Hello please can somebody help me I'm so depressedBr

hi i have severe bronchiectasis i cough up mucus 91 times a day im extremely breathless tighness in my chest sore throat coughing up blood waking up sweating buckets, i get very very down about it just remember there is always someone that has it worse

Hi, Jayne,

I have had bx for about 15 years that I know of, but don't have any of the tightening in the chest/lungs you describe from the bx. However, I was dxd years earlier with adult onset asthma. Now THAT causes tightening in the chest/lungs and does make you fearful when u can't breathe normally. I just wonder if you could be tested for that also. I don't think they dx asthma with CT scans. It's done I'm pretty sure with the Pulmonary Function Test. They can tell if you have asthma or COPD and possibly other things. What you describe sounds a lot like asthma. When I get that feeling of being out of breath, I stop talking as that makes it worse by using up oxygen, and it gradually gets better. Inhalers relieve that feeling. The tightness in the chest comes from the airway closing up making breathing difficult.

To my knowlege bronchiectasis only causes mucus that either keeps coming up and you have to cough it out or it doesn't come up and you have to try to get it to come up and for that I take Mucinex (the brand name) and that is wonderful. You could have infection that would need antibiotic maybe and I think that causes tightness and breathing issues. I've had bx for about 15 years (I'm old now) and I have it all over my lungs acc to my Pulmonary Dr. It's not severe and it's not mild - it's in the middle on the way to severe. I see on another message you say you can't sleep lying down and I too have had that problem as of the past several years and I remember telling my doctor I could only sleep well on one side - I suffered through it not understanding what it was - I don't know if it's the bx causing that or my other lung issues - but I have found if I start out on 3 pillows - now I have to say I read in bed and I'm not suggesting anyone do that - but I do that to get to sleep - so 3 pillows - and I notice the mucus changes position - sitting up all day the mucus drains downward, lying down the mucus must change position and when it moves we feel it and that causes us to not breathe well and to cough. So get in the position you sleep in like on your side and stay there on the 3 pillows and what I do when I'm ready to sleep I pull out one pillow and sometime in the middle of the night I find I've removed the 2nd pillow so when I wake up I'm on one pillow and breathing fine. There is another problem when you wake up because the mucus has to resettle when you stand up again, so there may be some coughing in the morning. So I have 'an adjustment period' in the morning with coughing and feeling all mucusy and then it settles for the rest of the say - but I have to say that going to bed is not a good feeling for me but I have learned to understand what the problem is and so I think I've solved it with the pillows - and you will too - don't be upset because that makes your eyes run and your nose and that makes it worse - handle it with pillows and positioning and don't change positions during the night. If you get up in the middle of the night remember which position you were in and go right back to it and you won't have that out of breath feeling. And by the way I read/heard that sleeping on the left side is easier I think for everyone, something to do with the heart position or something - I don't know but the left side works best for me. So I've told you what works for me and I understand what it is you're feeling and going through and like Lesley says in her message, you will be alright - it will get better when you see the SPECIALIST and you can ask them if it's possible you have something else going on besides the bx. I was 50 when I was dxd with asthma and it took me really by surprise and I started on inhalers then. By the time I was dxd with bx I was not in shock as I'd been dealing with 'not breathing well' for years and bx did not change that. It just meant lots of mucus. That's why I think it's curious you can't breathe with the bx. Anyway that's my story and I hope something in there helps you.