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How long does it take for MAC to be diagnosed
MAC & Bronchiectasis | Last Active: 5 days ago | Replies (17)Comment receiving replies
@mcdc1959 Sputum culture results can take a very long time! And waiting is hard. The good news is, if you had Pseudomonas, they would have known by now - that shows up in 2-3 weeks. MAC takes longer - first, a quick check is done to determine if there are acid-fast bacteria, then it is set up for a culture - usually sent to a specialized lab. There it is allowed to grow for 4-7 weeks. If bacteria are present, they then test to see which drug(s) it will respond to, which takes another week. Finally the results are reported to your doctor. Some labs post interim reports on their physician portal, which the doc or staff can access.
I have waited as little as 4 weeks for results, and as long as 8.
If you are anxious, you could call after 6 weeks to see if there are any preliminary results. Do you know where your cultures were sent?
Sue
Replies to "@mcdc1959 Sputum culture results can take a very long time! And waiting is hard. The good..."
It's that woman from OKC again Sue.
Since we are talking about sputum cultures I have a question for your thoughts.
When I have given sputum cultures at NJH I was unable to give anything other than a speciment vile of three layers. Top white foamy bubbly, middle clear looking, bottom somewhat clear that appeared to have white specs and maybe a spec of yellow green. I just sent the same type of specimen culture to UT Tyler since that is where I will be going from hereon due to it being closer to OKC.
Question/Your Thoughts: If there is no yellow/green or deeply colored sputum do you think they can truly test for all types of infections/bacteria????
The wait is hard, but at least I stopped coughing like crazy after the bronchoscopy! Ty for information.
Is 6 weeks to early for a result? I had a Bronchoscopy on 1-23-24 that’s when it was sent out to be tested, also 3 CT scans since September to January. My results came in and no MAC which is great, but I noticed it was tested for 6 weeks. I thought it was supposed to be anywhere from 4-8 wks.
Dr. thinks it’s allergic inflammatory due to allergies.
I have been on 2 different types of antibiotics and prednisone back in September and Levaquin in January for lung infection and it did not clear it up. I also have 2 nodules one in upper right lobe was 1.2 cm and is now .9 mm I believe. The other is right middle lobe 1.9 cm and has not changed. Also have tree buds. My allergy test came back and my highest is a 3 out of 6 of regular things people are allergic to. Dr. wants me to see a allergist and start taking prednisone again! I just can’t see how this is possible. Next Dr. appointment is 3-21. I feel very discouraged because I don’t know if test is accurate!
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I can’t find that info, but I thought it might have been in South Carolina.