Each of us has limitations...some pretty invisible

I'm wanting to do something this evening...but alas, by 3:00 pm I've had an attack of coughing.  I feel lazy, and wish I could get up and do things...but the cough gets worse.

Bronchiectasis
Bron- Kee- Eck'- Ta - Sis.

This is the cough that follows me like a shadow throughout the day. Then suddenly I'm unable to continue whatever I'm doing...I quickly tire as I cough (unfortunately loudly) and try to catch my breath.  I now have a 2 coughs per breath method.  I have to repeat it in a 3-4 breath series to get the mucous out of my lungs.  Apparently my bronchial tubes have been enlarged, which makes it harder to get mucous cleared.  So says the doctor.

Usually if I'm doing a regular day, just walking around doing household chores, maybe shopping for groceries, or spending 2-3 hours at work on clay or the computer, I don't have bad coughs until late in the evening.  I know when I lie down, that posture will increase my likelihood of coughing.  And even just sitting back on the couch to watch TV triggers it.  So standing and sitting at a desk are best postures for me (I've learned.) And not getting tired!

A nice warm mug of tea does sometimes help.  There are special teas to help with breathing, and these herbal recipes are great. But I have to be prepared to cough every night.

I don't want to visit people, nor have them over to visit me in the evenings.  I do a nebulizer treatment each night, which uses a saline solution to hopefully bring the mucus out to be expelled.  And an albuterol solution is inhaled also, which usually makes breathing a bit more efficient.  I do the same treatment in the mornings, after sleeping pretty well all night. And in the morning I seldom have more than a few coughs.  I also use a cortical-steroid breathing treatment twice a day, and an over-the-counter mucous-thinning agent.

Oh you have your own infirmities, I'm sure. And I'm sorry to spend so long here detailing this one of mine.  It's not contagious, which is the hardest thing to tell people when I have coughing attacks in public. My son said I needed a sign around my neck saying as much.  But it's also not curable.

So I try to volunteer to do things that I can do at home in my own time, but (perhaps unwisely) have actually signed up to be an afternoon docent at the museum scheduled twice a month.  I sure hope I'm able to do it.

Incidentally, for the last 2 hours I've tried to sleep, with constant coughing interruptions. And then typing this for the last 15 minutes. Sitting erect no cough. Lying down, lots of coughing.  So my lungs are wanting me breathing upright, not prone. OK... it helps me keep my back strong, anyway.