Why do I have a frequent coughing fit?

Welcome to the group. I'm sorry you need to be here, but believe you'll find helpful information and caring people.
Coughing is a common issue in bronchiectasis because there's often mucus the body is trying to expel. It can also be due to post nasal drip, sometimes asthma and reflux. Have you been checked for any of these? Do you cough out mucus from lungs and has that been cultured?
Sorting out those issues can greatly help with cough as can daily airway clearance.
I had a little asthma cough and an intermittent horrid cough from sinuses. Getting those treated helped enormously.

Airway clearance is a mainstay of bronchiectasis and can help, too, by helping clear lungs in controlled setting. Were you told about it?

I do the airway clearance twice a day. Didn’t realize that the nasal drip might be what is causing me to cough often. The doctor did mention she thought I had a cold. Your comment was so helpful. Thank you for responding to my question.

I don’t know if this relates to your situation, but I was having “coughing fits” that were happening more frequently and seemed to be triggered by perfumes, chemicals, and many other things. It seemed to be more upper airway and different from my usual BE coughing. It ended up I had Inducible Laryngeal Obstruction (ILO). I met with a speech pathologist who specialized in laryngeal issues. She gave me exercises and strategies to help with my extreme sensitivity to triggers. Do you feel like your coughing is triggered from down deep and clearing mucus, or higher up in the airway?

My coughing is higher up in the airway. I appreciate your help and ask my primary care doctor for a referral to a speech pathologist. I know that when I am in my church the incense contributes to my coughing.

I experience three kinds of coughing, one like others describe is higher up in my airway and is a response to irritants. Sometimes sipping water, a throat lozenge or a puff of my rescue inhaler helps.

Another is coughing from the lungs as a result of either my asthma or bronchiectasis and sometimes produces mucus. If I slack off on airway clearance this happens more often.

The third is choking when eating or drinking and is described as a vocal chord dysfunction, where my vocal folds don't close properly and are easily sent into spasm. I am working on this and a problem with hoarseness and voice fading with a speech therapist.

I highly recommend a check of your vocal chords by an ENT and referral to a speech therapist if warranted.

I have almost identical types! My vocal cords dysfunction is from a strangulation that partially paralyzed my cords. A wonderful speech therapist helped tremendously and although I still have the various coughing episodes, they have decreased in frequency. The rescue inhaler helps me so much also.

I also have high sensitivity to perfumes, not only with the coughing but I also have migraines. I have had to move to a different location at church due to ladies wearing heavy perfume!

I thought it was only me and perfumes! It is only certain ones but they make me have terrible coughing fits. I have changed all my cleaning products too. Diesel from vehicles and of course the dreaded cigarette smoke cause major coughing fits.
I have started using a saline nebuliser but feel nauseous for about 12 hours after using it. Does anyone else suffer like this. I feel my whole system is a mess because of the 'big 3' which I took for 14 months. I had no idea what was involved but now after major research I am reluctant to back on medication for my NTM which returned in February. I do airway clearance twice daily. Feel ok, am able to work 3 days a week as a teacher but I could not do more than that. I am on holiday now and have less of a routine. Just wondering how many people manage to work when a) on treatment and b) with symptoms of NTM and airway clearance only.