Gross subject I know but I am getting increasingly worried about my de-mukeing (expelling mucus)
Have am in my third week of what I think has been an infection , yet the mucus still comes and seem much more solid, It feels like I am drawing it from deeper and deeper from back of my nose right from my diaphragm, at times my diaphragm burns and I can feel it tugging its way up, I aid it using water it helps the process a little, I can be at it hours , but my body from the waist up is really suffering, any one help with any suggestions , thanks
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carolg1
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I have the same problem as you. I take a puff of Spiriva first. then in stead of using water I use cool coffee. coffee is a natural dilator and if you clear your chest by coughing like someone who smokes 50 a day, you should bring up the gunk fairly quickly. I hope it works for you. good luck. Janie
Thanks Janie, It feels like Im dragging it through funnels from my chest back of throat and diaphragm its like a burning sensation as it leavse, I don't take spiriva im on symbicort and Si Breez, these past few weeks its horrendous and its making me sore, thanks for your tip , but I really hope it goes soon xx Take care Carol
hi carol, sorry to hear your having this awful bother, i suppose you've tried carbocisteine?, or have a saline nebuliser?,i find these help a bit,,, i'm the same, had an infection few weeks ago,and still "huffing" and bringing up this yuk, but not quite so bad now, i feel for you as it knocks ten bells out of you, and as you say, leaves you very sore,,, maybe you still have an infection carol, maybe best get a sputum sample tested. ,,like janie, i take coffee, sometimes that helps a bit.i also drink a lot of water.and take manuka honey, you might be better having another word with your g.p. i wish i could help more carol, but im sure you will get better info. from other upcoming posts. i do hope this eases a bit and the phlegm comes up easier....take care now,,, jimmy xxx
thanks carol, i hope you find some solution, i had quite a job myself this morning, but it seems now [i hope] i have most of it up,, sounds horrible, but its like blinken super glue ,, jimmy
hi lousisiana, ,, coffee is supposed to be a bronchodilator .but like many things that are "supposed to be" there are" fors and againsts".
i have a coffee first thing in the morning, combined with my salbutamol and saline nebuliser, i believe it helps me, "huff" up this phlegm, i would then sip a cup, even when cold, for a while. maybe over an hour!! ,,,, but it might not be everyones cup of tea lol
I tried everything to shift it, until my practice nurse suggested "Beconase" as most of the mucus was in the top of my chest or throat, she said when asleep the mucus from the nasal passages was trickling down my throat (sounds horrible sorry), and it seems to have done the trick not as before i started taking it
Thankyou Eskimo yes Ive tried more nasal sprays than I care to think of !! but nothing seems to work, trouble with me is there is that much of it , it seems to fall into my Diaphragm area and im having to heave it out (god doesnt it sound awful, its the bane of my life !!! xx Take care Carol
Not good then Carol, maybe your Doctor or Consultant could see if its a sinus problem. Hope you get it sorted somehow there's nothing worse than heaving and spluttering i sound like and old can trying to start on a cold morning.
Haha morning Paul me too, its so embarrassing undignified is the word !! my young son gets really worried when he hears me performing !! but do or die lol, yes my consultant is sending me to ENT but up to yet drawn blanks Im back again with consultant on Monday (ent) for results of some tests, I hope they will find something out and be able to slow it down or lessen it, thanks xx Carol
Hi Carol its nice to know that your consultant is doing his best for you, maybe a kick up the posterior might be needed to get things going, I still find it embarrassing coughing my lungs up and a bit scary. I have a very good consultant not great bedside manners but he gets things done. Hope they can sort it for you, it must be frightening for your son, just tell him you have to kick start your lungs in the mornings. will keep my fingers crossed for you. Cheers Paul
Hi Paul, Im due to see my consultant on 8th December but prior to that ENT consultant for results of some recent minor tests to do with the muke, this time I have to make him realise that is not just Once a day in a morning then its over with its three sometimes four times a day !! so Im really becoming a bit of a hermit too which I hate, for some reason its also got so much thicker (gross!! sorry) I feel one day Ill just choke, I,ll post and let you know how I get on, thanks take care luv Carol
Whoa, 51 replies, popular post or wat ! have only just seen your post, I've been offline as my router and connection went down, anyway so sorry you are still struggling like this Carol, will pm you xx
Hi Carol hope it all goes well with "ENT" sort you out and make you more comfortable and it will help your son, if he wasn't worried he would not care and he obviously does. My dog cares about me I think the wife does as well. Seeing my Chest Consultant on the 16th December. So hope i am feeling better than i do now, all this talk of hacking a bit off my lung or a transplant is very very scary its got me pretty stressed and panicky. I was okay on our cruise in May in the Mediterranean (took me six attempts to spell that) it was very hot and walked miles without oxygen and still felt pretty good lung wise, its just mixed my head up and like you becoming a hermit scared to leave my sanctity unless on holidays or for appointments. Hope the morning lung kick start is getting easier, i was like an steam train this morning. Anyway enough of my drivel, let me know how the "ENT" goes i might get some ideas for mine from you. Take care and stay safe. Cheers Paul
Hi Paul, ENT results back following a gastric study and apparently I have acid reflux !! although I have had camera down 3 times to check for reflux which where all negative !! it is mixing with mucus from my lungs etc, so god knows what the next step will be she has referred me to gastric specialist , jesus it beggars belief !! 3 years this has been going on there is not much left of me lol, but I have a zest for life so I shall keep battling will post the outcome of gastric consultation you never know he may come up with something , I have been taking reflux meds for about 18months and they havent changes anything so we shall see, thanks for caring it is appreciated, take care Carol xx
Hi Carol nice to hear you got some news at last, what a pathetic service that takes 3 years to diagnose acid reflux, its not nice and hurts, i have been on Omeprazole for years, due to a past likeness for Brandy its a bit corrosive (misspent youth) They work for me most of the time. I don't drink or smoke now, but a bit to late the damage is done. My GP suggested peppermint to calm it down if needed, so get your polo's out and try. Thankfully this site exists and we can at least have a moan and groan and speak to likewise people who understand and help us all. have a good weekend t/c Paul
Hi Carol how did you get on with the ENT people? sorry not asked sooner had a nice chest infection and a virus which knocked me for six. hope all is okay and you have not spent all your pennies on Christmas pressie's. My wife told me Santa does not exist ruined my Christmas, take care Paul
Hi Paul, Thanks for thinking about me its so kind of you following the test I had done where they inserted a recorder etc into my stomach ??? results came back as too much activity in my stomach along with PND so I have been referred to a Mr Watson who is apparantly a specialist in this field my app is on New Years eve, but the mucus is horrendous at the moment , I seem to have to suck it from my Lungs/stomach I can never seem to work out where it is coming from I just know it is ruining what life in me I have its Gross, but hey Im not all doom and gloom trying to stay happy as best I can, hope you have recovered from your blip, il let you know how I get on.
Hi Carol nice to hear you have been seen and they are looking at at options to sort it out. (New years eve for an app) oh well at least you make a new years resolution (no more mucus for 2015) Its not nice to be like it i am fed up and mine is only upper respiratory but then i am a man and we do suffer more than ladies but you sound like a strong young lady and you never know you might be passed on to Mr Holmes if
Dr Watson can not help (sorry bad joke). I am getting much better thank you. can actually walk and breathe now which is a bonus. Keep us informed its nice to see you are getting seen at least. take care. Paul
Thank you for posting that Carol. I am in the same position at the moment. Even though my chest infection is gone I am still bringing loads of mucus up from (it feels like) the bottom of my lungs. I am self medicating with steroids from my rescue pack (my second lot).
Hi coughalot same here doc has put me on five days of steriods, I feel a little better but it feels like I am removing chipping away at a giant slug on a daily basis for hours at a time, but musuc doesnt look infected but tried three sample , all clear, thanks for replying xxx
i am not sure on that one cough,!!!, i know that steroids are a life saver, but have a lot of side effects,[i have some, with high dose, repeated use] but if its so bad and they are helping, i don't blame you ,, jimmy
I know Jimmy its a vicous circle trying to help ourselves and wondering which is the lesser of two evils , wish someone would discover a superdrug for us with NO side effects we can dream lol take care luv carol xx
your quite right carol, it is a vicious circle, after posting this morning,i've spent half the day trying to bring up phlegm, leaving me very sore indeed....it seems we just cant win lol... maybe one day they'll bring out a magic drug,, until then, we can always dream about it all the very best carol, take care,, jimmy xxx
Well I am not severe or anything jimmy and it's the first time I have taken steroids this year so I don't think 2 lots will hurt me. It's only Predisilone so they are not strong ones. Thanks for your reply. x
hi cough , nice to hear from you, im sure you know well what you are doing by now lol it cant bad taking prednisolone if its the first time this year,
as i said in my previous post to carol, i've had real difficulties myself today, trying to bring up this phlegm,its taken me hours, i'm absolutely done in, and very sore now, i felt like taking my emergency meds myself!!! , but as i have had a lot of steroids this year, i thought i would leave it, then see what its like tomorrow, ,, trust me to cope this after mentioning it!!, although its a horrible subject, i found the sticky weight of this phlegm on a kitchen roll, amazingly heavy, it just goes to show whats in the bottom of the lungs, still, better on a kitchen roll than at the bottom of the lungs lol,, hope we all feel better soon , good luck with the pred, cough, i hope this works for you, regards jimmy xxx
Thanks jimmy I wouldn't say I know what I am doing though but thanks for the thought! It is definitely working though and my cough is a lot less constant. I am very wary of steroids too as I have heard of and worry about the side effects.
I am pleased you are managing to get your mucus up. Well done. Like you say it's far better out than in x
Well I am not severe or anything jimmy and it's only the third time I have taken steroids this year so I don't think 3 lots will hurt me. It's only Predisilone so they are not strong ones. Thanks for your reply. x
I do think you should check with your GP coughalot about taking more steroids....I have an emergency pack as I do keep getting infections, but I only take the prescribed dosage and then check with the Dr if I feel I need more. Just a thought Hope you are feeling better today
Thanks Louisiana. I used my emergency pack of steroids and ab's. I know the infection went and I waited a week for feel mucus free. When I wasn't I thought taking the steroids again was the only thing I could do. I can't be doing with the battle to see a doctor these days though I will go if the steroids don't clear it up completely. x
My own experience was the same until some one told me to blow hard into a balloon. From there on all the mucus tied around the collapsed lung was liberated in large amounts. Hope this helps,
Ooops, here I go again I blow bubbles in a milk bottle through a straw until I can hardly breathe, then I huff a few times and that really really really helps bring up the muck - I know I keep repeating myself, but we all seem to have the same problems, and we all have different ways of dealing with them....this works for me (most of the time) Hope you will all feel well tomorrow
Too true Louisiana we all pray at night Im sure to get up in a morning and be able to function reasonable well its so hard sometimes to keep going, god knows we need zest for life sometimes so fingers crossed, take care luv Carol xx
Have you got Mucyodine it does help my Tiotropium gets mine going in the morning after the Ventolin.
This is what I hate about this disease hope it gets less or easier to move soon Janie mentioned coffee I have mine ASAP when I get up 6am Sunday grrr lol
Az and me both use Mucyodine tablets prescribed by the doctor. They really help thin the mucus, making it easier to shift. We both struggle if we miss a dose, so they do work.
Most doctors just look at you and say " yes lots of mucus yes Im afraid thats what COPD patients have to cope with," when will they realise every person is different and some changes in COPD patients mean there is a problem not just par for the course , rant over lol , I have been to docs twice in three weeks not much change though , thanks take care Carol x
I am sure I am boring everyone to death about this as I always recommend it...but I have found blowing bubbles into a milk bottle till I can't breath any more, and then huffing immediately afterwards works to help me bring up the muck.....it's worth a try! It won't hurt you....promise Hope you are feeling a bit better . All the best
I suggest that you ask your Nurse or Physiotherapist about "Active Cycle Breathing. I find it really works. It may not be appropriate for you but you lose nothing by asking.
Just lost my reply - page froze! Grrrr. Anyway, I use a Flutter Valve now and it does help the cough to be more productive. Carbocisteine made me feel like I was drowning, as did the Saline Nebuliser but the Resp Spec wants me to try a stronger saline solution. I am waiting for a hospital appt to get the neb etc. now. He has also suggested Salbutamol in the neb...I think this is because I am using a Flixotide inhaler as well as Seretide, plus Spiriva. I use the salbutamol so much too but if I can't clear the airways a bit, then I can't breathe in the salbutamol! He thinks I use too much steroid inhalers but I can't get off them....he worries about my bones in ten years; I just want to breathe NOW! I hope things get easier for you
Thanks for the info Sparkle you are right sometimes I feel like Im drowning because its so liquid you dont know what to do for best, I do have a flutter valve and acopella both are good for making you stuff stubborn stuff, hope you keep as well as you can and I agree with you if predisolne steriods help give a bit of relief do we just say no and choke lol (not funny really) but thats the way it is xx luv Carol
You're welcome Carol. I am thinking I might just find my Prednisolone from my rescue pack and see if it gives some relief.....even if only for a few days!
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I'm learning soooo much on this site 
ruined my Christmas, take care Paul
....Where does all the mucus go ? 
Does anyone use mucadyne 
