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DiscussionAzithromycin, Ethanbutol, & Rifampin Drug Therapy for MAC
MAC & Bronchiectasis | Last Active: Nov 3 10:53pm | Replies (126)Comment receiving replies
Replies to "I'm 73 perfectly healthy woman who started losing weight after being put on tramadol for chronic..."
It took my Dr over tons of tests for over two yrs, then I changed Drs to really great Mayo trained Internal med Dr and he fought insurance to be able to do a bronchoscope as I was finally coughing up blood . Results came back positive and had 60 days of IV Amikacin , Moxicycllin , daily with oral Clarithromycin twice daily and oral Ethambutol. I also, by that time needed monthly IVGG ( which I still get every six weeks) . During three years of misdiagnosising; everything tanked and many nodules developed . I tolerated the Ethambutol for a year but had optic nerve damage so my Eye Dr stopped it after MRI .I saw my eye Dr every two months while on Ethambutol . During the three years of suffering and finally getting a Dr to truly investigate, I yawned constantly , had to push into my lower left lobe just to get a breath and had chronic night sweats , and could only get a normal breath if I was totally flat . Extremely tired, severely depressed and lost all hope as when I went to ER they treated me like I just needed an inhaler and a psychiatrist. My CBC and other labs came back fine and I had no elevated temp. So , I know this is very long but I thank God every day for that Dr who saved me and I just want to share that if you do not have a Dr that can figure it out; keep searching and fighting for yourself with this silent destructive lung infection . I completed my antibiotic treatments in 2013 and I am doing fine now , still getting IVGG every six weeks , but just want to share my story to help others