Let me answer your question " I do a sputum culture on the 25th, and have to wait 6-8 weeks possibly for results. Was that your experience?"

Unfortunately, that is everybody's experience when dealing with MAC cultures. NTM are VERY slow growing bacteria, and it takes this long to identify whether NTM are present, grow the culture in the lab to determine what bacteria it is, and due susceptibility testing to determine which drugs can treat your particular strain.

I will leave it to our other members to talk about their routines.

After 6 years with Bronchiectasis, I will give you a word of wisdom from my former ID doc -
Life with a lung disease is a marathon, not a sprint. Learn how to fit it to your life, not the other way around. Take reasonable precautions, eat healthy, exercise as much as you can and LIVE.
This advice has kept me sane for these past several years, and even served me well through the pandemic. I continue to take it to heart now as other joys of aging come visiting.

It sounds like you are having a lot of anxiety about your possible diagnosis, do you have someone you can talk to about it?