Why do daily airway clearance?

I was diagnosed with bronchiectasis and my pulmomologist felt I had MAC from my CT scan. However, no cultures, stains etc. came out positive for MAC. He began me on nebulizer with Albuterol which I could not tolerate. I had a continual cough that was dry. He has advanced me to the point where I nebulize twice daily with a percussion vest and volara system. My cough is now "wet" and I feel I am cleaning out my lungs. From the forum I use 7% saline in the morning and 3% in the evening. I have never had any infection or exacerbations since beginning the nebulizing. ( 2 yrs now) If traveling I use a portable nebulizer and do not take my vest. On really busy times I may only nebulize in the mornings with the 7%, or miss completely. I try to maintain my basic routine daily to cover the days when it is difficult to follow the routine.

Wow...the Volara and a vest! You have quite the airway clearance toolbox!! I too, sometimes use 3 % in the evenings if I find myself getting hoarse and my throat is sore from the 7%. You said that you now have a wet cough, but are you able to cough stuff up now? For example, could you give a sputum sample?

I could at times give a sputum sample but it is difficult to be able to expectorate completely most of the time. And even now, it is not the huge amount of mucus some people talk about. My next appointment is in August. My doc was doing pulmonary function tests alternating with CT scans for 2 years and they both remained stable. Have had nothing since last August now due to those results and will see what he says this August . Being on this forum encourages me to keep up the airway clearance faithfully. Even though I don't have the diagnosis of MAC I have adopted some of the precautions on this forum for prevention purposes.

You are awesome! Congratulations to you on all your hard work.
Best,
Linda Esposito

I have serious dizzy spells everyday. At times they are so severe I can’t even walk across the room without sitting down quickly along the way. I got up out of bed the other night and felt a little dizzy. It had been a very bad day with the dizziness so I quickly laid down. I tried again in a few minutes but passed out hitting my face square on the metal bed frame. Has anyone else experienced severe dizziness?

Also has anyone seen a specialist at Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, FL? I’m a little discouraged after seeing two local pulmonologists for two years.

I too Have had difficulty getting a response from Mayo in Jacksonville. I was diagnosed with MAC in March & have tried several times since January to get an appointment with Mayo in Jacksonville but don’t even get a response. So, hope you have better luck.

I think this sounds like a medical issue to be brought to your primary care provider, not pulmonologists. Dizziness, or vertigo, can be related to a wide variety of conditions. Unless your oxygen levels are dangerously low (an issue for the emergency room) it is not likely related to your lungs.

Have you called your pcp for this issue?
Sue

I’m so sorry to read about the challenges you are facing with dizziness. I just wanted to say that I am a patient at Mayo Jax due to my bronchiectasis & MAC. I was diagnosed in Nov 2017 locally & asked my pulmonologist about a second opinion at Mayo. He suggested a Dr. there & I self-referred only to experience rejection. I then wrote a letter which generated a call and soon an appt. I think there may have been a couple of contributing factors in that I am local AND I had open heart surgery there in 1999 (no ongoing treatment at Mayo after). That said, I think Mayo Jax is extremely busy & there are delays in obtaining/scheduling appts. Would your pulmonologist refer you? Take care, Linda

Hi there. I am sorry to hear that you are having trouble getting a response from Mayo. It may be that they are inundated with patients. I was just there a few weeks ago and the staff has told me that the big influx of covid patients and staff quitting for fear of getting covid has left them a little short. I believe that the big influx of covid patients over the last several years has pushed back many of the reg patients. That is to say, patients without life-threatening issues. They also have decreased the number of new patients that they will take in now. Have you tried looking into UF Shand in Gainsville? I understad they are quite good as well.

I live just south of Tampa so not really local. I was diagnosed in 2018 but only the past several months have I had trouble with a high blood pressure and dizziness. My cardiologist is the one who looked at my medication list and immediately said it was one of those for MAC that was causing it and prescribed a med to counteract it. It has been working fairly well but the dizziness is getting much worse the last few months.