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New member looking for advice on doctors and navigating illness

MAC & Bronchiectasis | Last Active: Feb 9 3:15pm | Replies (49)
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@sueinmn

I am curious about whether the CT scans and bronchoscope showed any evidence other lung damage or infection? If so, it is quite possibly time to seek out a pulmonologist knowledgeable in treating bronchiectasis, aspergillus and the other infections you may be prone to.

In addition to nebbing as needed, airway clearance I one of the pillars of staying healthy when you have bronchiectasis. The fact that they haven't started you on airway clearance suggests your current docs are maybe not so familiar with it - not surprising because in spite of all the discussion here, it is a quite rare disease and often goes unrecognized for years.

I'm glad you are feeling a little better. Have you also been told you have MAC, MAI or pseudomonas?

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Replies to "I am curious about whether the CT scans and bronchoscope showed any evidence other lung damage..."
schoolgirl | @schoolgirl | Feb 4 2:07pm

Hi Sue,

Thank you for your generous time and questions! I have been quite ill over the past few weeks with a flu bug and was feeling quite depressed because I wasn't sure if my symptoms were permanent due to bronchiectasis or temporary due to the flu. Luckily, the worst of it was cleared up with azithromycin. But I now realize that bronchiectasis makes flu symptoms so much worse! I need to protect myself, so I've been wearing a mask when visiting my grandkids, which makes me sad because they can't see me smile.

My most recent CT scan showed improvement based on the aspergillus medications, but the tree-in-bud nodules (I think these are hallmarks of bronchiectasis?) were unchanged. There was a new area of consolidation in my lung but they think that was due to this recent exacerbation.

So far, no one has said that I have MAC, MAI, or pseudomonas. Would a blood test reveal those conditions? What symptoms should I be on the lookout for, and what can I do to protect myself from these additional issues?

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