With Bronch as you know comes the cough, the one thing with all of this I just could do without.
I cannot stop this cough regardless of any medication and although its not said I know its getting on peoples nerves at work, its getting on mine massively, even my kids who are very young comment on it.
Are there any home remedies? I make sure I get 'rid' of the gunk before I set off but all day I know its there!!!
I have a very client facing role and it's causing issues, I could be halfway through a call and have to pause for 2-3 minutes then continue.
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BilboBagshot
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oh the joys of living with bronch! I was only telling my bronch specialist yesterday that when I write the book it will be titled 'Make Sure You Know Where The Loo Is'
Ever since I was a tiny child I was nagged to clear my lungs first thing in the morning. This is a fallacy. It is sometimes possible to get some out in the morning if it has been collecting at the top overnight but the bulk of that which is in the lower parts of the lungs doesn'start to move until you do. So my main clearance hapoens at about lunchtime and I usually have to have several sessions at it, depending on where I am.
So therefore the title of the book. I don't let the gunk boggart stop me from doing anything which means that wherever I am I have to find the loo when I need to have a really good clear out. Your employer should accomodate you with this. I know that it is embarrassing but it you need to talk to them quietly and put across your needs. It is part of your disability and they have to comply with disability legislation.
Also it is a matter of you recognising when the mucus is becoming a nuisance and timing your trips to get rid of it.
Clearing your lungs is very important to prevent the bugs in there having a party and your bronch starting an exacerbation. Also, you cannot work properly if you are uncomfortable because of the accumulation of mucus.
Your cough is actually more to do with you suppressing the mucus that needs to come out than an irritated cough caused by inflammation. If you get the stuff out you should feel much better and cough less.
If you get comments or funny looks in the loos just give them 'the look' or simply ask them if they have heard of cystic fibrosis. If you told them that you have bronch they wouldn't understand but cystics get bronch in their lungs and everybody knows about that.
I have had a lifetime of this. It is awful but we have to look after our own interests whilst keeping our sense of humour. It would be better if your children were gently taught to remind Daddy that he needs to go and get rid of the gunk boggart when they are bothered by your cough. I brought up two and have five grandchildren. All of them are used to the way I am and what I need to do and it is a none issue.
thanks moody girl. Your comment about the hand dryer made me howl! The amount of time I have stood in the loo waiting for someone to put it on so that I could have a good go! If you don't laugh you cry. After all of these years it is such a strange comfort to find out that I haven't been alone. I listen to the book on radio 4 and if someone can publish and have read a book about slaughtering their pet pigs and hunting and chopping up sharks as in the last two books I guess a book about fighting the gunk goblin should go down well.
This is really good to know littlepom but I wonder if you could tell me what you did in the loo to clear the mucus - was it active breathing. Same problem here with coughing and throat clearing (at times it is relentless). I have not told employer about branch yet because I was diagnosed after I had the job for years but it is getting to the point where I have to, thank you
Hi fionafish. Yes a type of active breathing I suppose. I am generally lucky (if you can call it that) that my mucus is generally very runny so it's a matter of it's going to come whether or not.The important thing is to stay there until you really feel that there is no more to bother you. Don't forget that if the amount of mucus seems endless and you can't get control of when you get it up you may be having an exacerbation and need a different antibiotic or more antibiotic. Bronch is very complex and it takes time to get to a point where you know what is normal for your own body and what needs treating. Then there's getting the doc to give you the right ab in the right dose for long enough. I hope that you have a good consultant whom you can contact and who is telling your GP how to treat you.
As far as work is concerned I can understand you finding it difficult to tell them. Luckily we now have disability laws (which others on here know far more about than me). Most peolpe have absolutely no clue as to how it is to live with and manage bronch and employers need to be told of your needs. The other problem with bronch is that you can feel as fit as a flea one day and totally wiped out by it the next.
Hi Littlepom, thanks for your reply. At the moment the throat clearing and coughing is pretty much constant and after three lots of antibiotics I am now on azithromycin for three months. I saw a consultant privately earlier in the year as the NHS consultant is not until December (was diagnosed about two years ago but doctor has only just referred me). When this present infection did not clear up I rang the consultant who sent a letter to the doctor recommending the azithromycin. After eight days though the infection is still there so I am going to try and get a private consultation again this week (with the NHS consultant as then I can get on his list sooner I hope). I have worked through it all and really think I have to stop as agree about the way days go. Anyway have been stepping up the active breathing the last couple of days and sure it is making a difference. Good luck to you too
Hi fionafish. has your GP sent off a sample of mucus to be tested for the bacteria in there? It changes and it can be that the azithromycin is the wrong antibiotic. You will eventually need to be under the care of a true bronch specialist at an NHS centre where xrays scans and frequent contact do not cost a bomb. My experience of private consultants is that they are usually general respiratory consultants who will see you quickly but really don't have expertise in managing bronch. Every true bronch specialist I know of confines themselves to the NHS. Look on the internet for a bronch specialist near to you. They are usually based at big teaching hospitals. Take the name to your GP and don't take no for an answer until you are referred to them.
Bronch is complex and frankly, boring. The most important thing is to get into a routine for emptying your lungs so that you can lead a pretty normal life. The constant throat clearing etc is a sign that the stuff is still down there. As an example, I help at a local heritage attraction. I was on an afternoon shift yesterday. Before I leave home I spend some time moving what I can. About half way through the shift I start to feel uncomfortable so go to the loo ( nothing unusual there as most people go at some time during their shift). I spend about five minutes doing my own method to get as much as possible out and then I am ok until I get home. If this routine changes in that despite my best efforts there is still masses giving me trouble and I have to keep going back to get it up plus I feel under the weather, I take it as a sign that an exacerbation has started and I need to get on the abs. There are some bronchs ( like me) who produce a lot of mucus anyway without necessarily having an exacerbation. Any amount of abs will not reduce it, You should eventually come to recognise how your own bronch manifests itself and what is best for you. You have to be the one in charge. When you do get to the NHS clinic see the physio who can help you with the breathing tecniques for emptying your lungs.
This was a long answer but I hope that it helped a bit.
Thank you for taking the time to reply - much appreciated. The sputum sample showed that I needed a certain ab (can't remember which one now) but it didn't work so then I started the azithromycin. I went back to work today but will try and sort out a bronch specialist tomorrow. Your job at the heritage attraction sounds fun - we went to Chepstow Castle at the weekend and there were people dressed in the old gear demonstrating shooting arrows with bows etc - good outing. I have upped the active breathing but still don't get to feel it has all gone - it's a full time job at the moment so happy days
Hi Fionafish! In Australia Azithromycin is used more as an anti-inflammatory. When you have a flare up you continue the Azithromycin and take another appropriate antibiotic as well.
Interesting!!! I will talk to my lung specialistin a couple of months and see what he says, but this is what both my specialistand my lung physio have told me to do!
Sorry. I thought my reply to your reply, Nottobad, could be ambiguous. No, I don't stop the Azithromycin. But I would also never take more than one additional antibiotic. It was clear last week I was getting another lung infection and was tempted to reach for the Cipro. But I was also due to have a skin cancer removeda couple of days later for which I was told to take Keflex on the morning of the op. Decided to start the Keflex early to see if it might also fix the lung infection - and it did!!!! I have no idea what the sputum would have shown but figured I had nothing to lose!
Oh, and I should have said that Azithromycin is indeed an antibiotic. In some ways I guess it is used a bit like doxycycline. I used to be on a low dose of doxy daily to prevent infections (worked well for two years but then ceased to be effective). I take 250mg of Azithromycin daily, particularly in winter. In summer,if my lungs are good, I 'have a rest'. GPs here have been told to double the dose if there is an active infection.My specialistsays to stay on the 250mg and add another antibioticinto the mix. Cipro seems to be the go to antibiotic(especially if your are colonising pseudomonas as I am.) Unfortunately, I developed tendonitis as a result of the Cipro plus strenuous exercise, so my specialistisn't too keen on the Cipro anymore.
On the news here in Australiathey recently announced that it is being used experimentally on asthma patients to control coughing. And something about it having been used for years in Japan for some rare lung disease only the Japanesehave. Have you ever heard of this? I will discuss this with my lung specialist, (sort of an expert in this half of the world) when I see him in a couple of months. I also see my immunologist in a couple of days and I'll see what he has to say. He is pretty cluey and was the first to recommend I use Atrovent to help with coughing/lung clearance. It seems to be helping.
I hadn't heard of azithromycin before joining this site but I can certainly attest that it does not control coughing - if only! Would be good to know what your specialist says - have to wait until December to see mine.
Yes I know exactly what you mean and sympathise enormously.
When I used to work I'd have a clearout before leaving the house in the morning, but the yuck was always back before too long. I'd make regular visits to the loo and if no one was in there I'd whack the noisy hand dryer on while having a good hack.
If I had a coughing fit while on the phone I'd wave at my colleague who would take over.
I'm now happily retired so it's a lot more manageable.
I apologise if you know all this already, but it may help you.
You say "I get rid of the gunk before I set off". Do you just cough it up, or do you do some 'physiotherapy'. People above above mention "active breathing" by which I suppose they mean Active Cycle of Breathing Technique, also known as huffing, which was taught to me by a physiotherapist - but you can do it without seeing a physio.
I have a lung condition (sarcoidosis) and produce a lot of phlegm every day. I do ACBT each morning and at bedtime to cough it up and then I don't cough during the day. If I don't do ACBT at nighttime my lungs "rattle" and can't lie down without coughing.
There is lots on the internet about Active Cycle of Breathing Technique (ACBT); this is a good site youtube.com/watch?v=XvorhwG... I was taught by a physiotherapist to do it lying down on each side but it can be done sitting up.
You could buy a nebuliser which produces steam to loosen the mucus and make it easier to cough up.
I am prescribed 7% salt solution capsules; I empty one in the nebuliser each use. I nebulise before I do ACBT.
Or you could put your head over a bowl of very hot water with a towel over your head to loosen the mucus which I used to do before I had my nebuliser. I also have a Flutter device which I bought which helps if the phlegm occasionally gets partiularly stuck (Look on the internet to explain what this is). There is also a device called an acapella which is similar.
I never go anywhere without a packet of Fisherman's Friend (includes menthol and eucalyptus), as if I do feel the urge to cough I suck one (a very strong taste so takes some getting use to) and the urge usually disappears.
One last thing. My phlegm is white, but I have been told that if it goes yellow or green that may mean I have an infection and I should ask my doctor's receptionist for a little pot, cough in to it (in private!), and the doctor will send it to the local hospital for analysis to know which is the best antibiotic to fight it.
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