Diagnosed with pseudomonas aeruginosa infection in my lungs

I have never used a vest. But I have heard that being able to adjust the amount of vibration is very important. I am far to thin to use a vest and find the Aerobika works well for me. I wonder if a vest is good for lower airway congestion while the Aerobika works well if you have upper airway congestion?

Please (please) be very careful with the vest. I know everyone is different but my case was not good. The setting was the lowest, had to do 15 minutes, twice a day. After a month, my lungs become really fragile and coughed up blood (not sure from the vest or from taking NAC). There is one area in my lungs that is causing pain ( I am 5 feet, 105lbs last year). Some people find the vest beneficial but not me.

I had the same question ..... what targets the lower airways and what targets the upper. The rep at ElectroMed, the maker of my SmartVest, said the vest targets all airways, lower as well as upper.
I use nebulized saline along with the Aerobika when I use the vest. Even though I have nebulized Levalbuterol, I tend to use Levalbuterol inhaler before vest therapy as that lessens airway clearance time.

I know there can be problems with the vest. I coughed up blood (the condition they call hemoptysis) perhaps five times from 2017 to 2020. Research tells me that in about 37% of the cases, the reason for coughing up blood is not known.
I have a physician friend who told me and my pulmonologist that bacteria loves blood, which I believe was why I was prescribed antibiotics each time I had an episode of coughing up blood.
I hope you have been better of late. Take care and stay well.

Yes, I have come to the conclusion that I must trust my doctor at NJH. You and I are the same.....my sputum culture showed Pseudomonas A also in September. Seven days of Levaquin did not work, although I felt better for about five days after finishing the Levaquin, then the green phlegm came back. By October, a follow up culture showed Pseudo once again. By November I changed my local pulmonologist for the Bronchiectasis clinic at NJH.
However, I was not told exactly what you were told.......that they don't treat Pseudo if you don't have symptoms. I could not wrap my mind around that, so at a follow up appointment, I pushed for treatment for my Pseudo. Had I known that they don't treat asymptomatic Pseudo, I never would have pushed as that would have put me in the hospital, my doctor said, for two weeks with inhalation therapy and monitoring......with no guarantee that the Pseudo would not come back.
It has been a process.
And, as you said, "not being a doctor myself", it is difficult to assess our health and what path to take.

Thank you happy2023. The last time I coughed up was a lot, had to rush to ER and stayed for 5 days. I stopped using it but it left my lungs inflamed and sensitive. Are you still using it? I was asymptomatic till 2021, no one could tell I have a lung disease. But now coughing up yellow/green mucus every day no matter how much ACT I do. I'm hanging in there and this disease is controlling me, especially my mind. Please stay well and take care.

Sweethighland, I want to tell you about the first time I coughed up blood, an enormous amount it was. and back in the 1990's. My children and I were in the swimming pool at the time of what I will call a hemorrhage. It was scary. I went to ER, saw a doctor, but had stopped bleeding, only just coughing up a little blood. Went to another doctor the next day to discuss the problem.
This doctor said they couldn't really do anything unless the bleeding continued at which time they would hospitalize me and cauterize the area of the bleeding. I coughed up small amounts of blood for the next week.
Leading up to this hemorrhage, I had had a terrible flu a few months prior and had been coughing for those two months. I believe the coughing let to the bleed out.
No episodes of bleeding until 2017. none of which were too severe, but scary nevertheless. But in 2020 I had an episode where I bled a lot, but not continuously, for 3 days, felt very fatigued, and it was once again scary.
Since 2020, for whatever reason, I have had no more incidents of hemoptysis. I appreciate this Forum where we can talk about our problems and get feedback from others, and that support is very comforting.
I do believe that with advancements there will be a medicine developed for Pseudo or other bacteria that will not impact our kidneys, especially those of us who are older.
If we knew more about antibiotic treatment for CF patients, maybe that would help us understand better in relation to our lung conditions.
Wishing you will get better soon.

Thank you (Thank you) so much for sharing your story. I can't be happier after hearing you have no more hemoptysis since 2020. I do not wish for anyone to have this experience. I'm on Augmentin now for 10 days, I hope it will clear up whatever I'm having.

Not to worry. Take care and do not stress and let the medicine do its job. This Forum at Mayo Clinic is wonderful and seems that our questions can be asked and then answered. Stay well.

Thank you happy2023. I assume you do not and did not have any infection although you coughed up blood. May I know what techniques and precautions you took to stop the bleed. What airway clearance & exercise? Any antibiotic and supplements if you don't mind me asking.