nebulizer

[lku]

Rob, i just started on this week. Long before i was diagnosed with IPF and long before i had symptoms i was given albuterol in the hospital for pneumonia and resisted taking the treatments because of extreme headaches.

Now, 20 years later, i was prescribed this compound to give relief from the effects of a sinus/respiratory infection that was affecting my breathing as much as the IPF.

So, i am trying it. So far, i am having difficulty taking as entire dose

[mimi423]

Every time I take the PFT they always add the albuterol and it never make a lick of difference. So, no, I am not on that.

[Charlene]

Hi @Rod , thanks for your post. I do take an albuterol nebulizer! I don’t know if it helps long-term but I find my IPF cough is tight, and not productive so when I’m coughing a lot it irritates my chest and lungs. Sometimes when I do the nebulizer, my cough temporarily becomes more productive where I’m able to cough things up (gross, I know) but then it subsides the tightness/wheezing for me which gives me some relief. The used to treat me in the ER with a nebulizer before they realized I had IPF, as I was considered “severely asthmatic”. My pulmonologist says taking this won’t hurt me, so if it gives me some temporary relief from the painful, dry cough then I’m willing to try it. Not sure if this helps?

Charlene.

[rod]

thanks for your feedback. my mother used the nebulizer at the direction of her doctor. i never asked if it helped or not, but she lived to be 91. i doubt if i will be able to match that.

[jim-h]

Yes, I was diagnosed with IPF 16 months ago and I am using Ofev and Symbicort daily. Albuterol has been a helpful addition when I need to exercise and on cold damp days. The nebulizer doesn’t seem to be any better than using the Albuterol inhaler.

[Bill Ogara]

Good afternoon. I use abuterol to help with the coughing. Seems to work quite well.

[Steve Dragoo]

Hey Rod – the doctor started me on it a few months ago and at times it makes a subtle difference, that works for me as this progressive disease needs more intervention as it elongates the time frame (8+ years).

Not suggesting this will work but I take a significant number of supplements that I try to fine-tune regularly. Pulmonary PT showed a few things we can do regarding lung exercise and how to focus on breathing.

Stay well…

Steve

[John J Harrigan]

I contracted pneumonia twice since getting IPF, and the nebulizer helped immensely both times. I also use an albuterol inhaler as needed if my coughing is bad.

What I find more consistently helpful is watching my food intake. I think it helps to drink lots of water and reduce foods that trigger mucus buildup, like caffeine, alcohol, sugar, dairy products (except skim milk), highly processed foods, cabonated beverages, fried food, and GERD related foods. I’m not able to eliminate all of these. At age 88, with only a limited number of years left, I’m not willing to eliminate all pleasures. But the more I limit these foods, the better I seem to do.

There are also foods that inhibit mucus buildup. It would be interesting to know if anyone has had success at that.