Hello I am 2nd year Law student at University of Cape Town, been living with bronchiectasis for about 18 years( I AM 20) .the condition has deterioated over the years! i need someone to talk to, i have never met anyone with this disease.
have spent so much money on doctors, antibiotics, physiothereapy etc only to get worse each year,
I cough up large amounts of sputum each day, my fingers and toes look so ugly from clubbing, i am constantly tired and missing out on life!
HOW CAN I REDUCE SPUTUM OTHER THAN BY ANTIBIOTICS?
please help
Hi there,
This is not really a forum to find out what is wrong with you - sorry if I am sounding rude but we could all start guessing & then you would be in deep water.
Please go and see your GP who should refer you to a respiratory specialist. That specialist should get you to undergo a series of tests, which will produce results to tell you what is wrong.
Do all that please & then get back on here & let us know. We are interested in knowing the outcome but we cannot mis-diagnose you. It will only cause you stress & worry.
Good luck & report back soon
Hello madline0505, im sorry to hear your suffering so much,i find if you drink lots of water,,get plenty excerise,and if you can get your partner or maybe a family member to give your back in the lung area a good patting it helps, and if you can do this every morning it means you can get a lot of sputum up ,and then its not to bad as the day goes on ,then again at night , get th person to cup their hands ,as this will vibrate through your body,then you can maybe have a sputum free day,hope thing improve for you soon.
Hi there,
maybe you didnt read correctly and missed the part where I said i been living with bronchiectasis for 18 years now, obviously that means i was diagnosed( a long time ago)-sorry if i am sounding rude but i was asking for other ways to reduce sputum production as I have tried it all (antibiotics, daily physio, diet)
Moreover,i just wanted to hear from other people living with this terrible disease.
hi again Sorry i was not much help.
Denise your advise is great help! Am actually drinking 2L of water as we speak. I am grateful to be interacting with people who know EXACTLY what i am going through 
feel free to give me more tips
I'm too a longtime sufferer of this disease n I was diagnosed when I was little. My mum does my physio I have a nebuliser I have to go on 4 times a day. I have inhalers I also have mucodyne tabs n montekulast tabs to take n I have to do exercise too but this helps shift the mucus. I have antibiotics amoxicillin or ampicillin if they don't work I have to ciprofloxacin as I'm allergic to doxycycline n other tabs . I'm in constant pain across my back n down side n have headaches too plus I m ad extricated I an have situs I versus too. Life is a struggle especially if I have a chest infection . Hope this helps I'm 48 now
Those are my exact symptoms and what frustrates me is that there are people out there who have bronchiectasis but lead normal lives! I feel so frustrated as my parents spend large amounts of money on private specialists who dont offer me anything new. My fingers are badly clubbed, lung capacity dismal and i continue to produce so much sputum albeit the physio i do. what am i missing.
Hello Madeline.....Bronchiectasis is notoriously difficult to treat and control .....usually finding an effective antibiotic helps along with regular postural drainage.
Do you hand in sputum samples to microbiology labs for testing.....they can test for which antibiotic you need to treat your particular infection....it is called sensitivity testing. Perhaps you are not taking the correct antibiotic for you.
Have a look at http://www.bronchiectasishelp.org.uk/ which is designed to support patients in self management of this disease.......understanding this disease and knowing how to self manage your symptoms is the key to taking control.
Hope all goes well.........Robert
hi i cough up mucus 91 times a day i am only 18 i have only recently been diagnosed ut is very hard to live with and can have a huge impact on your life i struggle daily, i hope you get better
have you explored the Bronchiectasis R Us forum?
when i really needed someone to talk to, i found this invaluable.
it is a peer to peer forum
great place to chat
hope it helps