clinic visit

[anonymous]

At my last clinic visit I asked to be put on h.s. Well, we did a practice run at the office--and nothing. No chest tightening, no gagging, no coughing, not even a good clear your throat. So, then we did another treatment with 9% ( He said, the first one was with 7 and they said they would bump it up). Well, same drill. Not a thing. I've never really been a cougher/producer. So, does it take a few months before it works? I hate to sit there for 15 minutes breathing in salt water, when it doesn't seem to be doing anything. It has yet to make me cough up anything.......
I'm wondering if maybe I should just use it if I get sick, instead of everyday? Has this happened to anybody else, or am I just really strange??? <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-tongue.gif" border="0">



irishgirl (not logged in)
28 w/cf

 

[NoExcuses]

If your'e not a cougher/producer, this can mean two things:

1. Either you have nothing to cough up and your CF is super mild

2. Your mucus is so darn thick that you haven't coughed it up in ages



If you are #1, HTS could help you keep your CF mild in the coming years but helping you cough up anything that might be produced.

If you are #2, this drug was made for you. It may not make you produce right away, but over time, mucus could be losened up.


So either way, take the stuff. It's cheap!

 

[anonymous]

so what if I have never really coughed anything up. a little but not a lot. my PFT's are in 50s so not mild. does this mean my mucus is super thick? not good

Sue 24w/CF

 

[NoExcuses]

i would guess that you have really thick, sticky mucous. What does your Chest Xray look like? Is there mucous?

 

[anonymous]

I didn't really notice any more coughing than normal when I first started the saline. As the days passed I started noticing more. I keep having to remind myself now that I am coughing more, but I am not necessarily sick that it is the saline. I am able to get stuff up and it is much less sticky. Hope that helps. I would give it a few weeks of a "trial run" and see if you don't start to see some change. I don't cough a whole heck of a lot even now, but I do notice I breathe easier and am able to get stuff up easier.

Sometimes it just takes our bodies a while to get used to new meds ... maybe that is the case with you.

Lindsey - coltsfan715
23 CF/CFRD

 

[ladybug]

I agree with Lindsey... It took a week or so to get much up for me. Now, I don't cough up "cups" of gunk like some people on here, but I do cough more than when I started. And, I cough more throughout the day too, not just when I do the treatment.

Good luck, and I'd stick with it! <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif" border="0"> I know I am!

 

[Jem]

I too say stick with it. Sometimes I cough hardly at all, other times much more. There are times I hardly cough up any mucus, othertimes more that I thought I had in me. I actually like doing it because my lung feels like I just gave it a good cleaning when I'm done. I figure anything I get up is worth it and much better than if it was left inside. I have done it for 7 weeks now and next week I go for a checkup and will see if it improved my PFT's any. But if it didn't I will still continue to do it because I think it will help maintain my PFT level and that makes it well worth the time I invest in doing it.<img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif" border="0">