Does anyone else experience a burning chest with flare-up?

Posted by wsbme74 @wsbme74, Nov 1 11:27am

I have both moderate asthma and mild(ish?) Bronchiectasis. When I am fighting a flare up, I get additional mucus, fatigue, and a burning chest sensation. I don't know if this is more asthma or Bronchiectasis. My pulmonologist for BE automatically gives me prednisone with antibiotics in these cases but my asthma/allergy doctor has recently said she doesn't usually give prednisone with antibiotics automatically given the immune-suppressing aspect. I am not able to tell if the burning discomfort is more asthma or Bronchiectasis-related and wonder if others also experience this?

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the MAC & Bronchiectasis Support Group.

Might the burning be related to Gerd/reflux? Sometimes it can be silent, which means no overt symptoms. One thing that works well for me is drinking alkaline spring water, which helps to neutralize any stomach acid while providing some electrolytes.

I, too, have asthma and have found I do best on an inhaler with some steroid on a regular basis. With flare ups I generally refuse oral steroids but after a culture antibiotics help a lot.

REPLY
@scoop

Might the burning be related to Gerd/reflux? Sometimes it can be silent, which means no overt symptoms. One thing that works well for me is drinking alkaline spring water, which helps to neutralize any stomach acid while providing some electrolytes.

I, too, have asthma and have found I do best on an inhaler with some steroid on a regular basis. With flare ups I generally refuse oral steroids but after a culture antibiotics help a lot.

Jump to this post

Hi. Thanks! No, the burning only seems to happen with a flare up. It's definitely one of "my signs" for unhappy lungs. I don't get it any other time.
That's good to know you are, even with asthma, able to manage most flare-ups with antibiotics and not the additional prednisone. Our local lab always seems to reject my samples as too much saliva, even when they seem acceptable to me. So far, a broad spectrum antibiotic is managing but it would, of course, be better to be more targeted.

Thanks for your feedback!

REPLY
@wsbme74

Hi. Thanks! No, the burning only seems to happen with a flare up. It's definitely one of "my signs" for unhappy lungs. I don't get it any other time.
That's good to know you are, even with asthma, able to manage most flare-ups with antibiotics and not the additional prednisone. Our local lab always seems to reject my samples as too much saliva, even when they seem acceptable to me. So far, a broad spectrum antibiotic is managing but it would, of course, be better to be more targeted.

Thanks for your feedback!

Jump to this post

I too have flare ups that seem to calm only with antibiotics. Doxycycline seems to be my pulmonologist drug of choice. How safe is it to use this drug on a regular basis?

REPLY

I usually seem to need it 2-3x per year, the antibiotics. One pulmonologist says for 5 days, and another says 10. Go figure. Wondering how long people usually seem to take antibiotics for flare-ups?

REPLY
@wsbme74

I usually seem to need it 2-3x per year, the antibiotics. One pulmonologist says for 5 days, and another says 10. Go figure. Wondering how long people usually seem to take antibiotics for flare-ups?

Jump to this post

7 days of antibiotics for flare ups me. Over 3 infections per year and they might get suspicious it's something else involved, like an immune system dysfunction or resistant bacterial infection.

REPLY
Please sign in or register to post a reply.