Finally identified my long-term illness (Bronchiectasis), thanks to Dr Google :)

[simon43]

(long post, but maybe useful information for other forum members).

 

No, it's not a case of looking through an online list of diseases and saying "I've got that and I've got that!". I am very sure that I have finally identified what has given me poor lung health for the past 25 years, thanks to the state of my toes!

 

Why haven't the doctors in the UK and Thailand been able to identify this condition? Because (IMHO), they have been totally useless, failing to identify very well-known symptoms of this disease, symptoms that are not hidden away from sight.

 

So what is Bronchiectasis)?  It is basically widening of the bronchial airways, such that excess amounts of mucus can build up in these, causing breathing difficulties (in some cases), and especially causing infections such as bronchitis, thanks to the build-up of bacteria in these retained mucus lumps, which would normally be coughed up from the airways.

 

I always wondered why the x-rays and lung function tests that I previously had never showed anything wrong with my lungs' abilities to exchange gases (respiration).  That's because there is nothing wrong with my alveoli function, and I don't get short of breath.  The problem lies with my lung bronchi, which collect large amounts of very sticky mucus, because these airways are wider than normal and the body's natural function is to coat the airways with sticky mucus to catch bacteria etc.

 

I had sputum tests which never found any bacteria etc. But the doctors failed to pick up my comments about excessive amounts of mucus!  "You're fine, no problem" was their comment time and time again 🙂

 

So I got together with Dr Google to research different kinds of lung illnesses, such as asthma, COPD and so on.  My symptoms excluded these illnesses, but Bronchiectasis fitted the bill exactly.  In fact, I'm reassured that it's Bronchiectasis and not COPD. COPD leads to progressive narrowing of the bronchi, and that surely can't end well.  Bronchiectasis is widening of the airways, and is not progressive if it's controlled by removing the excessive mucus.

 

The final er... 'killer' symptom of Bronchiectasis was 'clubbed toes'.  My friendly online doctor flashed up images of normal toes and clubbed toes that Bronchiectasis patients typically have.  WTF!  My toes are like that and I thought everyone had toes like that........ (I don't go around staring at ugly feet and I assumed that my ugly toes were just normal).

 

The causes of Bronchiectasis could be down to asthma, lung infections etc.  In my case, I recall getting very sick after working in a damp, underground, unheated office that had been empty for many years.  My UK doctors could find no cause for my ill-health and I assumed that it might be down to aspergillosis fungal spores in the room.  But lung x-rays never found any lung shadows etc and my lung function remained relatively normal, apart from regular bronchitis, pneumonia and explosive coughing fits that physically drained me.

 

On the advice of my UK doctor, I moved to the hot/humid climate of Thailand, and that certainly helped, but smoky air pollution would still cause flare-ups, as happened last week when I went to visit smoky Luang Prabang.

 

A forum member suggested that I try N-Acetyl-L-Cysteine tablets to thin the mucus so that it can be coughed up, and I'm very grateful to him because this certainly helps.

Now that I'm pretty sure that I've identified the illness, I can concentrate on methods of coughing up this excess mucus, such as by using the thinning medication and 'huff' coughing. (I've been trying that and it helps).

 

I won't bother asking a 'real' doctor to confirm my diagnosis, 'cos me and Dr Google do seem to have identified the culprit 🙂

 

 

 

[NickyLouie]

Let us know if you "discover" any other Google illnesses, it's really horrorshow when all those symptoms show up in search.

 

 

[swissie]

General Advice: Everybody wait for "Sheryls" reply.