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Thank you so much for the information. I’m grateful.
No, I haven’t been tested for infection. My bought with pneumonia & severe bronchitis spring 2018 & 2019 were treated with antibiotics (prednisone & steroid inhalers) but there was no testing involved. Decades ago I worked in a lab and it was routine to run an antibiotic sensitivity tests when infections were detected. In my own experience in the past plus decade, my infections for whatever were not even identified, let alone determine what antibiotics were effective. It’s a here try this- type of treatment. And I have severe stomach & diarrhea from them (I have IBSD & microcellular colitis which doesn’t help!). At my next visit I will definitely ask my pulmonologist.
Thank you again.
Sent from Cynthia's iphone
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Replies to "Thank you so much for the information. I’m grateful. No, I haven’t been tested for infection...."
@skylark1 Many of us with mac had drs tell us we had pneumonia or bronchiectis and were given broad spectrum antibiotics for a short period of time. If a person has these kinds of infections repeatedly, than it is a good idea to get a sputem test and see what exactly is infecting you, along with a susceptibility test to figure out what antibiotic is best to treat it with.
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@skylark1 - Cynthia the reason it is so vital to concretely identify MAC or NTM (Non-tubercular mycobacteria) of which it is a subset, is that it is slow-growing, often antibiotic-resistant, extremely difficult to eradicate and does not respond to typical antibiotics. Treatment is generally by a combination of antibiotics for a long period of time, 18 months to 2 years is not unusual. It is becoming more widely known, but still not understood, so even some pulmonologists have limited experience. I would suggest you do some more reading and arm yourself with a lot of questions, then if MAC is diagnosed be sure your doc is experienced in treating it or ask to be referred to one who is. I recently changed pulmonologists, and even though the first was experienced with MAC, I learned after the fact that he was a "one-size-fits-all" sort of doc, not open to trying different things if the first one didn't work. So glad I switched, even though I have to drive all the way across our metro area for the new doc.