Over the last couple of months I have had a chesty cough. I have taken my rescue antibiotics twice with a month in between. Finished 2nd lot 2 weeks ago. Seemed to be getting better and now I am coughing +++ again.
I know my appointment with respiratory specialist was in March but the unit I attend is usually 3 months behind.
I’m not sure whether I should seek GPs advice as I they will listen to my chest and say it’s clear.
So I’m in a bit of a quandary.
What do you think I should do!
Go to your GP they can easily sound out your chest. It seems odd that you are still coughing a lot after those meds. You don't want to end up in hospital?
Why not try ringing the clinic and get your appointment brought forward. You may have the wrong antibiotic in your rescue pack or not high enough dose or not 14 day supply. I hope that you see a bronch expert at the clinic and not just a general respiratory consultant. Check by looking at their profiles and if you are not seeing a bronch specialist find the name of one close to you on the internet, take the
Pressed wrong button - take the name to your GP and insist on a move to them. You cannot allow yourself to deteriorate because you are receiving inferior treatment but I’m afraid that it is up to you to push for this.
I also have Bronchiectasis and the same as you coughing constantly but I have just seen a specialist and been led to believe that the cough is a normal part of the condition and as long as the phlegm is being brought up and is white/cream not a problem. It is getting it up which is the difficult part. I am waiting for a respiratory physio team to get in touch with me to explain special breathing techniques to help shift it.
Thank you for your reply
Matilda_1922 - here are some suggestions:
If you are not currently on antibiotics take a sputum sample into the surgery for culture and sensitivity. In bronchiectasis sometimes the sputum doesn’t grow anything. A blood test for infection markers can be more accurate in detecting infection so it’s worth talking to your doctor or nurse about this.
As Missyscarlet has said, look for a bronchiectasis specialist consultant and ask for a referral.
Gingermusic is right in that cough is a part of bronchiectasis that you have to learn to deal with. You need to schedule clearance sessions, maybe twice a day. This is really important to prevent infection and keep you comfortable so concentrate on learning all you can about effective clearance. Mucolytics such as Carbocysteine, nebulised saline are a useful start if your sputum is thick and hard to get up. They can make your active cycle breathing/huffing more effective. Do a search for airway clearance devices because they can be helpful. Some are available on FP10.
I have seen a physio and they have given me so breathing exercises to do 3x a day. I have slack d a little from so have restarted again the other day so hopefully this will help. I’m due an appointment soon with respiratory specialist so that should through
Hi Matilda, I too had to resort to my emergency meds in March, I did manage to get a sputum test to the doctor before taking my antibiotics and I am so glad I did because I had a bacterial infection and my emergency meds where the wrong antibiotic. As soon as the GP prescribed the new antibiotic I began to feel better. If you are not taking antibiotics now make an appointment with your GP and on the morning of your appointment take a sputum test for the lab. Hopefully you will than get a result. Take care Maximonkey
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