hypertonic saline question... dropping sats

[dramamama]

hi guys-
I need some help. I just tried hypertonic saline today and suddenly felt real weird...my sats dropped from 98-99% to 94% and I am coughing up all kinds of crud...now my joints are hurting which makes me think the hs unleashed some serious toxins...anyone had anything like this? Tons of mucus and drop in sats all within like 1 hour?

also, coughing up some fresh blood...this is soooooo not what I was hoping from the hs.
mandy

 

[cdale613]

Hi Mandy

Yes, you are right, those things sound scary... but before you never do it again, consider what the hs is doing to your lungs...

Your lungs have a bunch of crud in them... the hypertonic saline is causing it to loosen and move up from smaller airways into larger airways. As this happens, larger sections of your chest may become temporarily blocked off as you clear the crud, which would cause your O2 sats to drop... 94 isn't too bad... I wouldn't be too nervous. The hypertonic saline isn't producing the junk... its already down there... the saline is moving it out. It is also possible that all of the coughing/irritation caused by your first round of HS is causing you to bleed alittle. If it keeps happening, you might want to call your dr., but really, I'd give it a few more days.

My personal experience with hs (i've been using it for two months) has been that for the first couple weeks, I was coughing out TONS of pretty bad stuff - stuff that had clearly been sitting inside me for awhile. Now that this is gone, I'm just moving my "daily ration" of junk out... its much lighter in color, and doesn't have the time to sit and build up and dry out and get really bad. I've also gotten pretty used to the hs, so it doesn't make me cough so uncontrollably anymore.

Really, I think hs is amazing... I can feel the difference when I use it, and see the results, which is so much more than I can say about pulmozyme.

Anyway, just my two cents. All that stuff you just coughed out is much better out than in!

Chris 25 w/CF

 

[perl]

i just started the hs myself about a week ago. yes, it makes me tired, but i think this is from coughing so friggin' much while i take it! it is a productive cough, so that is encouraging. it seems to get out more stuff than using my vest! i also had some blood after the first time, but not since. haven't checked my sats, so i don't know about that, but the toxin theory that you suggest is a good one. saline has antibacterial properties, so there could be a good battle going on in there.

i think it's worth sticking it out for a while.

 

[S]

in the month and a half since i have been using it my fev1 has gone up 4-5 percentage points and i am back up to a level i haven't been at since 2002.

 

[anonymous]

<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote><i>Originally posted by: <b>perl</b></i>

saline has antibacterial properties, so there could be a good battle going on in there.

</end quote></div>


Hmmmm. Are you sure? I doubt saline is killing anything, but rather just loosening things up.

 

[NoExcuses]

.

 

[perl]

it's nothing like taking chemical antibiotics, but saline does clean things out such as piercings, dental work, open cuts & such & i believe this is from clearing bacteria. yes, the reason we inhale it is to loosen things up, but i believe that it cleanses in there as well.

 

[dramamama]

hi everyone-
thank you for all of you thoughts...I tried the HS one time in October and experienced terrible inflammation...but it was the week after my brother passed away (no cf) and I think my body was in a state of shock....


I am having some interesting "noises" in my lower lobes...kinda rattling like crazy....I had none of this before I tried the HS

One last thing, my ox sat has gone back up to its normal....so, should I expect this every time I do it? Also, I NEVER get winded going up our stairs and now I am....do y'all think this is just from moving stuff around?

thank you so much for everything-
mandy

oh yeah, does your nose feel really dry a couple of hours after you do it?

 

[Emeraldmirror]

I really like it, it affects my asthma a little bit but it's ok. But it's really clearing things up and it keeps it so thin and easy to move.. i have more energy i can't wait to go to the doctors to see if my pfts went up ... anything will be nice i've been hovering at 39% for a while now it would be nice to go back up to 50% which i was at like a year and a half ago.

Ashley 21 w/cf

 

[Emeraldmirror]

oh yeah i would also agree that it has "antibiotic properties" because it is salt water which you use after you have teeth pulled and what not, salt does kill bacteria to an extent.

 

[littlemisssilly]

Hi there,

Saline is a useful 'cleanser' of wounds etc and acts as a good mouthwash post dental treatments but I'm afraid Amy is correct in saying that it has no antibacterial properties. Saline, whether hypertonic or otherwise, has no mechanism of action on bacteria. Bacteria need to be penetrated through their cell wall to 'kill' them or to stunt their growth so that our immune system can then take over and 'eat' them up, so to speak.

It is great for cleansing things though, think of it as a gental 'scrub' or 'exfoliant' that gently removes debris, but it doesn't kill bacteria as such. Thanks

 

[gsplover]

The HS can cause broncospasms. I think that is the right word. I was coughing a ton but not every cough was productive. My doctor sugested that I took 2 puffs of my albuterol 1/2 before taking HS. I still cough but every cough is productive. The HS has been great. I have been taking the 7% for a little over a month. The amount I started bring up decrease tremendously until I got a sinus infection and my lungs filled up. But because of the HS I am getting everything up pretty easy...there is just a lot. I can't believe how much I am bring up. Also because of the HS, I have a lung infection but no wheezing or shortness of breath.

 

[wanderlost]

<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote><i>Originally posted by: <b>dramamama</b></i>

hi guys-
I need some help. I just tried hypertonic saline today and suddenly felt real weird...my sats dropped from 98-99% to 94% and I am coughing up all kinds of crud...now my joints are hurting which makes me think the hs unleashed some serious toxins...anyone had anything like this? Tons of mucus and drop in sats all within like 1 hour?

also, coughing up some fresh blood...this is soooooo not what I was hoping from the hs.
mandy</end quote></div>

I feel the same way - in fact I was really worried that I had exacerbated my pseuds or something and so I haven't done it for a few days, though the posts below are actually making me feel better about it. I was pretty worried and thinking that I got worse for doing something that was suppossed to make me feel better!

 

[Scarlett81]

Yeah I wouldn't worry too much.

I started the Hyp Saline a month ago or so and similar things happened to me. Extreme congestion, weird mucus, even chest pain. Then I started bleeding too. I really freaked out about it, but I attribute all this to the hyp saline.
Sometimes it makes me cough so hard I actually think I feel a pop in my lungs. When I started it, I never coughed so hard in my life.
The only think I take caution with is, if I am straining a blood vessel or airway in my lungs (which causes me to bleed)-then I take it easy for the day. Maybe do a shorter or lower intensity Vest, less working out-so I give it time to heal.