I was diagnosed with BE and MAC early last year. I have the same dosage of pills, 3 days/week. I've been fully on the meds since October 1. I staggered intro of drugs over 3 weeks, as suggested elsewhere in the thread. I also need to coordinate with my thyroid med (min 4 hours between levothyroxine and rifampin). I am lucky and grateful that I've experienced very minimal side effects.
I take thyroid pill when I first get up, then wait for an hour or so before breakfast (usually a bowl of oatmeal to coat stomach). I take the azithromycin and ethambutol (4 pills) with a large glass of water (swallowing one pill at a time). I need 4 hours between my thyroid pill and rifampin - so I wait about 3 hours before I take the rifampin with another glass of water. I then wait for an hour and eat my next meal. It takes some planning but I've made it work. I try to remember to drink water throughout the day, to flush kidneys.
I've been lucky in that I have very minimal side effects (e.g. very occasionally some GI issues, and I have experienced the rash). I eat yogurt and drink Kefir daily, and occasionally take probiotics.
Hope this helps.