Some thoughts after 10 months of nebbing saline

This time last year I was well into the 2 months of hellish respiratory illness that led to my bronchiectasis diagnosis May 4. After that managing my lungs became my full-time job. I bought a lot of different nebulizers, eventually finding the expensive-but-definitely-worth-it Pari eRapid in August/September. I went from spending two hours a day on lung care to about 30 minutes. Since then I’ve been nebbing 7% saline once a day with the Pari eRapid, as well as masking indoors and avoiding exposure to communicable illnesses as much as possible.

This regimen (just saline, no other drugs) has worked so well I sometimes forget I have the condition, or how serious it is. Sometimes, on days I don’t go outside or don’t see anyone, I even skip a session. On Monday I was reminded why that is a bad idea.

It was warm, so I took a 100km bike ride. When I got home I was tired and decided to skip nebbing, because I hadn’t been exposed to another human. But I woke up in the middle of the night coughing. I dragged myself out of bed to huff saline then, and my nose started bleeding. (Nosebleeds were a big part of my respiratory illness; any other bronchies get those?) I stuffed my nose with a Nampon (if you get nosebleeds use Nampons, they work better than anything) and continued nebbing, spitting out blood not from my lungs but my sinuses. All this put The Fear in me, and brought me right back to April of last year when I was so sick I thought I’d never bike again. I nebbed a second saline vial for good measure, and coughed up a blob yellower-than-usual sputum. Then I exhaled several times into my Aerobika, which I hadn't used in months. Then I went back to bed.

I woke up breathing clearly and extremely grateful. I think about all those times in my life I fell ill, helplessly, when nebbing saline could have helped me so much. I wish I’d known about it years ago.

That incident reminded me that yes I have bronchiectasis, and yes it’s serious even if it’s currently well-managed. I re-committed to maintaining a strict daily nebbing schedule, not skipping, because things could go downhill fast. I love breathing clearly and understand how lucky I am to have found a regimen that works, and that I got diagnosed with BX before developing MAC/NTM. I caught up on this forum, which also reminds me what can happen if my BX gets worse.

Nebbing saline seems to have brought me other benefits. I can sleep on my back again. Before nebbing, I would usually awaken from that position gasping for breath: sleep apnea, I presume. I trained myself to sleep on my back and stomach, which is fine, but I noticed after several months of nebbing that sometimes I would drift off on my back…and wake up on my back, without gasping. I assume my air passages were always a little inflamed before, and nebbing has reduced that to the point my throat doesn’t close off as frequently.

Over the past 10 months friends have suffered their usual seasonal allergies, but I haven’t. Usually I have many weeks of terrible allergy symptoms, but since nebbing daily I’ve hardly noticed anything. Is the saline washing away allergens that would otherwise settle in my lungs and sinuses?

I have had zero nosebleeds this winter, except for the scary one Monday night. I assume nebbing saline has been reducing or preventing inflammation and clearing out irritants. As a frequent nose-bleeder, this is significant.

Thanks everyone for this forum. Reading bronchiectasis forums is how I learned about various nebulizers and found a way to manage my BX that works (there are no BX specialists where I live). This particular forum is my favorite, full of wisdom and sanity. Sending gratitude and best wishes to you all.