Carbocisteine - a wonder drug

[bustermolly]

Hiya everyone, just wanted to say a big thank you to you for mentioning the Carbocisteine. new to this but was reading through and saw some of your blogs saying that you used this drug as part of your daily meds, so my curiosity peaked and i read about it on wikipedia. My dad suffers with COPD and has been really poorly all year but he wasnt getting this drug, so i mentioned what i'd read and when he saw the respiratory nurse this week they prescribed some for him. they said in the 11 years they've been doing it they've handed carbocisteine out like sweets and couldnt understand why he'd not been put on it sooner.( he's recently moved house with my mum and has completely new doctors n hospital etc.) he's been taking it 3 days and it's made such a difference it's remarkable, he's not coughing nearly as much and even when he does have the odd coughing fit it's not as intense and is much drier I am so pleased and relieved and grateful to the people on this site for mentioning it otherwise he'd still be struggling through each day wondering when the next hospital stay wouid be coming around!

[dorall]

Pleased to hear your dad has improved on taking Carbocisteine, i take it daily and find it helps to keep my chest clear.Hope your dad continues to improve , take care....Dorothy.

[lavender1]

Is this Mocodyne. I'm told this suppresses the mucus but when I started to take it recently it felt like it was all still sitting on my chest but on perservering with it find I am not having to strain to bring the stuff up in fact it seems to have gone altogether and like your Dad I find the cough is much drier. My only worry is where does it go if it's suppressed - one of the many things I can't bring myself to ask the doctor. Still if it is helping that's what we want. Glad it's helped your dad to that extent.

[bustermolly]

thank you i'm not sure it's supressed, just dried out. wikipedia says it's used in the treatment of COPD to reduce the viscosity of mucus, but will get him to ask next time he speak to the nurse, might be worth asking your doctor though if it's something you're worried about, i think it's important to understand your treatment as much as possible like understanding your illness.

[Hidden]

It does not suppress either the cough or the mucous but works by reducing the thickness and stickiness of sputum to make it easier to bring up.

[lavender1 in reply to Hidden]

Thanks Aunty Mary that sounds less sinister

[elian]

I can confirm auntymary's statement My GP prescribed this for me, telling me "it will loosen the gunge in your lungs and help you to cough it up more easily".

[kris123]

Wish I had heard of this before. Recovering from bronchitis my doc told me to 'take honey' and I just had to put up with coughing almost non-stop for over a month. I will certainly ask for this next time.

[Hidden]

It works well Kris, but not instantaneously. I take 6 per day when I have gunge and 3 per day when I do not. It seems to work best if taken continuously.

[shell13]

Mucodyne is the same thing, i find the syrup works better than the tablet form, so glad your dad had found relief. This stuff has been around for years, my respiratory nurse gives it to all her patients, she said doctors for some reason stopped prescribing it but it has become fashionable with the docs again.