Hemoptysis - wonder what others do

D3 is very very important for your immune system and can help prevent infections etc. The reason I mentioned the K2 originally in this post is because it helps with blood clotting and this discussion was about Hemoptysis and when you take vitamin D3 it is best to take K2 as well. And yes with fatty meal and at separate meals. I was not posting about bone health but of course that is another good reason to supplement with them...

I have hemoptysis at least once a month and today I had it when I first woke up. It was only about 2 tablespoons, but terrifies me every time anyway. My question is what do others do for themselves in the hours after it subsides and for the rest of the day. I usually worry all day that it will happen again even though once it subsides that’s it except for blood in the mucus for a day or two. Help! If you have any suggestions I would really appreciate it. Thank you.

Here is what I did when I had an ongoing fear with one of my health conditions - first I talked to my very compassionate primary provider, who told me I needed to calm down, accept that this was going to be with me for the rest of my life, figure out how I wanted to manage it, and get on with my life. Then she referred my to a counselor for a few sessions to build coping mechanisms.

Now whenever I fall into that worry pattern, I dust of the exercises I learned and use them.

Maybe you can talk to your pulmonologist to get their take on managing an episode. They should be able to tell you when to put it aside, when to contact them and when, if it ever is out of control, to go to the ER. Then, if that doesn't take away the worry, do what I did and talk to a counselor who can teach you how to live with the episodes.

Have you watched this very informative video on hemoptysis?

Have you tried taking a good Vitamin K2 supplement? I take K2 MK-4 every day. It is good for bleeding disorders and might help. I am pretty sure it has helped my episodes to stop or be very rare. You also need to take Vitamin D3 as they work together. But do not take them at the same time of the day. Both need to be taken with a fatty meal. Also anything you can do to keep inflammation down will help make those episodes less often. But again, your hemoptysis pattern is very typical with BE. A couple of TBLS followed by blood tinged sputum for another few days. It always clears up and resolves. It is an expected result of having BE and according to my pulmo (who specializes in BE, MAC and CF) nothing to worry about. Only if the blood is a large amount. That is very rare. As Sue advices your fear of it may be helped by a counselor.

Thank you for your reply. It was helpful. I am wondering if you have any tips about how to keep the inflammation down. I am sort of lost on that. Thank you for your help. Karen

You could do a search on anti inflammatory diet or foods. I find that what I eat or do not eat is the main thing to keep inflammation down. In terms of supplements there are some that are very anti inflammatory but then they thin the blood. Like Omega 3's or NAC. If you tend to have thin blood you might bleed more easily. But I think most of the time the coughing up of blood is more from inflammation or infection. You may have to experiment if you are up for that. I started taking NAC recently and so far I am only noticing good effects from it. I just take it every other day and only 600 mg but that seems to be enough for me. And I think that the vitamin K2 has helped with my tendency to have thin blood.

Hi again. Good information K2MK4. I just looked it up after reading your post and found that the brand NOW has it. What did you find that you preferred for yourself.? Yes I have K2 but did not know about the K2MK4. So far for me with only being into the mucus clearing for a little over a year, I have not had blood showing, hemoptysis. Dr. McShane would always ask me if I had blood showing up in the sputum. Dr. McShane should be in Bethesda at NIH by April.
Glad you mentioned and introduced me to K2MK4.
Thanks,
Barbara

I think most people take K2 MK7. I tried it but it gave me insomnia. I read up on it and apparently it does that for some people. I read about MK4 not causing insomnia. So I tried it instead. The brand I have been using is on Amazon by Nutricost. Upon reading more it seems the MK4 may be better anyway. K2 by the way is also anti inflammatory. And helps put the D3 where it should go for bone health.