1. < MAC & Bronchiectasis

(MAC/MAI) Mycobacterium Avium Complex Pulmonary Disease: Join us

Posted by Katherine, Alumni Mentor @katemn, Nov 21, 2011

I am new to Mayo online .. I was hoping to find others with .. MYCOBACTERIUM AVIUM COMPLEX PULMONARY DISEASE (MAC/MAI) and/or BRONCHIECTASIS. I found only 1 thread on mycobacterium accidently under the catagory "Lungs". I'm hoping by starting a subject matter directly related to MYCOBACTERIUM AVIUM COMPLEX PULMONARY DISEASE (MAC/MAI) I may find others out there!

I was diagnosed by a sputum culture August 2007 (but the culture result was accidentally misfiled until 2008!) with MYCOBACTERIUM AVIUM COMPLEX PULMONARY DISEASE (MAC/MAI) and BRONCHIECTASIS. I am now on 5 antibiotics. Working with Dr. Timothy Aksamit at Rochester Mayo Clinic .. he is a saint to have put up with me this long! I was terrified of the treatment . started the first antibiotic September 3, 2011 ... am now on all 5 antibiotics for 18 mos to 2 years. Am delighted at the very bearable side effects!

I wrote on the 1 thread I found: If you google NON-TUBERCULOUS MYCOBACTERIUM AVIUM COMPLEX PULMONARY DISEASE (MAC/MAI) you will learn a LOT about the disease. But PLEASE do NOT get scared about all the things you read .. that is what I did and nearly refused to do the treatment until after a 2nd Micomacterium was discovered! Educate yourself for "due diligence" .. but take it all with a grain of salt .. you are NOT necessarily going to have all the terrible side effects of the antibiotics! Good luck to you!

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
January 2017 Update

One of our great Connect Members .. @Paula_MAC2007  .. had a wonderfully helpful idea that I wanted to share! Her idea .. as you read through the pages to gather information on our shared disease of MAC you can develop a personal "file cabinet" for future reference without the necessity of reading all the pages again!

If you have the "MS Word" program on your computer:
- Document Title Example:  Mayo Clinic Connect MAI/MAC Information
- Then develop different categories that make sense to you such as:  Heath Aids .. Videos .. Healthy Living .. Positive Thinking .. Baseline Testing and Regular Testing .. Antibiotics ..
Tips for
- As you read the pages .. copy/paste/save things of interest into that MS Word document under your preferred categories for future reference.

Then as you want to refer back to something in the future .. YEAH!  You have now created your own personal "file cabinet" on MAC/MAI!  Go to it!

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the MAC & Bronchiectasis Support Group.

cbest | @cbest | Aug 14, 2017
In reply to @kathyg "Hello, Kate What a coincidence that my first name is Katherine/Kathy. I was just diagnosed with..." + (show)
@kathyg

Hello, Kate

What a coincidence that my first name is Katherine/Kathy. I was just diagnosed with MAC, found out via a phone call from my Mayo doctor last night. I have been coughing for over 14 months and I just kept trying to get someone to tell me why..... Now that I have the diagnosis, what do I do? My first reaction was to try to get more information and that is how I stumbled across your posting. My doctor, Dr. Mullen at Mayo in Rochester, is a very nice man and he explained that some of the side effects of the treatment can be worse than the disease. So, I rejected the idea. When I saw your post saying that the reality may not be as bad as the hype, it gives me a different perspective. Would you be willing to share more of your experience with me? The doctors can only tell you what the books tell them unless they have had a patient who has gone through the process. Even then, different folks can have differing reactions. I am a 58 year old, recently retired (in part due to the coughing with the embarrassing results), I am overweight so the shortness of breath was attributed to that.....

Thank you, Kathy

Jump to this post

Cheryl x ray was clear no bronchitisis on last Ct. will repeat Ct in 2 weeks. All lads good too

REPLY
Mentor
Terri Martin, Volunteer Mentor | @windwalker | Aug 16, 2017
In reply to @auntnanny "To the best of my recollection, when I was at Mayo's 2 years ago I gave..." + (show)
@auntnanny

To the best of my recollection, when I was at Mayo's 2 years ago I gave sputum samples on three different days. It seems to me they knew immediately that there was a showing of MAC but decided to not treat it because it was not much. Now, since I've been home and using a more local lab, my primary care physician has usually requested the analysis and I take the sample to the lab. Have done this about 8 times over the last two years....... it has shown MRSA, MSSA, pseudomonas, etc., and there would be a listing of antibiotics recommended for whatever was there. I have hard copies of all. I always ask for that. But, the last four times the report has said negative and therefore there has been no recommended antibiotic. Dr. Moua (Mayo's) has just told me to use clindamycin as that has always worked well. When I've inquired of the lab about MAC they tell me there has been nothing to culture and I've never had a culture report from the local lab. I'm doing pretty well...... but I've read it takes 6-8 weeks to culture for Mac, and therefore, just wonder if they are getting it right. I have questioned why I seem to have a flare of coughing and no bacteria (for four times) ....... then I take antibiotics for a couple of weeks and am clear for about a month. It's just not all understandable to me. but certainly I'm not ill like I was when I got to Mayo's two years ago after five years of horrid coughing and green phlegm and 7 local doctors saying I had asthma (which I knew was not right). Mayo's is 10 hours from here so I'll go back if I become ill again but I've done okay with whatever program I'm on presently. Could change tomorrow....... but that is my story as of now. The coughing used to be so bad I sat up in bed for years to try to sleep at all. I was never able to go to any public function because I would steal the show. So...... one thing I found relieved that cough just for a few hours at night was a hydrocodone. I came upon that by accident. It was given to me for an injury and I found that it suppressed the cough for about 4 hours -- enough that I could get a little bit of sleep. Just passing this on in case there is someone who has not been able to get any rest at all. Worth a try. I didn't take it in the daytime because I certainly didn't want to become addicted but at night, it was the only relief I ever found ----- until I got to Mayo's.

Jump to this post

@lindam272 Good morning Linda. I was was cleaning out my mailbox and re-reading some of the older posts when I came across this one. I was wondering if you went back on antibiotics or are you on any kind of maintenance like inhaled saline?

REPLY
Mentor
Terri Martin, Volunteer Mentor | @windwalker | Aug 16, 2017
In reply to @kathyg "Hello, Kate What a coincidence that my first name is Katherine/Kathy. I was just diagnosed with..." + (show)
@kathyg

Hello, Kate

What a coincidence that my first name is Katherine/Kathy. I was just diagnosed with MAC, found out via a phone call from my Mayo doctor last night. I have been coughing for over 14 months and I just kept trying to get someone to tell me why..... Now that I have the diagnosis, what do I do? My first reaction was to try to get more information and that is how I stumbled across your posting. My doctor, Dr. Mullen at Mayo in Rochester, is a very nice man and he explained that some of the side effects of the treatment can be worse than the disease. So, I rejected the idea. When I saw your post saying that the reality may not be as bad as the hype, it gives me a different perspective. Would you be willing to share more of your experience with me? The doctors can only tell you what the books tell them unless they have had a patient who has gone through the process. Even then, different folks can have differing reactions. I am a 58 year old, recently retired (in part due to the coughing with the embarrassing results), I am overweight so the shortness of breath was attributed to that.....

Thank you, Kathy

Jump to this post

@tdrell Hi Terri. I was curious if you had your water tested? I am going to call my water treatment plant and ask for the 'REAL' tests.

REPLY
Mentor
Terri Martin, Volunteer Mentor | @windwalker | Aug 16, 2017
In reply to @kathyg "Hello, Kate What a coincidence that my first name is Katherine/Kathy. I was just diagnosed with..." + (show)
@kathyg

Hello, Kate

What a coincidence that my first name is Katherine/Kathy. I was just diagnosed with MAC, found out via a phone call from my Mayo doctor last night. I have been coughing for over 14 months and I just kept trying to get someone to tell me why..... Now that I have the diagnosis, what do I do? My first reaction was to try to get more information and that is how I stumbled across your posting. My doctor, Dr. Mullen at Mayo in Rochester, is a very nice man and he explained that some of the side effects of the treatment can be worse than the disease. So, I rejected the idea. When I saw your post saying that the reality may not be as bad as the hype, it gives me a different perspective. Would you be willing to share more of your experience with me? The doctors can only tell you what the books tell them unless they have had a patient who has gone through the process. Even then, different folks can have differing reactions. I am a 58 year old, recently retired (in part due to the coughing with the embarrassing results), I am overweight so the shortness of breath was attributed to that.....

Thank you, Kathy

Jump to this post

@cindyrnc Hi Cindy. How are you doing? Had you gotten your water tested? Also, wondering if you figured out how to respond on this forum. I finally did!

REPLY
lindam272 | @lindam272 | Aug 16, 2017
In reply to @auntnanny "To the best of my recollection, when I was at Mayo's 2 years ago I gave..." + (show)
@auntnanny

To the best of my recollection, when I was at Mayo's 2 years ago I gave sputum samples on three different days. It seems to me they knew immediately that there was a showing of MAC but decided to not treat it because it was not much. Now, since I've been home and using a more local lab, my primary care physician has usually requested the analysis and I take the sample to the lab. Have done this about 8 times over the last two years....... it has shown MRSA, MSSA, pseudomonas, etc., and there would be a listing of antibiotics recommended for whatever was there. I have hard copies of all. I always ask for that. But, the last four times the report has said negative and therefore there has been no recommended antibiotic. Dr. Moua (Mayo's) has just told me to use clindamycin as that has always worked well. When I've inquired of the lab about MAC they tell me there has been nothing to culture and I've never had a culture report from the local lab. I'm doing pretty well...... but I've read it takes 6-8 weeks to culture for Mac, and therefore, just wonder if they are getting it right. I have questioned why I seem to have a flare of coughing and no bacteria (for four times) ....... then I take antibiotics for a couple of weeks and am clear for about a month. It's just not all understandable to me. but certainly I'm not ill like I was when I got to Mayo's two years ago after five years of horrid coughing and green phlegm and 7 local doctors saying I had asthma (which I knew was not right). Mayo's is 10 hours from here so I'll go back if I become ill again but I've done okay with whatever program I'm on presently. Could change tomorrow....... but that is my story as of now. The coughing used to be so bad I sat up in bed for years to try to sleep at all. I was never able to go to any public function because I would steal the show. So...... one thing I found relieved that cough just for a few hours at night was a hydrocodone. I came upon that by accident. It was given to me for an injury and I found that it suppressed the cough for about 4 hours -- enough that I could get a little bit of sleep. Just passing this on in case there is someone who has not been able to get any rest at all. Worth a try. I didn't take it in the daytime because I certainly didn't want to become addicted but at night, it was the only relief I ever found ----- until I got to Mayo's.

Jump to this post

Great timing, Terri! I had planned on posting today to get some feedback on my ID doctor apt yesterday. So to catch you all up, I stopped taking the Big 3 about a month ago after I got in a small car accident and realized that I was really confused - a side effect of Rifampin. My last 3 sputum cultures were clear after 7 months of being on the meds. My doc wanted me to stay on them until next March but I told him that I needed to be off them for now (I sell residential real estate so do a lot of driving). I had a chest CT which, when compared to the one done last Nov showed a lot of positive results - comments like slight improved, stable and not significantly changed were encouraging. So, while there is a whole lot there, it seems to be under control at the moment. I asked my doc what he would suggest going forward and he said to just wait until I begin to feel bad and then we would treat those symptoms. I asked him about the alternating Cipro and Doxy, bringing your post from July in and he said he never heard of doing that. I said, well, now that I've just told you, you have heard of it and now what do you think? He wasn't a fan. He doesn't believe in suppression but treating the symptoms when something comes up. He said to come back in Nov when we would get another sputum culture. I'm not really a fan of his approach. I like being more proactive than reactive. Plus, they don't do PFT's there. When I asked about that the nurse said, well don't you have a pulmonologist? Well, no I don't. I have an ID doc and a CF doc. My CF doc does PFT's but I only see him once every 6 months. So, I'm thinking now of exploring some of the Mayo docs to see if I can get one doc that can handle my complex lung issues. Would like to know what you all think? Linda

REPLY
Jo Ann K | @jkiemen | Aug 16, 2017
In reply to @auntnanny "To the best of my recollection, when I was at Mayo's 2 years ago I gave..." + (show)
@auntnanny

To the best of my recollection, when I was at Mayo's 2 years ago I gave sputum samples on three different days. It seems to me they knew immediately that there was a showing of MAC but decided to not treat it because it was not much. Now, since I've been home and using a more local lab, my primary care physician has usually requested the analysis and I take the sample to the lab. Have done this about 8 times over the last two years....... it has shown MRSA, MSSA, pseudomonas, etc., and there would be a listing of antibiotics recommended for whatever was there. I have hard copies of all. I always ask for that. But, the last four times the report has said negative and therefore there has been no recommended antibiotic. Dr. Moua (Mayo's) has just told me to use clindamycin as that has always worked well. When I've inquired of the lab about MAC they tell me there has been nothing to culture and I've never had a culture report from the local lab. I'm doing pretty well...... but I've read it takes 6-8 weeks to culture for Mac, and therefore, just wonder if they are getting it right. I have questioned why I seem to have a flare of coughing and no bacteria (for four times) ....... then I take antibiotics for a couple of weeks and am clear for about a month. It's just not all understandable to me. but certainly I'm not ill like I was when I got to Mayo's two years ago after five years of horrid coughing and green phlegm and 7 local doctors saying I had asthma (which I knew was not right). Mayo's is 10 hours from here so I'll go back if I become ill again but I've done okay with whatever program I'm on presently. Could change tomorrow....... but that is my story as of now. The coughing used to be so bad I sat up in bed for years to try to sleep at all. I was never able to go to any public function because I would steal the show. So...... one thing I found relieved that cough just for a few hours at night was a hydrocodone. I came upon that by accident. It was given to me for an injury and I found that it suppressed the cough for about 4 hours -- enough that I could get a little bit of sleep. Just passing this on in case there is someone who has not been able to get any rest at all. Worth a try. I didn't take it in the daytime because I certainly didn't want to become addicted but at night, it was the only relief I ever found ----- until I got to Mayo's.

Jump to this post

I brought it up to my ID MD too and he did not like that either

 

Jo Ann Kiemen

 

REPLY
tdrell | @tdrell | Aug 16, 2017
In reply to @kathyg "Hello, Kate What a coincidence that my first name is Katherine/Kathy. I was just diagnosed with..." + (show)
@kathyg

Hello, Kate

What a coincidence that my first name is Katherine/Kathy. I was just diagnosed with MAC, found out via a phone call from my Mayo doctor last night. I have been coughing for over 14 months and I just kept trying to get someone to tell me why..... Now that I have the diagnosis, what do I do? My first reaction was to try to get more information and that is how I stumbled across your posting. My doctor, Dr. Mullen at Mayo in Rochester, is a very nice man and he explained that some of the side effects of the treatment can be worse than the disease. So, I rejected the idea. When I saw your post saying that the reality may not be as bad as the hype, it gives me a different perspective. Would you be willing to share more of your experience with me? The doctors can only tell you what the books tell them unless they have had a patient who has gone through the process. Even then, different folks can have differing reactions. I am a 58 year old, recently retired (in part due to the coughing with the embarrassing results), I am overweight so the shortness of breath was attributed to that.....

Thank you, Kathy

Jump to this post

Terri ....No did not look into water testing...assume NTM is in it and using Bottled spring water tdrell aka terri

REPLY
boomerexpert | @boomerexpert | Aug 17, 2017
In reply to @kathyg "Hello, Kate What a coincidence that my first name is Katherine/Kathy. I was just diagnosed with..." + (show)
@kathyg

Hello, Kate

What a coincidence that my first name is Katherine/Kathy. I was just diagnosed with MAC, found out via a phone call from my Mayo doctor last night. I have been coughing for over 14 months and I just kept trying to get someone to tell me why..... Now that I have the diagnosis, what do I do? My first reaction was to try to get more information and that is how I stumbled across your posting. My doctor, Dr. Mullen at Mayo in Rochester, is a very nice man and he explained that some of the side effects of the treatment can be worse than the disease. So, I rejected the idea. When I saw your post saying that the reality may not be as bad as the hype, it gives me a different perspective. Would you be willing to share more of your experience with me? The doctors can only tell you what the books tell them unless they have had a patient who has gone through the process. Even then, different folks can have differing reactions. I am a 58 year old, recently retired (in part due to the coughing with the embarrassing results), I am overweight so the shortness of breath was attributed to that.....

Thank you, Kathy

Jump to this post

Or the whole-house .2 micron water filtration system I've discussed a few times here...also gave specifics on what to get and cost...

REPLY
Mentor
Terri Martin, Volunteer Mentor | @windwalker | Aug 17, 2017
In reply to @auntnanny "To the best of my recollection, when I was at Mayo's 2 years ago I gave..." + (show)
@auntnanny

To the best of my recollection, when I was at Mayo's 2 years ago I gave sputum samples on three different days. It seems to me they knew immediately that there was a showing of MAC but decided to not treat it because it was not much. Now, since I've been home and using a more local lab, my primary care physician has usually requested the analysis and I take the sample to the lab. Have done this about 8 times over the last two years....... it has shown MRSA, MSSA, pseudomonas, etc., and there would be a listing of antibiotics recommended for whatever was there. I have hard copies of all. I always ask for that. But, the last four times the report has said negative and therefore there has been no recommended antibiotic. Dr. Moua (Mayo's) has just told me to use clindamycin as that has always worked well. When I've inquired of the lab about MAC they tell me there has been nothing to culture and I've never had a culture report from the local lab. I'm doing pretty well...... but I've read it takes 6-8 weeks to culture for Mac, and therefore, just wonder if they are getting it right. I have questioned why I seem to have a flare of coughing and no bacteria (for four times) ....... then I take antibiotics for a couple of weeks and am clear for about a month. It's just not all understandable to me. but certainly I'm not ill like I was when I got to Mayo's two years ago after five years of horrid coughing and green phlegm and 7 local doctors saying I had asthma (which I knew was not right). Mayo's is 10 hours from here so I'll go back if I become ill again but I've done okay with whatever program I'm on presently. Could change tomorrow....... but that is my story as of now. The coughing used to be so bad I sat up in bed for years to try to sleep at all. I was never able to go to any public function because I would steal the show. So...... one thing I found relieved that cough just for a few hours at night was a hydrocodone. I came upon that by accident. It was given to me for an injury and I found that it suppressed the cough for about 4 hours -- enough that I could get a little bit of sleep. Just passing this on in case there is someone who has not been able to get any rest at all. Worth a try. I didn't take it in the daytime because I certainly didn't want to become addicted but at night, it was the only relief I ever found ----- until I got to Mayo's.

Jump to this post

@lindam272 Linda, It is funny that you want to try the Mayo docs to see what they'd say, and I want to see a doc at NJH to see what they'd say. You may be in pretty good shape all things considered. Don't forget, my doc thinks I am headed for a lung transplant soon, like in a yr or two. I believe I might have more complicated circumstances than most. BUT, it never hurts to get other opinions. I may shoot over a phone to mine because I don't see him for another year unless complications come up. And discuss it with him more - my case verses other patients.... Also, taking antibiotics continuously is not good either, it makes you more suseptible to the really bad bugs. Girl, you def need a PFT. Do you already have a baseline PFT?

REPLY
Mentor
Terri Martin, Volunteer Mentor | @windwalker | Aug 17, 2017
In reply to @auntnanny "To the best of my recollection, when I was at Mayo's 2 years ago I gave..." + (show)
@auntnanny

To the best of my recollection, when I was at Mayo's 2 years ago I gave sputum samples on three different days. It seems to me they knew immediately that there was a showing of MAC but decided to not treat it because it was not much. Now, since I've been home and using a more local lab, my primary care physician has usually requested the analysis and I take the sample to the lab. Have done this about 8 times over the last two years....... it has shown MRSA, MSSA, pseudomonas, etc., and there would be a listing of antibiotics recommended for whatever was there. I have hard copies of all. I always ask for that. But, the last four times the report has said negative and therefore there has been no recommended antibiotic. Dr. Moua (Mayo's) has just told me to use clindamycin as that has always worked well. When I've inquired of the lab about MAC they tell me there has been nothing to culture and I've never had a culture report from the local lab. I'm doing pretty well...... but I've read it takes 6-8 weeks to culture for Mac, and therefore, just wonder if they are getting it right. I have questioned why I seem to have a flare of coughing and no bacteria (for four times) ....... then I take antibiotics for a couple of weeks and am clear for about a month. It's just not all understandable to me. but certainly I'm not ill like I was when I got to Mayo's two years ago after five years of horrid coughing and green phlegm and 7 local doctors saying I had asthma (which I knew was not right). Mayo's is 10 hours from here so I'll go back if I become ill again but I've done okay with whatever program I'm on presently. Could change tomorrow....... but that is my story as of now. The coughing used to be so bad I sat up in bed for years to try to sleep at all. I was never able to go to any public function because I would steal the show. So...... one thing I found relieved that cough just for a few hours at night was a hydrocodone. I came upon that by accident. It was given to me for an injury and I found that it suppressed the cough for about 4 hours -- enough that I could get a little bit of sleep. Just passing this on in case there is someone who has not been able to get any rest at all. Worth a try. I didn't take it in the daytime because I certainly didn't want to become addicted but at night, it was the only relief I ever found ----- until I got to Mayo's.

Jump to this post

@jkiemen Jo Ann, am wondering if maybe I don't need a second opinion?

REPLY
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