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Anyone have Athsma & Bronchiectasis?
Hello everyone — I’m new here and glad to join this community. I have asthma and recently learned I also have bronchiectasis, and I’m trying to understand how the two conditions interact in real life.
Has anyone here been diagnosed with both asthma and bronchiectasis? If so, could you share:
• What treatments or routines helped the most (inhalers, airway clearance techniques, physiotherapy, mucolytic, long term or inhaled antibiotics, macrolides, etc.).
• How you manage infections and whether you work with a respirologist, infectious disease specialist, or chest physiotherapist.
• Any practical tips for daily life: managing sputum, exercise, travel, vaccinations, or recognizing when to seek urgent care.
• What tests or specialists were most helpful in getting the right diagnosis and treatment plan.
I appreciate any personal experiences, specific strategies, or resources you found useful. Thank you — your insights will really help me figure out next steps.
— Lynn
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Welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect, @lreid51. That's a good idea to see if you can find others who have both asthma and bronchiectasis and get some tips from them.
Hoping members such as @sueinmn @lilianna @nicholslg @scoop @cwal may have some suggestions for you.
What treatments do you feel have been the most helpful for you?
This is the first time the prefect double storm has hit me. I am using the 2 inhalers at the moment but still full of phlegm and I'm hoping others have ways I can handle this at home. The only thing I found that calms the coughing is a hot lemon and honey drink.
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1 Reactionhttps://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/bronchiectasis-with-a-side-of-asthma/
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2 Reactions@lreid51 - thanks for this tip about the hot lemon and honey drink to calm coughing. Any particular recipe you suggest for this drink?
Hiya.
I'm a retired(still get offered jobs) Registered Respiratory Therapist/ECMO Specialist with 35 years in critical care.
Have had Asthma my whole life and now Bronchiectasis at age 69. I've been intubated and even coded and died with my Asthma over my life time.
Are you a smoker? Don't smoke.
Is your Asthma allergic, environmental(mine is) or eosinophilic?
I took steroids for decades. I literally have taken so many steroids(to survive) that I get seriously sick now. When I was taking care of Covid patients starting in March 2020 we talked about steroids(which we gave a lot of) and DHEA. I didn't know anything about DHEA. So researched it. In 2023 I started taking DHEA/ 50 Mgs. a day. For me this was a miracle(for me!). DHEA stimulates the Adrenals to produce natural hormones and steroid hormones. Once again this was a miracle for me. It cut back my bronchiectasis and reduced my asthma. My Pulmonologist is aware of what I'm doing and agrees.
I drink a LOT of hot tea which has Theophylline and is a natural thing to help us Asthmatics. And great for sputum removal. Cough drops help. Ginger and mint tea and Ginger candies help.
Sputum removal. I use a Acapella(PEP) or Aerobika for years now. It works great. Actually the BEST for Bronchiectasis in my opinion. And fits in a purse nicely.
Once in awhile when my sputum is really thick? I take an aerosol Tx. with Mucomyst. I'm assuming you have a home compressor to take aerosol txs.? If not there really not that expensive.
I just keep up with it all. I control it as best I can. Have Prednisone, MDIs, Levaquin always available. Taught my husband how to do cpt. I also get seriously bad bacterial bronchitis. Since my Asthma is environmental none of the Flovent type of drugs work. A prophylactic drug might help you. They don't for me. I used Spiriva for awhile. It did nothing for my Bronchiectasis.
We are all different so you just have to find out what works for you.
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3 ReactionsI have both asthma and bronchiectasis (with MAC). It is challenging having these conditions together. Here's what works for me:
-I was diagnosed with eosinophilic asthma by an asthma/allergy/immunology doctor. The PA I had been seeing in his office referred me to him for an "immune workup" to see if I had anything else going on besides regular allergies and environmental asthma. He prescribed Fasenra for the eosinophilic asthma; this treatment has helped greatly.
-I use Breyna daily for asthma; albuterol as needed; nebulized albuterol when wheezing a lot
-for me, asthma wheezing sounds different and is usually accompanied by tightness in chest and coughing and is relieved by 2 puffs of albuterol
-bronchiectasis wheezing sounds deeper, almost like pneumonia crackling, and gets better or goes away after I nebulize with 3% saline solution twice daily (prescribed by my pulmonologist)
-If I'm still having trouble with a dry unproductive cough, I take 1-2 puffs albuterol which usually helps calm it down.
-If I'm concerned about my symptoms, I message or call one of my specialists for guidance (do I need an appointment, urgent care, or the ER?)
-I use a flutter valve once a day mid-afternoon, and/or active breathing technique when I start coughing again in between am/pm saline nebulized session.
-to prevent infections I wear a mask when in public indoor settings (my pulmonologist recommended this, since even a cold could exacerbate my lung problems)
-I wash my hands as soon as I get home; and use hand sanitizer when I'm out in public
-I get a flu and covid shot every fall (also got an RSV shot at age 60)
I take it one day at a time. Some days are better than others. Meanwhile, I continue to see 3 specialists for these: asthma doc, pulmonologist, and infectious disease for the MAC.
I have learned a lot from this patient community and also the NTMir Global Forum. It will take some time to learn all you need to know, so I suggest you check in here regularly and read the posts, and links to educational videos and documents.
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4 Reactions@kaypnw Curious if you also tried allergy immunotherapy (aka allergy shots)?
@lisalucier It is a simple
1 lemon, this makes it some what strong but I found it better at this strength
4T Honey
I use 5 sweeteners or sugar to taste
very hot water in kettle to just hot not bowling that would make the lemon bitter
I soften the lemon then squeeze the whole lemon into a large mug, add honey and sweetener, then water into mug and stir well.
I find drinking this slowly and resting the mug agents my chest relaxes my coughing for a while
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3 Reactions@kaypnw
Thank you for sharing, this is new to me. I have had Athame for 5 years but had very few problems, but 2 weeks ago I found out that I have had bronchiectasis for a while. Two weeks ago I had the prefect storm according to the paramedics. First the bronchiectasis then the athame kicked in. I got good care in the ER and will be seeing a Respirologist in a few months and my doctor will send me for another CT scan in a few months. But I fell like I don't know what to do at home to help myself, I have no experience with something at this level.
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3 Reactions@kaypnw - will you explain more about what this suggestion means? I think that will be helpful to me and other members.
- I use a flutter valve once a day mid-afternoon, and/or active breathing technique when I start coughing again in between am/pm saline nebulized session.