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SODIUM CHLORIDE INHALATION COVERAGE/COST
If you use sodium, chloride 3% nebulizing solution and use Medicare Part B to get your prescription filled, what is the cost to you at the pharmacy? For how many vials? Do you get a Medicare Summary Notice (MSN) indicating what was charged by pharmacy, what was approved for covered amount and the amount you paid at the pharmacy?
I'm in the throes of getting my prescription billed correctly. I also know that you can use Good RX coupon without insurance and pay $11.70 for a box of 60.
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Hi Sue, newbie here; how many negative cultures does one need to indicate that you are NTM free? Can you expound on this?
The usual protocol is to have three consecutive negative cultures, one month apart, to consider the NTM "conquered." Not necessarily cured, but amounts too small too grow in a culture.
If you are on antibiotic therapy, the doctor resets the clock to your first negative culture, and you continue the meds for another 12-18 months to catch any slow growing bacteria that may be hiding deep in the lungs. During that time, you continue to have sputum cultures every 1-3 months to be sure the infection doesn't flare up again. After one or more years with clear cultures, your doctor may increase the interval between cultures to 3-6-12 months.
If you are not on antibiotics, after 3 negative cultures, the doctor will continue to monitor for another year or so, depending on symptoms.
Part of the ongoing monitoring is usually CT scans every 6 months or a year, to help monitor your lung condition.
You may have noticed how indefinite the timelines are because "it all depends" on many factors - the severity of your initial infection, the overall condition of your lungs, how you are handling the medications...
Are you using antibiotics now?
I would think the nebulizer is more expensive than the solution itself. I went to National Jewish and this precess of “good good lung hygiene “ is very popular. However, for me, it was so exhausting to bring up the sputum and I frequently brought up blood streaks so it turned out to be negative for me. Just a little anecdote.