature of MAC and bronchiectasis to cough. she never gave me saline solution to use or nebulize with albuterol; she gave me albuterol inhaler to use when I am short of breath. I used to nebulize with duo nab but still I did not produce any mucus to cough up and it dried my throat really bad to the point it was burning, so she said to stop using it. So really I do not know if i have any mucus deep there.

I have a coughing/airway clearance once a day or once every two days. I can always tell it’s coming because I feel/hear it in my lungs. I was diagnosed 9/2020 w/ MAC & bronchiectasis. I’m not on the Big 3 but two months ago began nebulizing 2x daily w/ 7% saline. I asked my dr if I could try that; he’d never heard of it. It helps loosen gunk but often seems there’s nothing to expel but I’m still hopeful it’s creating an inhospitable environment for the mycobacterium.
Take care!

I cough less these days than I did several years ago. And the coughing is non productive, usually. I do use a Nebulizer with 3% saline and sometimes with Albuterol solution. I used to cough every time I changed positions, from standing or sitting to lying down. It was really a nuisance in/on a doctor or dentist chair/exam table. However, I have less trouble with that these days. I also use an adjustable bed, so that I’m not lying flat.