How long to get over chronic (1 month) SOB?

@narelled23 SOB can be from causes other than pulmonary. Glad you are in hospital getting immediate care, push for a full work up.

UPDATE:

Just after posting this thread last night, I decided to take a Phenergen (antihistamine) which I had with me as a sleep aid. Within minutes the band around my chest eased for the first time in days! This despite being on all the other asthma
meds...and the hospital had not mentioned an antihistamine.

Now the next morning still no SOB and I have had about 5 hrs of sleep in my car! I did take another Phenergen around 1am.

It is definitely an allergic response to something in the house...maybe the dog and/or mould. I do have a dog allergy but it rarely bothers me and never has given me respiratory problems before. Thankfully I leave here today after the week's dog/cat/house sit.

I am so relieved! I was getting to the end of my tether...it has been so severe..and it follows weeks of asthma problems presumably from other environmental triggers.

I have learned one or two things from this and have further questions.

Certainly I have learned that this wetter climate does not suit me and I won't be relocating from WA.

1. The band around my chest feeling which I have had when I lived over here 50 years ago and for which the doctor gave me a script for Valium was probably also an allergic reaction. (Thankfully my boyfriend who knew what they were and how addictive threw them in the bin)

2. While at the Emergency Dept of the hospital 2 days ago I was asked about my coughing, which caused me to realise that I had barely coughed all day and was not needing to spit (very unusual for me). I wonder if that was because of the amount of salbutamol (Ventolin) I had had during the night before in my attempts to relieve the sob...maybe 8 puffs.

3. This leads me to consider in a different light the conclusions the specialists have come to in the past regarding my symptoms...that is my 'mild' Be could not account for the volume of mucus i am producing (at least 1x7oz cup on each nebulising). The specialists all had me on Symbicort for asthma symptoms I was not aware of for years. I never noticed the slightest difference and therefore became uncompliant. This recent experience has made me wonder if asthma is the basis of my mucus production and may be better controlled with more regulat Ventolin - because Symbicort didn't appear to be changing anything. However I don't think I want to be taking the volume of Ventolin I had been the other night to achieve a 'no mucus' result either.

What are the side effects of so much Ventolin?

4. I was considering staying on the Symbicort beyond the 2 weeks prescribed to help offset this flair but now i am wondering if hzt is worthwhile...it didnt help my Be symptoms previously and nor did it this tme. Maybe I should tzke Ventolin instead...however I already take 2 puffs before nebbing and that hasn't decreased mucus. Sorry...just thinking aloud.

5. (Doing this on phone and guessing number here)
What does this say in regard to the predisone solution? I had only taken 2 of the 3 days of pills, but it wasn't touching the breathing problems...only the antihistamine did that. So is the histamine reaction following a different course to that which the predisone is supposed to be addressing...or does it just take longer to achieve an outcome with predisone?

I apologise for all of this ramble and hope some of you can understand my thoughts and questions...possibly Sue who seems to have a similar disease mix to myself and has been this route (although it seems the Symbicort has worked for her)??

Sorry you're going through this. Like many of us you sound like you have an allergic component in addition to bronchiectasis. I have had lifelong allergies and also have asthma for which I take symbicort 2 puffs twice a day. I tried weaning myself from symbicort a couple of years ago and I was unsuccessful. Everything got worse -- bronchiectasis and breathing and well being in general. That said, symbicort takes a bit of time to fully kick in, maybe up to 2 weeks. It's not instant like albuterol. When I had a bronchiectasis/asthma flare (hard to determine how much was from what) NP told me that an oral steroid would help me get better sooner. Fortunately, I have not had to take an oral steroid in awhile.

Once you are stable, understanding what causes/triggers your allergies would be a good idea. Undiagnosed allergies/triggers can wreak havoc in lungs with bronchiectasis. In your case, it *might* be causing copious amount of mucus/phlegm. Have you had an allergy/immunology workup?

Scoop...I have been half way through replying to you twice only to have my post disappear on me! I will leave a reply until the morning now.

Many thanks for your input.

I have BE, asthma (or reactive airway disease), maybe still MAB, and can totally relate to what you are saying. Symbicort didn't help me and I'm currently on Airsupra which does contain steroids but not as bad as Trelegy and it seems to help. Also, have you considered purchasing a small portable air filter? I have a Puroair in my bedroom, and I turn it on a few hours before I go to bed, some days it runs 24/7 and uses very little power. I also go to Denver at least 2x/year and I stay at an airbnb across the street from a close friend and she stores my other air filter there, so I can use it while in Denver. Happy to hear that you will soon be moving on. Good luck!

Thank you, Kathy...it is nice to know I am not alone. 😆

I hzve worried for some time whether not treating my asthma was having any negative effects on my lungs despite my not being aware of any real asthma problem. I just discovered through Google that untreated asthma can cause expanding of the mucus glands and a further narrowing of the airways!! I will try to paste the info here later...or perhaps I will start another thread for that one.

Thank you, Scoop...yes I am coming to the conclusion that undiagnosed/untreated allergies are certainly contributing and I plan to follow up on this. Interestingly I am largely unaware of these in my home environment.

I found an article which discusses implications of not treating allergies/asthma and I have created a new thread for a discussion on this. 🙏

Thank you for your

Kathy, the Airsupra is a rescue inhaler I believe...so you use it only when needed...not daily maintenance?

I can see why they would recommend a longer lasting maintenance product in Symbicort to prevent attacks, but would have expected to have had less coughing/mucus with it. I am on it again so may continue and see if it reduces mucus production once more.

I haven't tried an air filter...haven't needed it at home, but will keep that in mind if this situation continues...praying that it won't.

Many thanks.

Yes, I know. I was using it as a rescue inhalant despite being told by my local Pulmonologist that I should use it once per day. My NJH ID doctor told me I should be using the inhalant daily since my CRP and eosinophils were high on last blood draw-which I believe was allergy related since I was staying in an Airbnb that allowed cats and dogs plus had a window AC. I'm going to message my Pulmonologist and discuss further and get follow up blood work. THE NJH Pulmonologist wanted me on Anora (sp?) but my insurance didn't cover-$500/month.

PS: Elevated CRP and eosinophils may have also been due to infection, which is what ID thought. Sputum did show rare pseudomonas, so I'm starting antibiotic today. Also, I was on Symbicort a few years ago and it didn't help much. I then went on Trelegy and got MABs, that's why I don't want to do Airsupra daily.