Anyone else been diagnosed with bronchiectasis? | Arthritis Information

Or ever even heard of it??

I got a surprise when the pesky cough I've had for the last couple of years was diagnosed as something called bronchiectasis.

I've had RA for 3 years and the cough started about a year later. I had complained about it to my regular doc and even went to an ENT doctor who couldn't find anything wrong.

Finally my family told me to keep trying to get something done about it -- they got tired of hearing me hack all the time, I guess.

So my pcp sent me to a pulmonologist who figured it out right away. It didn 't show up on a regular X-ray, but did on a CAT scan. He does feel like this is related to rheumatoid arthritis.

Anyone else have this?

I had never heard of this so I had to look it up. Here's what I found on webmd:

Bronchiectasis is a lung condition in which the airways of the lungs get bigger and frequently infected. It occurs mainly in people with diseases that affect different parts of the body, such as cystic fibrosis, although it may occur after a severe infection, such as pneumonia.

Symptoms of bronchiectasis differ from person to person. A common symptom is a cough that brings up mucus (sputum).

Bronchiectasis is generally treated with antibiotics, medications that relax the airways (bronchodilators), and medications that make it easier to cough up mucus (expectorants).

It sounds like a treatable condition? Hopefully it is and you won't have to deal with this forever. You have enough going on already, right?! Merry Christmas! :)

It is treatable, although not curable. I am on an inhaler (Pulmicort) which helps.

Oh, and hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. I spent the day with my mother, who is 93 and living at home & doing well, and others in my family...had a great turkey & dressing dinner. Beautiful sunny weather, though a bit cold here in Texas.

I've had bronchiectasis a number of times. Every time we have wildfires in California and the ashes blow into my area I manage to develop it. Also, every single time I get a cold I can be guaranteed a 2 month bout with bronchiectasis. Lower respiratory tract antibiotics do the job.hmmm... is this a temporary disorder or something semi=permanent that we deal with?

have had a lot of sputum and have had pneumonia but the sputum was prior to the pneumonia last summer........ I have no desire to add another doctor to my list.. nor do I want to have to stop a medication that is working for me...... [QUOTE=babs10]hmmm... is this a temporary disorder or something semi=permanent that we deal with? [/QUOTE]

Good question. And I'll bet the answer is YMMV [your mileage may vary].

For me it's temporary, in that it's a dragon rearing its ugly head, and then once the drugs start working, the dragon is slain.......until the next time.

but Sam.. it sounds like it's chronic for you.. and that's not temporary....Bummer - the website lost my post......let's see if I can remember it verbatim.

By definition it's chronic if it lasts a certain period of time, typically 6 months. Mine only lasts about 1-2 months, goes away for several years, then same cycle.

There's also the issue as to whether it's primary or secondary.

http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/296961-overview

But I've got to tell you, Babs, when I do get it, it feels like a lifetime.

Sam12342009-12-28 15:31:28

Babs--as I understand it the condition is chronic & permanent. (At least mine is) I didn't know it could be temporary. It does seem to be worse at times.

I hate to suggest going to another doctor, but a pulmonologist may be the only way to diagnose this. It was for me, anyway. My lungs sound clear & chest X-rays look OK.

The pulmonologist knew right away what the problem was, although he wouldn't say for sure until confirmed by a CT scan.

With bronchiectasis you cough a lot, especially in the morning and at bedtime with quite a bit of sticky mucus (ugh!)

I'd get it checked it out if I were you. Took me a long time to get a diagnosis and I was starting to feel like a hypochrondriac.

Sorry, I should have been clearer. The disease itself is permanent, but in my case the major SYMPTOMS are not chronic. I'm referring to catching a cold or being exposed to ash fall-out. Treat the infection or condition and the symptoms go away with proper antibiotics and drugs.

But I should tell you that I have had somewhat constrictive breathing for as long as I can remember. When I get a cold it takes me a couple months to get rid of it entirely.

A woman I work with developed it from a certain blood pressure medication (wish I could remember which one). Her pulmonologist prescribes strong antibiotics whenever she comes down with a cold. She does cough quite a bit, all day long, and her specific case never seems to go away. Oddly, her sister took the same BP med and also developed the condition.

Nancy,

For what it's worth, many of the BP meds cause coughing iin people without bronchiectasis. I use Benicar for BP medication and there's no coughing. [I only cough during periods when I have a cold or other airway problem.] Perhaps that's a solution for your friend.

Unfortunately, she definitely has bronchiectasis. She has scarred lungs and goes for CTs regularly.

She was probably taking Lisoprinil. I took that for a couple of weeks, but it did make my cough worse. I now take Benicar.

I've brought up the subject of bronchiectasis because there seems to be a connection between this and RA. My pulmonologist says he sees it fairly often in patients with RA and there are various studies that you can read about if you google "bronchiectasis".

Actually, Google "bronchiectasis and Rheumatoid Arthritis".