Bronchoscopy ... anyone had one?

[Helzapopin]

Hi all

I have just had a call from the chest clinic at my local hospital wanting me to go for a bronchoscopy next week. I’m really nervous as I’ve never had one before and not sure I want them to do it - is this a normal procedure for PCD patients? The registrar said something about looking for an infection.

Any info about the procedure would be appreciated.

Thanks

Helen

[Baynajarian]

Hi Helen!

I am a 19 year old girl currently in college.

I have PCD and have had around 5 bronchoscopies in my life!

Yes, it is very normal for PCD patients to get.

I find them to be very beneficial for short term and long term purposes.

Short Term: your chest is cleared out of nearly all the mucus and you feel much less congested, less chest tightness, and wheezing. However, with this, I need to be mindful that I need to take care of myself after the procedure otherwise the mucus will come back, and I will return to my previous state of having chest tightness and pain ect.

Long term: During one of my procedures they found mold in my lungs.

Background, I get pneumonia quite often and am always prescribed an antibiotic and steroid for treatment.

In response to the steroid and antibiotic being mixed together, mold was formed in my lungs.

My doctors would have never been able to find this out and thereby treat me for this if I hadn't gotten the procedure!

There are lots of benefits to the procedure as doctors 1) can clean out your lungs and airway system and 2) find things in your lungs or mucus that they might not have otherwise known

At the end of the day it is your decision, and I will admit I never wanted to get the procedure any of the times and was very nervous!

I hope this helped!

[BessH]

My 8 year old daughter had one in December. They cleared out lots of secretions at the same time so she actually said how clear she was afterwards. It was fine, no discomfort or ill effects.

[GwenVG]

I’ve had 3 Bronchoscopies and I’m only

16. Its pretty frequent for those with PCD. They just check the functioning of your lungs and check on your condition. For me the procedure didn’t take all that long, probably about 20 minutes.

They will clean our your airways and lung to test for anything and everything. Its a good way to keep an eye on everything thats happening in your lungs.

I was nervous at first but knew the doctors needed to do this to better understand PCD and my own lungs.

Good luck with it all!

[Helzapopin]

Thank you all so much for your replies. I feel much better about it. I have asked for a call back from the consultant to explain why he wants me to have one, but I can now see the benefits and don’t feel so worried. Thanks again!