Has This Happened to You?

[Hyacinth8]

Hi all. New to this site but handful you’re here. Looking for feedback on my incident. 1/7 woke up with bitter gurgling in my throat. Coughed and coughed. Finally subsided. 1/8 woke up sore all over ( the coughing spasm?). Could not be off my oxygen for more than 5 min without acute breathlessness. 1/10 went to ER. They gave me prednisone, albuterol nebulizer, chest ex ray (said it was clear???). Pulmonologist said emphysema exacerbation. 5 days of prednisone improved my breathing until I ran out of it.

Quite coincidentally 1/7 went to GP for a leg wound. He gave me 7 days of antibiotic. Now my breathing is improving every day (thank God).

Was this a lung infection that both ER and pulmonologist overlooked. Ever heard of this before?

Thanks in advance

[Aishahb5364]

Did you check the side affects for the antibiotic? It could have been triggered by them. They can have some serious, uncommon side affects which people are unaware of as they think they are totally safe.

[Patk1 in reply to Aishahb5364]

V true.Also do u have heartburn/ reflux? V common with lung disease + harmful to airways if untreated

[Alberta56]

Welcome to the forum. I am not medically trained, but it sounds like an infection to me. Some lung infections are very sneaky and do not show up on basic sputum tests. When your pulmonologist said exacerbation did he mean infection? As far as I'm concerned they are the same thing. I hope some more knowledgeable person will come along and give you their opinion.

[Patk1 in reply to Alberta56]

Alberta56 I can have exacerbation without infection

[Alberta56 in reply to Patk1]

Thanks for the info. You learn all the time on this forum. It hasn't happened to me yet, but that just shows I'm fairly new to this bronchiectasis game. 😮😮😮

[Patk1 in reply to Alberta56]

We r all different.sometimes I just need steroids,sometimes only antibiotics,sometimes both..sometimes hard to know 🤪.best advice I can give u 're bronchiectasis,jump on Every exacerbation as quickly as poss - it settles it faster + causes less damage.over past 10yrs I've deteriorated hugely, due to delays in treatment + infections&flare ups dragged on forever.now, I don't wait.3days of symptoms not settling ' I start treatment.xxx

[Alberta56 in reply to Patk1]

Thanks for the advice. I'm the sort of twit who thinks 'my body can cope with this, don't want to cost the NHS money by using rescue pack unless I really have to', so I really need to be told things like this. So sorry that you've deteriorated badly- was it due to the lack of the advice you've just given me? xxx

[Patk1 in reply to Alberta56]

Yes. I thik so and prior to that gp not prescribing hi enough dose antibiotics. I only joined HU about a year ago.its helped me.its a great support and wealth of knowledge x

[Hidden in reply to Alberta56]

Hi there Alberta and welcome to the bronc club. I am 71 and have lived with it since I was diagnosed at 3. This exacerbation thing is complicated. An exacerbation in those whose only condition is bronch is an increase in bacterial activity, accompanied by increased volumes of darker thicker mucus, breathlessness (caused by the presence of so much mucus) and feeling rotten. The treatment is antibiotics. Oral steroids are not recommended for bronchiectasis on its own. (see the guidelines)Many people with bronch also have asthma or copd.This makes things much more complex. An exacerbation of these conditions can involve breathlessness without infection. It is these patients who require oral steroid medication, with or without antibiotics, depending on what is going on with them. They become very good at recognising whether it is the bronch, the asthma/copd or the pesky pair having a party. I hope that helped a bit.

[Tykelady in reply to Patk1]

Me too. I usually run out of Prednisolone from my rescue pack but my antibiotics are untouched'

[Hobbledehoy in reply to Patk1]

An' me

[Hobbledehoy in reply to Hobbledehoy]

I'm learning from you all. I have COPD & asthma. An infection is clear to see. But if I get a colourless/white exacerbation, with breathlessness, do you reckon I should "jump on it" with my rescue steroids? I'm so infection-conscious that I maybe doni pay enough attention to the other?

[sassy59]

Welcome to you Hyacinth8, you’ve had some good replies so I hope they help. Take care xxx

[peege]

Sounds as though you did have a chest infection and the antibiotics are helping, usually they take effect after 48 hours. Beware though, if you still have symptoms on 6th day of abs contact your gp, some strains of bacteria are very stubborn and need the correct antibiotic. Did you have a lung condition previously? P

[katieoxo60]

Hello Hyacinth8, welcome to the site. Because you had a leg infection its possible the antibiotics your GP used worked on relieving your cough to. Fingers crossed you stay well . I have had many Xrays saying my lungs were OK so I use the symptoms as a guide line like coloured sputum, worsening cough or temperature also reduced breathing . But my lung capacity is lower than others so I have to check it myself . You seem to be a little better now so hope it keeps improving . Take care and stay well.

[Alberta56]

Gosh ! So Xrays are unreliable. My GP is quite fond of them, perhaps because they are easy to get from the local hospital, whereas scans involve the main hospital and its lengthy waiting lists. I'm really learning a lot this morning. xxx

[Damon1864 Volunteer]

Hi and welcome to the site I agree with what you have been told by others. It's always nice to welcome new people, I do hope you keep posting. Have a lovely day and take care 😊 Bernadette and Jack 🐕 xxxxxx

[Mavary]

Hi I’ve just been to the Dr last week having breathing problems. I never felt too good either. My legs were very shaky. She couldn’t hear much but sent me for an x-ray. My interstitial scarring was unchanged. She gave me antibiotics which I couldn’t take so changed them to Doxycycline. I was and still am coughing stuff up. She rang me a few days after to ask how I was and I said I felt much better although I’m still coughing up stuff. She said there was slight sounds of infection which they wouldn’t normally give antibiotics. She was quite annoyed that I haven’t been followed up with what I have in my lungs. So can they overlook infections. I’m sure they can hide. I had pneumonia when I was about ten or so. They found it by putting the stethoscope right under my armpit. Now they don’t normally do that but this Dr did.

[Alberta56 in reply to Mavary]

Hope you are soon feeling better. xxx

[Mavary in reply to Alberta56]

Thank you. I feel much better now and I’m not shaky any more but am still coughing up mucus.

[Lutontown]

When you've used the words "bitter in your throat", just consider acid reflux??