Azithromycin 250 or 500 mg Three days a week.

Hello @russt. Welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect. Thank you for sharing your experience with the community, it's the best thing you can do to help fellow members on Connect.

I would like to introduce you to @windwalker, who has discussed the use of prophylactic on connect. While we wait for others to join your topic of conversation, can you tell me more about how you have been coping thus far with your recurrent infections?

I'm so glad to hear that the azithromycin has been working for you and hope it continues.

I'm not on medications - yet...so can't help w/this one...hope others can!

oh shoot. Sorry @boomerexpert. I thought I read somewhere that you had posted that. I removed your tag from my post. Enjoy your day!

<br><br><br><br><br>Welcome russt! I used to be given azithromycin any time I got a lung <br>infection. That was back in the days and years prior to me going to the Mayo <br>clinic. I started seeing my doctor there in 2013 whereupon he said NEVER take <br>azithromycin again! His reason was because it is considered one of the more <br>potent drugs they use to combat our MAC, and he didn't want me to build up a <br>tolerance for it. He said I may need that BIG GUN some day. In 2013, <br>I was put on a prophylactic of alternating month of Cipromycin and <br>Doxycycline, both on a 10 day course. (no salt treatments) Then I got a <br>positive test for MAC colonies and Pheudomonas bug of some sort in 2016. I was <br>then taken off of the doxy and it got replaced with tobramycin (28 day <br>course) and stayed on cipro(10 day course) on the alternating month. Plus <br>added the salt nebulizing treatment. All coughing ceased in August 2016 and I <br>feel like a normal healthy person despite having very little lung function left. <br>Now, I battle with fatigue. Hope this helped. Terri M.<br> <br> <br><br>

The husband and I are both on 250 x 3 weekly. I have to be honest I was not using it like I should, and I continued to get infections. So as of last week, I am following directions. My husband on the other hand has been using his for better than 6 months, and I feel it is helping him. I will check back in to let you know how things are going. Good luck!

Are you saying you continue to take Cipro every other month for 10 days? How do you do with side effects? Cipro has such potential for serious side effects.

Can you explain why? What underlying conditions do you have that cause these repeated infections, and are they being addressed?

Irene - Terry (@windwalker) has not been on Connect for a couple of years, but many of her older posts explain her long and complicated history with MAC & Bronchiectasis. You can look her up on the Members tab to see her story.

Asymptomatic MAC patient here. . . . long history of lung infections and my lungs are battle scarred. For the past year i have been on azithromycin 500 mg daily , i dont see any changes or improvement but i never did have cough or sputum.

@circleup I’m not a MAC patient but is it not unusual that you would only be on azithromycin (500 mgs) daily for a year?

Everyone talks about the Big 3 used to clear MAC. Your pulmonologist must have a plan if you are only taking azithromycin for that long It helps clear inflammation and may help avoid some bacterial infections, I believe. If your MAC is currently asymptomatic then the azithromycin will not clear it but keep inflammation down?

I think there is a concern that one year of Azithromycin at that dosage may cause your MAC to become resistant to it. Did your pulmonary doctor tell you that?

Have you had a recent CT scan?