To have mucus or not to have mucus that is my question
I go to a pulminary rehab program that is about to "officially " end. In this program I have been told two different things about mucus. From from My pulmonary doctor another from my pulmonary rehab technicians. My Doctor says... If there is no mucus for goodness sakes dont go looking for it" My rehab tech says " yes you must get it out". In the mornings lately there seems to be very little to " bring up" hence no concerns. However at times there seems to be very thick mucus that i cant seem to get up without a whole bunch of hurtful and I believe harmful technic and seem to be almost not worth the effort as in minimal amount of mucus(about the size of the tip of my finger) for the effort to "get" . Any personal feed back either way would be appreciated and thank you for your time. I have copd stage three.
Hi Fred B and thanks for sharing your own personal experiences with mucus. While you may get replies from our community members there are still some aspects of COPD that we can talk about. COPD can affect different people in different ways and can even vary from time to time for the same patient. That seems to be what you're experiencing. I thought you might find it helpful to look over this material from Mary Ultes, one of our contributors, who provides some insight on the variability of COPD: https://copd.net/living/different-levels-same-devils/ Next, this article speaks to COPD and mucus: https://copd.net/symptoms/mucus/ And finally, I thought you might find this article about COPD and the cough to be interesting and informative: https://copd.net/symptoms/persistent-cough/
If the symptoms you describe (thick mucus that is difficult to cough up at times) persist or even worsen, it may be time to check back with your physician. A change in your medication regimen might make you feel more comfortable.
All the best,
Leon (site moderator)
I rarely need to cough.
But I do have a lot of nasal congestion..endless, almost. I am on 02 24/7 and still quite active. The mucus is worse, of course, when I exert and am short of breath. I figure it is what it is. any suggestions?Ann
Hi buckybuck and thanks for your comment. As you are no doubt aware, COPD can affect everyone differently. While you may get feedback from our community members, I thought you might find it helpful now to look over this article on mucous: https://copd.net/symptoms/mucus/
If your symptoms persist or worsen, you may want to contact your physician can reassess your condition and perhaps adjust your treatment regimen. Please check back with us and let us know how you're doing.
All the best,
Leon (site moderator)Sorry, te article doesn't speak to my problem. Mine is all nasal. It happens whenever I exert, move around, do something. My nose is like Mt, Vesuvias sometimes and I can feel it in my sinuses. Of course, the 02 will dry everything so that it gets clogged up and then there's another reason that I can't breathe. Just wondered if anyone had a helpful suggestion. Yes, I have asked my doctor and have tried some otc meds like Mucinex which helps minimally.
