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← Return to Extreme fatigue with MAC
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@src3acs, As far as treatment goes, different doctors have different ideas about how to treat mac/bronchiectasis. That is what makes it so frustrating for us patients. One thing for sure is, you must arm yourself with as much information as you can about it. That way you know what questions to ask and also things you can do to help your situation. I have been on this site since 2016. I have seen one person come back on here and say that she has gone through the Big 3 antibiotic regimen and is mac free and has been for years. We can speculate that others got better also and just left the site. I have asked that those who are concluding their treatment to please check back and let us know how they are doing. They can be the beacon of hope to others. @irene5, had once said that she wishes she had gotten the Big 3 antibiotics sooner because of lung deterioration. (that was you wasn't it Irene?) I cannot say for sure that my delay in a regimented treatment didn't cause my lungs to get to the point where they are at now, which is very low lung function. Please do not panic or get depressed because of your diagnosis. Everyone's experience with this is different. For example: look at @ling123, she is proof that we can have this disease at varying levels. For some it is a minor impairment, for others it can be deadly, and most of us are somewhere in the middle. There is a lot of good information on this site about dealing with this disease, how you get it, how you prevent re-infection, etc. Medical sites like Mayo Clinic, John Hopkins, and National Jewish Health are also good sources. It is important that you do the work to learn all that you can about. We are here for you!
Replies to "@src3acs, As far as treatment goes, different doctors have different ideas about how to treat mac/bronchiectasis...."
You are correct. It does seem to be gender specific for women although there are plenty of men with MAC. Men seem to have more of the cavitary type, whereas many women have the nodular variety. If you google MAC and women there are some good articles about it. I’d like to be able to google a cure!
@lisanova...did the CAT scan show bronchiectasis? How fortunate to live so close to Mayo Clinic! Tdrell
@lisanova Hi Lisa, and welcome to Connect. Your story sounds a lot like mine. I had the same deal; when I would catch a cold, it would invariably turn into bronchitis or pneumonia. This started when I was in my mid-thirties. From that point on, my lungs went downhill, and then in 2005 - mac : ( I am glad that you are doing some back reading on our older threads because there is a lot of good info. I am also glad that you found Connect because all of us on here knows exactly what you are going through, and we are here for you.
@lisanova Hi. Funny, I just had this conversation today with my husband. Why is it mostly women who get bronchiectasis & mac? Could our hormones have something to do with it? Or does testosterone keep you from getting it? Do I need to consider a gender reassignment surgery??? (Just kidding on that last one.)
@nick52 Thank you Nicole! I am SO HAPPY for that great report. Keep it up!
@lisanova You are right. Exercise is a must. There are days that I have to force myself into activity, but I always feel better and breathe better afterwards. I find that riding my bike really helps.
@lisanova were you a smoker? Do you have acid reflux or an issue with digestions? I am glad to hear you will consider taking the probiotic with you big 3. My doctor explain to me that most nodules are mostly benign but they follow with ctscan to make sure
it is not a tumor. If you nodules are lesser in sizes it is a good sign, i have never taken the big three but once my ctscan was revealing bigger nodules but I was asymptomatic so I took Clear Lung to clear the congestion and 3 months after they were decrease
in size so if you do not tolerate the big 3 that is another option for you. It work for me. Nodules are due to the dilatation on the bronchial (bronchiectasis). Keep taking good care of yourself! MAC can also be there but not being active. I think you will
have good results from probiotic. Remember you take them 4 hours after your antibiotic. If you have to take antibiotic 3 times a day well take the probiotic during the night. Nick I will send you divine energy!
@lisanova Sounds very similar to my case. I often wonder also why it is affecting women so much more.
@lisanova if the nodules has decrease it is a very good sign. It means it is not tumor and also the only way for sure to have a positive effective MAC diagnostic is by getting a bronchoscopy. It will clean your lungs and it will also confirm by the lab if
you have a MAC. The big 3 is only for MAC and it wasn’t proven effective neither so you want want to try CLEAR LUNG when you feel congested or out of breath a bit more than usual to clear the infection so it won’t turn into pneumonia. It was the same for
me but my lung dr followed the result by another scan 3 months later so the nodules had decrease then. Then the postpone the CTCan 6 months later. It look the same micro-nodules and bronchiectasis comparable to the last one. I had no symptoms much coughing
once and a while but nothing to think it was abnormal. The bronchiectasis happened after a big pneumonia in 2009 and unfortunately it had to dilate the bronchial (bronchiectasis) at the end of the bronchial what is called tree-buds and this is where the infection
shows nodules. They followed me for 3 to 4 years and my lung DR suggested a bronchoscopy to clean the lungs not because I had symptoms. Then when the lab result came back it confirmed a MAC in 2014. I was referred to an infection Dr. For the MAC. Because
I didn’t had to much symptoms he explained to me that the treatment was the BIG 3 and it had amore secondary effects than effective healing so he suggested to keep a follow up every year with CTSCAN instead so I have done that until last year with that Dr
and he said you are doing so well that I don’t need to see you anymore. If it gets worst your pulmonary Dr will send me again. I have a ctscan every year after. I will have one every two years if I keep the way I am now. The dilation of the tree bud will always
show micro-nodules from what I understood on the scan so I am not worrying about it. I am glad that I had prevention Dr. They don’t give a pill at the first sign. The last bronchoscopy last year 2017 confirm no MAC. Sputum is not an accurate test. When
I had the MAC the sputum confirmed no MAC and my dr. Said sputum is not accurate.
It is so confusing having so many opinions from doctors. I am glad mine are on the prevention side. My dr said it is worst with people who has COPD or any other lung problems. Best to you Lisa ! Keep taking good care of yourself!
Why women? It is a good question. I don’t think they have the answer to it! Nick
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@nick52 Thanks for the info. I'll definitely look into high dose probiotic. I don't think they gave me big 3 because I was tired. I probably didn't put enough detail into previous explanation. When they did scan they found "innumerable (well over 100) tiny nodules. They were 1-4 mm and scattered throughout both lungs. They then did bronch. and thought they were caused by the MAC. My pulmonologist sent me to ID doc. and he thought I would be able to tolerate meds., so suggested I do the big 3. I did go to Mayo, just to get 2nd opinion and they agreed that was best route. I just got the results from my 6+ month scan and my pulm. said the nodules have decreased, so it appears the meds are working. I have not seen the written report yet, and am very curious about details (what number of nodules are now there?). I just did a spatum culture as well--waiting for results. My pulmonologist said it may come back neg. at some point and nodules would still show from scarring??? He has not worked much with this specific disease, so after reading a lot from this site, I am definitely going to go back to Mayo Rochester--I'm only about an hour and a half away. One thing I find so odd about this is why does it primarily effect women? Does anyone have any info. on this. Thanks Again!