Hello. I've joined this group in the hope that some of you might be able to shine some light on my Mother's diagnosis.
She was told last year that - on top of a host of other conditions - she has bronchiectasis, but her symptoms don't seem to match the classic ones in traditional definitions.
She gets desperately short of breath, sometimes after minimal exertion (eg just getting off the sofa or even sitting in bed), on an increasingly frequent basis.
Such bad spells are usually accompanied by pain across the top of her stomach/under her ribs.
She does not appear to have the build-up of phlegm and difficulties coughing that most experts usually associate with the condition.
Whenever she has questioned this, she has been told that not every person has those symptoms but that that is what she has.
This may be the case, but as she is now suffering increasingly frequent bouts of near-desperation with her breathing, our family is wondering whether she has a similar - but different - condition that perhaps requires slightly different treatment.
I just wondered whether any of you have a similar absence of the apparently key symptom but are still considered to have bronchiectasis - and whether increasingly severe bouts of breathlessness are among your symptoms.
And, of course, if so, how you deal with it?
Thank you.
Hi, I was diagnosed with v mild bronchiectasis about 14 years ago. I mentioned my surprise to the consultant as I v rarely cough anything up, even though my lungs at the time were filled with fluid which seen on bronchoscope. My bronchiectasis was diagnosed by CT scan.
The consultant told me that there were considered two types, one dry ie not coughing stuff up a lot & one wet ie coughing a lot up.
If I get chest infections I tend to feel breathless and cough v little up.
I find that exercise helps a lot & I believe has helped to keep my condition v mild over the years.
I hope this helps.
Hello. Thank you for this. Yes, it does help a lot. However, in my Mum's case, she doesn't really cough anything up at all - but her breathlessness has become more frequent and much more severe. I'm just wondering whether the one small area identified by the CT scan on her lung might not have been a sign of bronchiectasis after all, and maybe something else. It's useful to hear your experience, though.
This must be worrying for you. Has your mum discussed her concerns with the doctor. If her breathlessness is getting worse, it sounds as if she should see someone about it as perhaps she needs different medications etc.
Yes, she has. She's awaiting a referral back to her respiratory consultant and is due to have another chest X-ray. Unfortunately, she's too ill to have it at the moment. the absence of the coughing makes us wonder whether the diagnosis is correct. Hence my interest in your response.
Hi, sorry to read of your mums ill health, one thought occurred to me, it is difficult i think to diagnose Bronch from an Xray, has she had a CAT scan?
I was diagnosed as having severe asthma , reflux and acute sinusitis after x rays but a CAT scan showed an different story. And i have Bronch,which is managed,
Take care
Sopsx.
Thank you.
Yes she was initially diagnosed by CAT scan.
It's just that her primary symptoms don't appear to reflect those of most bronchiectasis sufferers.
Thats good. My consultant gets upset when only x rays are given. I have deformed airways which are a result evidently ,of having measles and whooping cough at a very young age and to a serious degree, but i don't have the same problems as ,some other people,
i hope your mums breathlessness improves.
Sops x