My mom has chronic bronchitis...

[3prettyprincesses]

I just got off the phone with my sister and she told me my mom is sick again with bronchitis. This is the 3rd time in 2 months. She's always been prone to it but within the last year it's gotten worse. Anybody have experience with it? She's 61, diabetic and is on prednisone and something else right now to treat it. I keep telling her she should see a lung specialist but she's being stubborn.

 

[ferris198]

Yup, might be COPD. My had it.

 

[AnnetteF]

My Mom (78) had been having bouts of bronchitis for the past year or so, and was frequently short of breath. She's very stubborn, had no primary care physician, and would just go to a walk-in clinic where they would casually prescribe an antibiotic and no other advice was given. About 3 weeks ago, she lliterally COULD NOT BREATHE! I called 911 and as soon as they put the oxygen mask over her face she got instant relief. They say she has COPD. The terms chronic bronchitis and enphysema have also been used. She spent more than a week in the hospital (also on prednisone) and then another week in a rehab center and is home now but with almost constant oxygen. She seemed pretty good for the first couple of days but now seems to be having a harder time breathing once again and I fear her condition is deteriorating again. They say she will eventually be able to be without the oxygen but I am starting to have my doubts about that. She now has a doctor's appt. tomorrow. We'll see.

I understand what you mean when you say she's stubborn. There is just no talking to my mother. She's also one to believe that the doctor's are all wrong about everything . I'm afraid I have no real advice for you, but here's a from someone going throughthe same thing right now.

 

[3prettyprincesses]

My Mom (78) had been having bouts of bronchitis for the past year or so, and was frequently short of breath. She's very stubborn, had no primary care physician, and would just go to a walk-in clinic where they would casually prescribe an antibiotic and no other advice was given. About 3 weeks ago, she lliterally COULD NOT BREATHE! I called 911 and as soon as they put the oxygen mask over her face she got instant relief. They say she has COPD. The terms chronic bronchitis and enphysema have also been used. She spent more than a week in the hospital (also on prednisone) and then another week in a rehab center and is home now but with almost constant oxygen. She seemed pretty good for the first couple of days but now seems to be having a harder time breathing once again and I fear her condition is deteriorating again. They say she will eventually be able to be without the oxygen but I am starting to have my doubts about that. She now has a doctor's appt. tomorrow. We'll see.

I understand what you mean when you say she's stubborn. There is just no talking to my mother. She's also one to believe that the doctor's are all wrong about everything . I'm afraid I have no real advice for you, but here's a from someone going throughthe same thing right now.

Thank you for your reply. This sounds like my mom, though not as severe. Instead of going to a specialist or even an internal med. doctor, she also just goes to the urgent care clinic and gets a prescription. It's making me nervous because she sounds awful and is complaining that she's so cold and can't warm up. I really want her to see a specialist but she just keeps saying 'we'll see'. What makes it worse is that she's a nurse too so she should know better. I'm worried about her.

Hope your mom's dr. appointment goes well! Thanks again for sharing.

 

[NotUrsula]

If she's ever been a smoker, the odds are that she's terrified of being told that she has lung cancer. Cancer causes an ugly deep cough, and even medical personnel can be frightened of that sound.

Real bronchitis tends to respond fairly well to steroid sprays and oxygen. It runs in my family; we all get it around once a year. It sounds horrible, and it scares people silly, but as long as you can still get your breath it isn't too awful. Getting short of breath requires oxygen therapy ASAP, though.

One thing I'm always careful to do is to make sure that my nose is not stuffy, because being able to breathe through your nose is important; taking deep breaths through your mouth can trigger the cough more easily, and aggravate the inflammation.

 

[heartsy77]

Sounds like COPD. My dh has had since age 35 ( 38 now). Yes he was a smoker and that ceratanilly made it worse, but his due mostly to allergic asthma. IMHO ( I am a student nurse) she should see a pulmonlogist for work up.

 

[hercamore]

My bouts of bronchitis cleared up after I raised my vit d and iron levels both of which were very low. After doing some research, I found out low levels in these areas cause lung issues.

herc

 

[minkydog]

There is no such thing as "chronic bronchitis." Thats just what they say when they don't know why you keep having symptoms. It sounds as if she doesn't have just one doctor monitoring this either, so her care is pretty fragmented. I"m sure she is scared they will find something bad, like cancer, but it may be asthma or COPD, or even sarcoidosis, all of which are treatable. At any rate, she needs to get to the bottom of this. SHe probably needs the prednisone right now, but she needs to realize that it can raise blood sugar significantly and can reduce or destroy your immune system if used frequently. Your mom definitely needs to see a pulmonologist.

 

[mickeyfan1]

There is no such thing as "chronic bronchitis." Thats just what they say when they don't know why you keep having symptoms. It sounds as if she doesn't have just one doctor monitoring this either, so her care is pretty fragmented. I"m sure she is scared they will find something bad, like cancer, but it may be asthma or COPD, or even sarcoidosis, all of which are treatable. At any rate, she needs to get to the bottom of this. SHe probably needs the prednisone right now, but she needs to realize that it can raise blood sugar significantly and can reduce or destroy your immune system if used frequently. Your mom definitely needs to see a pulmonologist.

Are you a doctor? I had "chronic bronchitis" for 2 winters. So sorry to tell you, but it does exist. My son has it, too. Thankfully, after I went to the doctor more than once, it was treated and I haven't had it again in more than a year. I also had chronic appendicitis. I guess I am just lucky.

 

[JessicaR]

Chronic Bronchitis - Mayo Clinic


http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/bronchitis/DS00031/DSECTION=symptoms

Symptoms of chronic bronchitis

If you have chronic bronchitis, long-term inflammation leads to scarring of the bronchial tubes, producing excessive mucus. Over time, the lining of the bronchial tubes thickens, and your airways eventually may become scarred. Signs and symptoms of chronic bronchitis may also include:

■Cough that's worse in the mornings and in damp weather
■Frequent respiratory infections (such as colds or the flu) with a worsening productive cough

If you have chronic bronchitis, you're likely to have periods when your signs and symptoms worsen. At those times, you may have superimposed acute bronchitis, either viral or bacterial, in addition to chronic bronchitis.

When to see a doctor
Acute bronchitis usually resolves on its own in a few days. See your doctor if:

■Your cough is severe or prevents you from sleeping. Your doctor may recommend prescription cough suppressants to help you rest.
■You have a low-grade fever that persists more than three days or a fever higher than 101 F (38.3 C), you're breathless, or you cough up bloody or yellow or green mucus. You may have pneumonia. Discolored mucus usually indicates a bacterial infection, which would respond to antibiotics. You also may have developed a bacterial sinusitis.
■Your cough lasts more than three weeks. The inflammation from a chronic infection can lead to asthma in some people.
■You have chronic lung or heart problems, including asthma, emphysema or congestive heart failure, and think you may have developed bronchitis. These conditions put you at greater risk of developing complications from bronchial infections.
■You have repeated bouts of bronchitis. You may have chronic bronchitis or another serious health condition, such as asthma or bronchiectasis, a stretching of the respiratory passages caused by mucus blockage.

 

[heartsy77]

There is no such thing as "chronic bronchitis." Thats just what they say when they don't know why you keep having symptoms. It sounds as if she doesn't have just one doctor monitoring this either, so her care is pretty fragmented. I"m sure she is scared they will find something bad, like cancer, but it may be asthma or COPD, or even sarcoidosis, all of which are treatable. At any rate, she needs to get to the bottom of this. SHe probably needs the prednisone right now, but she needs to realize that it can raise blood sugar significantly and can reduce or destroy your immune system if used frequently. Your mom definitely needs to see a pulmonologist.

I am sorry but the very medical definition of COPD is chronic bronchitis or emphysema or both. I was sure but I confirmed this in my nursing encyclopedia.

 

[Disney Doll]

She needs to see a lung specialist because there are lot of respiratory medications that can treat what she has so it doesn't "flare up" all the time and so forth.

Prednisone is a blessing and a curse as far as a drug goes. Wonderful because it usually works very well, horrible because it is chock full of side effects. It's n especially tough drug for diabetics because it tends to throw their blood sugars WAY off and that impedes healing and it becomes a vicious cycle.

Try this one your Mom:

Eventually you will not be able to breathe well, and all the at home treatment is not going to work, you will go into respiratory distress and need to be hospitalized at which point you will see a pulmonologust. Wouldn't it be better to try and prevent that form happening and be proactive rather than reactive?


If she doesn't listn, do a little behind the scenes research about who is a good pulmonoligist in her area so that when she does end up hospitalized you will know who to ask the doctor to bring in on consultation.

Best of luck. I hope Mom feels better.