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Thank you for taking the time to reply. I don’t have any symptoms out of my norm….. coughing up minimal sputum daily but sometimes not enough for a decent sputum specimen. I constantly clear my thought which did get better after my antibiotics for the pseudo. However, I am not starting to clear my through more frequently.
Jan 2026 CT: bronchiectasis and bronchiolectasis in the lingula, right middle lobe and right upper lobes. Similar tree-in-bud opacities in the inferior right upper lobe with decreased right middle lobe tree-in-bud opacities. Subsegmental atelectasis within the lingula. Similar patchy mixed solid and groundglass opacities in the right lower and right upper lobes with minimal new ground glass opacity in the anterior left lower lobe. IMPRESSION: Similar bronchiectasis and bronchiolectasis with similar distribution of the tree-in-bud opacities which may represent mycobacterial infection.
I only had one sputum test come back positive and then a scope was done and it came back negative. I got an appointment with NJH before the negative result from the bronchioscope procedure.
Jan 14, 2026 culture: Colony forming units per mL - 75,000 Pseudomonas species, NOT aeruginosa
I was put on antibiotics for the pseudomonas. But I am clueless if the antibiotic worked. Is pseudo as difficult to treat as MAC? I haven’t heard anything else about it. Is the pseudomonas as bad as MAC? Is this worth the trip to NJH?
Replies to "Thank you for taking the time to reply. I don’t have any symptoms out of my..."
@mtinderscott2626 with only one sputum, you cannot be “officially” diagnosed with MAC - you need three. I am surprised you were referred to NJH with only one positive sputum sample. I am assuming your local doctor was assuming that the bronchoscopy was going to be positive (again need only one positive on bronchoscopy) and then when it wasn’t, that threw a wrench in things as you explain in your original post. Yes, Pseudomonas aeruginosa is considered one of the nastier bugs for bronchiectasis (“BE”) patients and I would definitely want multiple opinions on treatment for pseudomonas aeruginosa as even the best minds in this area disagree on approach. BUT your lab report specifically states “Pseudomonas species, NOT aeruginosa”. It doesn’t say what strain of pseudomonas it IS but not all pseudomonas is created equal, and pseudomonas that is NOT aeruginosa may not always be treated. So, back to your original question, should you keep your appointment with NJH, it seems to me you don’t have a good understanding of your circumstances, and for that reason alone I think the trip may be worth it to you. In the meantime, if I were you I would ask your doctor to order a repeat respiratory sputum test to see if the pseudomonas cleared. If you have 6 weeks, and it sounds like you may not, I would also do AFB sputum tests, on three separate days, to check in on MAC. Don’t worry if you don’t have time, NJH will do the sputum testing, but for me, I would want that info going into the NJH appointment if I could get it.
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@mtinderscott2626 bayarea 58 is the third person that has said they have gone to NJH and one other person above, Sue, suggested you strongly consider it.
Have you read about pseudomonas and tried finding a Thread here on Mayo Clinic Connect where other patients with pseudomonas have discussed it??
From what I understand, I do not have pseudomonas, it is one of the more difficult infections with BE, Bronchiectasis, to treat and needs to be treated correctly as soon as possible.
Like anything else, the sooner one takes charge to correct things or understand all the better we are.
Time and money are often hard to come by but when it comes to our health....we have to sometimes find the time and money and go for it to know if something was worthwhile.????
Going to NJH for me was worthwhile.
Hope you find your way to making the best decision for yourself.
Barbara