Bronchiectasis advice

Chest and lungs
1

My specialist reckons i have mild tasis, in the last 3 days i exercised, day-1 ,5 sets of weightless squats, next day 4 sets of bench presses, using bar increasing upto 7 kilos on each side. After this the next day and today i have been very short of breath, cant sleep properly and at times am suffering confusion. I believe this doctor has underdiagnosed me, i`m pretty sure i have chronic bronchitis that is coexisting with the tasis. I was a smoker up until 20 months ago, and remember coughing up 1/3rd of a cup of phlegm around 10 years ago, does this sound like my condition is minor to you?  This is the problem for me, after doing just minor exercise i get extremely tired for 2-4 days, short of breath and cough when i can, usally with the help of some eucalypt/camphor/menthol concoction that i rub on my chest. Do you guys think i should get another opinion as i believe this doctor has purposefully under diagosed me to keep me from getting the disability pension. I am from australia and my name is Ivan, i am getting to the point of not knowing what to do, and my condition is far worse than being minor, i am only 45 years of age the way i feel ,i believe i wont live for more than another 3-5 years. Some of your stories about how you feel when you exercise would be very interesting to compare and i look forward to reading them along with some advice.

                                                                                        Regards Ivan 

2

Hello, Ivan,

Several people have written in with similar symptoms and you may find some answers in the Discussion Summaries - but something I thought I'd mention as I have some experience.  Have you had a sputum sample tested? I had symptoms that bothered me a few years back and my sputum turned up something I didn't expect and it sort of shocked my Pulmonologist - it was a type of bacteria that you can get from air, soil, water and so on.  Symptoms can be: Cough.  Weight loss.  Coughing up blood or mucus.   Weakness or fatigue.     Fever and chills.   Night sweats.    Lack of appetite          and       weight loss.

Fortunately I did not suffer from any of those except for cough and because of that it indicated i did not have an active infection but rather the bacteria was colonizing in my lungs.  I was told that whenever I started to 'not be feeling well and showing these symptoms I should be treated with specific antibiotics.'  

The reason I mention this is because there are many different bacterias that one can get from air, water, soil and other things and unless the doctor does the right test, in this case a sputum test or I think a CT scan it might not be detected and sometimes even then a sputum test can miss it.  From what you are saying today at 45 yrs old you plainly are not feeling well at all. So maybe it's worth checking with that specialist to see what he thinks about that.  My doctor would not have thought much about a sputum test except I kept saying I had so much mucus and why was I coughing so much and when he asked if I felt bad I had to say no.  Coughing is not like feeling ill but it's constant and frustrating.  Possibly my vitamins were giving me energy and that's why I never felt weak or tired.  If you are working out you probably do take vitamins - sounds like you look after yourself.

By the way you said you think you have chronic bronchitis and that you've smoked 'til 20 mos ago.  Do you know that is what COPD is?.   Has your doctor told you that?  If so then you need the inhalers  like Spiriva and Singulair or similar.  Also you need a nebulizer for COPD with Albuterol or equivalent to open the airways, or saline that many other people use to clear phlegm.

I've had bronchitis quite a lot from probably in my 20s. Now I'm older it seems to be pneumonia that gets me.  I have asthma, COPD from chronic bronchitis, and bronchiectasis diagnosed from CT scans about 8 years ago I think.  By the way when I was having frequent sputum tests I had one positive one for a mycobacteria in July of one year and others in between were negative then in July the next year TO THE DAY, I had another positive one.  It was weird - Like did I inhale something in July?  Anyway I didn't get treated for it because I WASN'T SICK. And to be honest I have not had a sputum test since because unless I get ill with it what's the point.  There are many other bacteria that can show up in sputum but if they aren't making you ill with some of those symptoms I believe the doctor would advise not to treat.

With COPD I can't exercise without being out of breath and wheezing.  They say to always do our emergency inhaler prior to walking or exercising so we won't get out of breath. It sounds like inhalers would be of help to you.  I

Anyway there are some things for you to ponder.  Do ask the doctor if he thinks you might have COPD and maybe another doctor wouldn't hurt if you think he's under diagnosing for some reason

Tabatha

(USA)

 

3

Hello Tabatha, Thanks for replying. I forgot to mention that i have had 3 infections in the last 9 months and was presribed Doxycycline which has worked a treat everytime. If you do some online research regarding tasis it mentions that mild tasis is considered to have no more than 2 infections a year i have had at least 3 but possibly 4 i`ve kind of forgotten, but is a minimum of 3. I asked this specialist why i get so very sick and tired after exercise, and all he could answer with was you should`nt be getting so sick, so no bloody help for me, and this bloke is a professor mind you. I just have this feeling about him, that`s he`s trying to screw me over, and when i have a feeling like this, is always true.

Regarding spiriva, my lungs do not like it even a little, it seems to block the phlegm even more and i feel like i`m about to go mad, i`ve tried it twice on different occasions same thing happened. 

I`ve tried asthma inhalers they increase shortness of breath, and i did once try symbicort a steriod powder inhaler, seemed to do the same thing as spiriva, but thinking back i probably should have tried exercising while taking it, and maybe the effects might be different, something for me to ponder.

I used to lift weights and worked outdoors in the citrus industry, i was a marvelous physical specimen in my 20`s and was told by a boxing trainer at that time , that if i really wanted to , could have been a boxing world champ, but i liked my ciggs and i liked to party, so that all went out the window.

This is the worst part about these lung conditions, our lives have been taken from us in the most part, because we cant enjoy the things we once took for granted.

And to make things worse, these doctors/ governments dont recognise just how debilitating these diseases are, we should be granted automatic pensions as soon as these diseases have been diagnosed. Alot of us just cant function properly enough to work anymore,  in australia with this current government, could`nt give a toss and expect us to still work wether we can or not, which is diabolical. 

I still have`nt recovered fully from those couple of exercise sets i did a few days back, this alone tells me, it is not minor or mild but is most likely chronic bronchitis as well. I think i will get another doctors opinion as there are always people out there that will screw you the first chance they get and for what ever reason that may be.

End of rant!!!!!!

4

Dear Ranting Eric,

All I know is that without Symbicort especially I'd wheeze for a bit then it sort of goes away and I can actually go without the Symbicort for one dose but then by bedtime I would need that dose to open the airway so I don't cough and wheeze at night.  I know nothing about exercise during inhaling or not exercising during inhaling. Personally I can't breathe deep enough to get the Spiriva or the Symbicort deep into my lungs.  A pneumonia infection exacerbated my condition and I swore I'd get back to my normal which was 64% lung capacity but I never did and it's been 1 1/2 years.  If I exercised I'd be so out of breath - so it really sounds like you are experiencing something like that.  You've just gotten worse. Maybe don't exercise for a few days and do the inhalers the way you should and see if that makes a difference.   It's horrible to think about but could it be that your days of heavy exercise are over because of your lungs?  Maybe some of the men on this site can answer that better.

I can make a comment on your doc, however. This is sort of off topic BUT I had a dentist screw me up and mess up my bite and I was referred to the dental college and the Professors' practice.  NOT the students.  It was like a regular practice in the college itself and the professors would take time out of their teaching schedule 'to practice'.  Well I ended up with a perforated root during a root canal and so had to lose that tooth next to the one that was already messed up by a Prosthedontist that led me to the college in the first place.  That's when I realized that Professors know how to teach but don't necessarily know how to do.  It was a sordid story after that and I couldn't even go to court because of Sovereign immunity.

So if it were me, I'd go to a Pulmonary specialist outside the college.

Have you had a CT scan?  What about emphysema?  That is part of COPD also.  Have you had a 'lung fuction test' done by a Pulmonologist?

Doxycycline that you mention, got me better from pneumonia.  I like that drug too.  Many people on this site are on Zithromax antibiotic for their Bronchiectasis infections - I'm surprised nobody else has responded yet but I'm sure they'll suggest that to you when they do.  I have not done that myself as I don't think I get infections.  Sometimes I wonder if I'd do better with my inhaling if I had a course of antibiotics but I think my doctor doesn't think I need it at this point.  I take Probiotics to help my gut and don't want to mess it up with antibiotics unless I really need them.

Hopefully you'll find a good Pulmonologist privately and get some good answers, Ivan.

Tabatha

5

Hi. I have just been diagnosed with mild bronc.  You say u think the doctor may have made an error with your diagnosis. Have you had an xray,  ct scan, lung function test  and seen a specialist, .I also do a lot of exercises, i try to take it easy and not over do it, you need to speak to physio who would be able to tell you what you can do, but exercise is good but not to the extreme