@kathyjjb
My Story of How: In the mid 1980's I had contracted mycoplasma pneumonia and legionella pneumonia at the same time. The doctor thought the mycoplasma developed first and the legionella developed within the same time period before heading to my primary doctor who saved my life by putting me immediately into the hospital and ordering CDC testing and a pulmonologist to care for me. I was on liquid antibiotics for 24/7. So for me if an infection/illness such as that can be considered a cause for developing BE....that's how it finally surfaced many years later....who knows for sure. I know exactly how it happened....the pneumonias. Remodelers in my home did not do as I requested to not use the air conditioner, which they did. In hindsight I should have pulled the breaker for it. The filter at that time was in the attic and not thinking and realizing the reality of what that was/would expose me to, I did not attend to it (get up in the attic) immediately after they finished.....result mycoplasma. Then while not experiencing any symptoms of the myco right away....I went to work where they had a water based heating system. Well within an hour or so at work I was horribly sick. Live and learn so they say.

Reason/Cause??? So for me, if that did cause the BE eventually, it took 35 years for it to get to the point of causing the degree of lung inflammation and then the BE.

Oh, M Abscessus and watchful waiting? Do I understand that, you were/are on watchful waiting with MAbscessus?? Kathy, I would think mucus compacted, mucus accumulation, means it is plugging??? Mucus plugs. ???? So interesting that our PFT can be within an OK range and have the mucus accumulation. I guess it depends upon how bad it is, the plugging, to cause the PFT to take a negative turn.
I keep thinking that the mucus accumulation sitting in the pockets of the damaged inflamed lungs relates to the amount of your coughing..... or in my case the constant sucking/gargling or huff coughing I do to get the mucus up and out. I have the need to clear often all day long due to what appears to get stuck in the throat area. I don't know if that is a fact about what mucus plugging, mucus accumulation, does or what they believe is causing the constant feeling of mucus in my throat. ..don't know.
I don't feel I have had an exacerbation unless the need to clear often and the production of more mucus is an exacerbation. Those two things are the only symptom I have had that falls under the definition of an exacerbation. I need to fully clarify that with the doctors.
Barbara