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Sometimes it is confusing to treat or not to treat. If the infection is present, but not growing...sometimes you can monitor yourself with CT scans....I have MAC and am treated at national jewish hospital in denver. I have an infectious disease Dr. there and am currently back on meds due to growth of the disease evidenced by a CT scan. Always get the opinion of an infectious disease Dr. Let me know if I can help..
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Hi Jkie: I took the big 3 for 2 years, on and off for 3. at first, just bad taste in mouth, tiredness, and nausea, which went away if I ate something. So it was pretty tolerable. But later on, it would start to hit my bowels, with hard core cramps. Also my vision got a lot worse and I got a wierd rash on my stomach. My heart beat harder. The reason I had to finally go off of them was because of the horrible cramping, loose bowels and too much weight loss.
@jkiemen , Jo Ann, here are some guidelines for when you are put on the BIG 3: From Katherine's File Cabinet:
TESTING-baseline and periodic 1. Ethambutol – color vision and visual acuity: GET BASELINE PRIOR TO STARTING .. THEN QUARTERLY
2. Azithromycin – hearing and balance: GET BASELINE PRIOR TO STARTING .. THEN QUARTERLY
3. Rifampin - CBD (blood counts), liver and kidney function tests: GET BASELINE PRIOR TO STARTING .. THEN MONTHLY
OR TESTING:
BASELINE: HEARING AND VISION (Vision: Additional testing for eyes are use of the “eye chart” with letters read at 20 feet, and a red-green color book to distinguish changes in the ability to visualize colors.)
MONTHLY: BLOOD COUNTS, LIVER AND KIDNEY FUNCTION TESTS, SPUTUM CULTURES
QUARTERLY: HEARING and VISION
NOTE: Ethambutol – color vision and visual acuity – monthly ( Additional testing for eyes are use of the “eye chart” with letters read at 20 feet, and a red-green color book to distinguish changes in the ability to visualize colors.)
**** Lab tests:
CBC- Complete Blood Count (CBC)
ALT- Alanine Aminotransferase (ALT) LIVER
alk phosphatase- Alkaline Phosphatase - LIVER
serum creatinine-. Creatinine and Creatinine Clearance-SERUM CREATININE - KIDNEY
TESTING RECOMMENDED FOR VITAMIN LEVELS 1. Ask for your VD-3 level to be checked .. they can get too low. Speak to your Doctor first .. but I took: NATURE MADE brand 5,000 IU of Vitamin D-3 (NOT VD) *From our member @tdrell Terri, my Primary Dr at NJH
Any guidelines to prevent nausea/diarrhea other than taking with food? like spacing them apart be several hours etc.
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I am wondering if those that have taken the antibiotics (big 3) can tell me what were their main side effects and how they managed to minimize them. Was it mostly nausea or loose stool?