@margiebanks Hi Margie. I am on inhaled tobramycin for 30 days every other month (to keep pseudomonas away) and cipro for ten days on the other months (to keep mac away). My dr isn't treating any infections in me right now. I am infection free. Rather, he is treating the bronchiectasis. He knows bronchiecstaic lungs are prone to various infections so we are heading them off before they come. It is called 'prophylaxis', meaning 'preventative measure'. I also do the inhaled saline treatments twice a day. By alternating the monthly meds, it lessons the chance of the mac building a resistance to it. My doctor is a Mayo Clinic pulmonolgist; I trust him entirely as Mayo has done extensive research on this. Everyone's body is different and so is our disease levels. What works for me, may not work for everyone else. I wanted you to know that there are other treatment options besides going on the Big 3. Not everyone can tolerate the Big 3. I hope this helps.

@margiebanks There will be a suseptibility test result along with your mac results. That test will tell which antibiotics will work best against your strain of mac. I agree, it is good to save the really strong antibiotics as a last resort because you don't want to run out of options. My doctor told me back in 2013 that he didn't want me on zithromycin. He wanted save that as a big gun later in life if I need it. In the last 15 yrs, all of my doctors used toput me on it at least twice a year. My dr said that is not a drug you would want mac to become resistant to.