Dry cough

[Enniskillen]

Hi all. I’ve been recently diagnosed with bronchiectasis. I have a dry cough which is worse in the mornings. I have little or no phlegm. I seem to be clearing my throat all the time. I also have Sjögren’s syndrome an autoimmune condition. I’m really anxious a lot of the time due to my recent diagnosis. I don’t know how this will progress due to my underlying condition. Any advice would be welcome. X

[Bkin]

So sorry you are having to deal with this.

Do you still see your consultant ~Enniskillen? Perhaps you need to have a chat with them regarding sjogren's syndrome and bronchiectasis.

There are pulmonary manifestations with sjogren's syndrome.

Here is BLFs page on Bronchiectasis:

blf.org.uk/support-for-you/...

But possibly the bssa helpline will be able to offer you great support as well;

bssa.uk.net/contact.asp

they also have a forum where you may be able to chat with others who are experiencing both sjogren's syndrome and bronchiectasis

Best wishes to you

[Mooka]

Hi Enniskillen

I also have an autoimmune disease and Bronchiectasis. Do you see a specialist Bronchiectasis consultant? They should send you to a physio to teach you to clear your airways. They also teach you to control your cough so that you are not irritating your airways. Drinking plenty of water can help. There are some lovely people on this forum that have lived with Bronchiectasis most of their lives and are full of good advice. You will learn how to live with it and to recognise signs that you have an infection on the way and need to break out the antibiotics.

[Enniskillen in reply to Mooka]

I can’t see a physio at the minute due to Covid. I seem to be coughing an awful lot atm and I’m unsure if I’ve had an infection. So basically what I’m saying I’m afraid that I have more damage to my airways as the infection?? Has not been treated.

[Enniskillen in reply to Enniskillen]

I saw a respiratory consultant at start of May he said I had bronchiectasis. He told me he’d see me back in 6 months time.

[Mooka in reply to Enniskillen]

Personally I know when I have an infection as my temperature goes through the roof but I appreciate that your Sjögrens may make things different for you. Are you able to get a telephone appointment with your GP to see if you need antibiotics. Normally you would present a sputum sample for analysis but I appreciate that may be difficult for you. You could also check out active cycle of breathing on YouTube which goes through the exercises the physio will teach you. Have you tried sleeping with plenty of pillows?

[Enniskillen in reply to Mooka]

I can’t even get a telephone appointment atm appartently no slots available. Do you cough much? Maybe it’s a side effect of the bronchiectasis? I feel like how I was back in February and I had infection then. I had sweats back a couple of weeks ago. No temperature during the day. My gp thinks menopause. I would not be so sure.

[Mooka in reply to Enniskillen]

Personally I don’t cough a lot but I have in the past when i went from infection to infection. I was constantly going down with an infection or on antibiotics. Mine is controlled now with nebulised antibiotics. A lot of bronchs on here take an antibiotic 3 times a week to try to keep the infections away. Don’t be fobbed off with the menopause excuse I had that one a lot when I was trying to get a diagnosis for my vasculitis. It’s an easy card for docs to play. Unfortunately GPS don’t know a lot about Bronchiectasis that’s why they need guidance from consultants which is difficult to get for you at the moment. I think if you are worried you have an infection you need to tell the receptionists you need an appointment urgently.

[Enniskillen in reply to Mooka]

Thankyou for your advice. I’ll try to get through to the consultants secretary and get advice. My doctors surgery are a joke at the minute. You can’t see them or even speak to them!

[Enniskillen in reply to Mooka]

Hi Mooka, I was reading through some of your posts. Do you receive treatment for low immunity? If so how does that go. I honestly don’t know what treatment I should be on. I started hydroxychloroquine a few days ago as my bloods show a lot of inflammation. My immune system is poor. X

[Mooka in reply to Enniskillen]

I have low immunoglobulin levels diagnosed via blood tests. I inject immunoglobulin G into myself weekly but so far there is nothing to help with low immunoglobulin A or M. The different types of immunoglobulin fight against different types of bugs so I am still susceptible to a lot of them. Mine was caused by my treatment. The problem with Bronchiectasis is the mucus builds up in the lungs increasing the risk of infection. Could your inflammation caused by Sjögrens?

[Enniskillen in reply to Mooka]

Yes, possibly I’ve just week started treatment for that. Fingers crossed. X

[Mooka in reply to Enniskillen]

I hope this works for you. But do get some help if you are worried as you really don’t want to end up going to hospital at the present time.

[Enniskillen in reply to Mooka]

Thankyou x