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Untreated dental infection and postural drainage

I'm Vlado, 53 years old living in Croatia.

I have never smoked, my Alpha trypsin 1 is ok, I lived in a small town without smog and 500m faraway from sea shore. I was young, just 30 years old, playing lots of sports. I was never allergic to air pollution and I have been regularly visited by a pulmonologist (2.5 years every three months).

March 1993: First visit to pulmonologist. FVC 86% FEV1 49% (1 month fever)

February 1994: My best spirometry result. FVC 107% FEV1 88%

April 1994: The beginning of inflammation which lasts 1.5 year

February 1995: High fever started, 40 degrees Celsius. Still unstoppable productive coughing. FEV1 30%

March 22 - May 23, 1995: 1st HOSPITAL (61 Days)
Diagnosis on CT was: Bronchiectasiae cylindricae bas.bill.infl
Pulmologist said: This is nothing serious, it's just your old disease and don't worry you're young and we'll do everything possible to help you.
I had been released without a control spirometry test. Still had fever, still coughing with mucus.

After the hospital I tried some alternative therapy like acupuncture, bioenergy, spending time at countryside thinking the fresh air will help improve my health condition. But all of this was unsuccessful. I visited a private pulmonologist - my FEV1 was 14.7%, walking was very hard.

My conclusion is that results of this treatment: 18 months under supervision of pulmonologist including 2 months stay in hospital, my FEV1 dropped from 88% to 15%. Unbelievable 73% drop.

Sept. 1, 1995-Sept. 28, 1995: 2nd HOSPITAL (salvation and end of fever)
Sept. 4, 1995: I consider it the turning point, from that day my health condition started to improve. My tooth was swelled again (third time). I have been sent to tooth surgery and the day after tooth surgery I started to feel better. Further, doctor said to me that the tooth was the cause of the bad inflammation.

The doctor advised me to do postural drainage ordinarily, telling me that it will be my biggest help. It sounds strange to me because during 2.5 years of visiting a pulmonologist, drainage was never mentioned to me. In spite of enormous amounts of mucus in my airways I have never been treated with drainage. Since I have practiced drainage I have never had a cough that lasted more than a few days and I keep FEV1 between 30-35% for 22 years.

January 1996: FEV1 33%
March 1999: FEV1 35.8%
November 2010: 30.2%
April 2017: 30.2%

My opinion as a patient what happened to me and why, some of my thoughts:

In 1994, I have had many antibiotics treatments during July, September, October, November and December, about 50 days of antibiotics. In 1995, I have taken antibiotics from February to September, in about 200 days. I think antibiotics could not cure two inflammations, one of bronchi another of tooth. Taking so many antibiotics makes tooth inflammation invisible and not painful. Thus nobody took care of my ill tooth. Today I think that only curing my ill tooth could make improvement, as happened in the second hospital.

I'm not on oxygen, I'm taking Spiriva 1 and Spiromax 2. I try to exercise, walking, but I'm all the time breathless even when I'm watching TV. I'm working maybe 2-3 times per year, had fever for 2-3 days.

First I want to hear your comments on what’s happened to me and did you somewhere hear of any similar case when inflammation of tooth causes inflammation of bronchi and thus damage of lungs
and drop of about 70% FEV1?

Many thanks.

Best regards,

Vlado

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