Hello, I'm 42 and the doctor thinks I have bronchiectasis, so I'm off to see a chest specialist in a month. I have had asthma all my life, but my cough has got worse in the past ten years. I have been a primary school teacher for the past 20 years and I love my job. I usually teach Reception (4-5 years) so I'm plagued with germs and chest infections. I have been telling my doctors and asthma nurses for years that I have cough that won't go away and their response has always been to take antibiotics and steroids and increase the dose of the same inhalers. One suggested I move somewhere warmer, another said I should get a different job! Only by chance did a locum say he thought I had this lung disease and the follow up spyrometry test results suggest as much. I feel angry that I've just been fobbed off and my condition has got worse over the years.
I am worried that I won't be able to do my job, which can be exhausting. I rely so much on my voice, but I really have no puff. I'm taking carbocisteine and amoxycillin at the moment to loosen my phlegm. I'm just waiting to see what the specialist says.
I never had pneumonia as a child and I have never smoked. Years of dragging myself into work with a cold, instead of resting at home have, I feel, caused this disease.
im sorry to say that you feeling let down by your gp is very common and that happened to me also
i was told i had copd a long time after they knew about it and then as you say they just kept pumping me with antibiotics but i found out in January i have bronchiectasis too
the meds im on help a lot with my breathing im on symbicort which a lot of us are and im on eklira ...they are both inhalers and once you find out whats wrong and they get you on the right meds you could see a big improvement so dont panic just yet and welcome to our family they will give you great advice and support on here so stick around x x x
Not surprising that you feel angry!!!! Do keep posting and reading on this site. I have learned sooo much from others and knowing everyone understands how you are feeling is a huge boost. Talking about phlegm (as one does ) I blow bubbles into a milk bottle half full of water.....that really helps move it...I learned that on here. Take care and good luck
Your post struck a chord with me; I have asthma too and was fobbed off for years with extra steroids when I complained about my cough. It was a trainee doctor who finally referred me, though she did have to ask one of the other doctors first! I've done very well on azithromycin, taken 3 times a week for 9 months of the year ( a break in the summer). This seems to be a pretty standard treatment for bronch these days so you may well be offered it. Hopefully with the right treatment you will be able to continue with the job for many years yet.
Thank you for your reassuring comments everyone. Just feeling a bit sorry for myself. The range of information online is so diverse, from those who have been 'cured' through drinking green smoothies to those who are wheelchair bound and need nasal oxygen tubes to survive. I will try the straw in water breathing. Will have to wait and see what meds are suggested. Thanks again. xx
This story of delayed diagnosis is one I have unfortunately heard many times and I am sorry it has happened to you. At least you were treated for the asthma and that will have in some part helped with your bronchiectasis. I did not have this problem as I was diagnosed at 5 months old following double pneumonia and whooping cough. Have you had measles I wonder?
Do you know if the respiratory consultant your GP has referred you to has a special interest in cystic fibrosis/bronchiectasis? You can find out by googling her/his name. If they don't you can check out your local hospital or Dr. Foster. If you give us the name of a large city you have access to we can probably give you the name of an adult cf centre and/or consultant. Believe me it makes a difference.
On your first consultation, as well as the usual spirometry, history, bloods and examination, your con should refer you to a respiratory physiotherapist to show you techniques for mucus clearance and various PEPs eg. the flutter and acapella, so you can see which method suits you best. We all have our own preferences.
She/he may also send you for a sweat test to eliminate cf and might refer you to an immunologist (although neither of these may be arranged at that first visit)
Con will also start you on a suitable medication regime. They may want you to try prophylactic antibiotics, as mentioned by monkey, eg. Azithromycin 1 Mon, Wed and Fri or 1 per day. Many bronchs find these to be beneficial. I can't take them as I am intolerant to them amongst it seems a million other meds. I see you are already taking a mucus thinner. You might want to ask you con if s/h thinks nebulising saline, either isotonic (0.9%) or hypertonic (3%, 6% or 7%) would be beneficial to you.
My daughter is an assis head in a challenging primary school and has been teaching almost the same length of time as you - she is just a few years younger and unfortunately she too is quite poorly at present with over active thyroid. Like you she is 100% commited to her job. However she is maybe going to have to rethink her work situation. Like you though hun it is probably not the right time to be making big decisions. You both need to wait until things are more on an even keel and managed correctly. I do appreciate you have the added risk of being surrounded by germ ridden little ones, which can be quite compromising for you. Maybe you could talk this over with your new consultant.
Just noticed your gp only thinks you have bronchiectasis, I am assuming you have not yet had a CT scan, so I guess that would be the first step for confirmation.
So sorry to hear that you have been having so many problems and frustrations to contend with. As has been said, the high res CT scan will show if you do have bronchiectasis. I was asthmatic for many years before being diagnosed with bronchiectasis and was told it had probably been there for some years before. I too have never smoked but had whooping cough as a child and this can be a cause of bronchiectasis later in life.
If you are diagnosed with bronch do ask the consultant to refer you for a pulmonary rehab course as this will help you a lot. I have done a course over the summer and although I thought I was reasonably well informed (with a lot of help from the lovely people on this site) I still learned some new things and have upped my exercising.
Do let us know how you get on; it would be such a shame if you could not continue to do the work you love, but you may not need to cross that bridge with the right meds etc.
Different things can cause bronchiectasis, mine was because I had whooping cough when I was a child. When you see your consultant ask him to refer you to a bronchiectasis clinic (if there is one) or, take a list of all the questions you have. It's important you know as much as possible about your condition so you can adapt yourself. Gp's often don't have the answers, and it is easier for them to write a prescription.
Your story is so much like mine, 3 years of being treated for Asthma but after constant chest infections I was referred to the chest clinic and had lung function tests and a CT scan. Now on Mucodyne, prophylactic Azithromycin, Spiriva, Seretide and Salbutamol with Saline and Salbutomol nebs. Nobody has told me whether I actually have asthma or not! But I have pseudomonas colonization on a regular basis. Smoking doesn't cause Bronch, but obviously it is a good job you are a non smoker as that would make it worse.
I worked in a school for disabled children for years. I did have to give up eventually, but hope you find a way to keep working in a job you love for a longer time. Learning chest clearance should help somewhat. xx
First of all I think you deserve a medal for teaching 4-5 year olds but for your GP I would go and see another one if the breathing test you had says it is a lung condition then you need treatment the right inhalers.
Because you are in a environment that breads germs you can get a spray out of boots not sure of the name but you spray it in to your nose and it help protect you against germs like flu also do you have a flu jab every year I would go and demand answers from your GP
Elsieteacher. I have been a teacher, and am glad I am not now! Not because I don't like teaching, but because of bronchiectasis. My only advice is have yourself referred to a pulmonary nurse team, because nurses are down to earth and seem more intouch with "the wroking world". Take any preventative measure that you can, a good diet with lots of veg, Vit C andD, zinc to enhance the immune system If you cough or sneeze, cough in a disposable hanky rather than your hand!
It's not easy with that sort of disease. Can you do some lung exercises? That should help a bit, like everything else, really. Here's a set: youtube.com/watch?v=iIrAUL_...
Good teaching, and most of all, look after yourself.
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) I blow bubbles into a milk bottle half full of water.....that really helps move it...I learned that on here. Take care and good luck 
Interstitial Lung disease...caused by rheumatoid arthritis
Recently diagnosed with bronchiectasis
Living with Asthma and Bronchiectasis
