New Diagnosis of MAC/MAI & I'm scared

@ling123 @ameliar Both of you, thanks for your comments. I was very afraid after my pulmonologist's nurse called me and told me about the standard treatment of 3 antibiotics for a year. I'm glad to hear that it is possible to stay healthy without them if you can stay physically fit.

@lorifilipek Absolutely. Do not fret and continue enjoy life as long as you feel fine. Make sure you are otherwise healthy by staying active and eating well. Just be vigillant and keep up your routine visits to your pulmonologist to make sure everything is in check. Worry about things that may or may not happen in the future is a waste of time and energy that we should direct to other worthy things in life.

I am truly sorry about all of your conditions. This site definitely helps me. It is nice not to feel alone with the diagnosis. I have also learned from so many people who share the same issues.

@lorifilipek, I'd like to give you some hope. Please read these stories from members of the MAC group. There is a light at the end of the tunnel:
- You can feel better! https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/you-can-feel-better/
- A Breath of Fresh Air: Meet @windwalker https://connect.mayoclinic.org/page/about-connect/newsfeed/a-breath-of-fresh-air-meet-windwalker/

Keep posting. Keep asking questions. There's a whole community here to support you.

@ling123 @ameliar I noticed that both of you have had sinus issues. Have either of you done nasal flushes? I used to do them every morning when I lived in the Denver area because of dryness and bad air pollution, especially in the winter. I stopped doing them when I moved back to Michigan (and Arizona in the winter) about 10 years ago. After reading your comments and ones in “Lung nodules & scared!” in the Lung Health group, it dawned on me that I should re-start my nasal flushes. Every morning I wake up with a somewhat stuffy nose, the feeling of stuff accumulating in my throat, and coughing. I did a flush this morning and got minor greenish phlegm. I’m wondering if the sinus drainage is going into my lungs during the night and is contributing to the greenish sputum I get once in a while from the coughing. Any thoughts?

@lorifilipek Normally the stuff from your nose should not go into your lungs even when you swallow it while lying down. But it is a different story if you have GERD. Many people in this group have GERD that causes your stomach content to go into their lungs during the night. I know I don't have sinus problems but was not sure if I had GERD because people who have silent acid reflux would not have the typical symptoms that others have. My pulmonologist ordered a test that showed I did not have GERD. If you have not tested to see whether you have GERD or not, maybe you should ask for a test. Search on the word GERD in this forum (within MAC & Bronchiectasis) by clicking the magnifying glass symbol on top of the page. You'll find a lot of discussions about that topic. I have done nasal flush many years ago but have not continued. Maybe I should give it another try, too. It'll probably help with my allergy symptoms during the fall season as well as flushing out anything I breathe in indoors (I'm allergic to dust mite).

@lorifilipek Hello, I see that you joined our group a few weeks ago. Welcome to Connect. I am happy to learn that you survived your cancer. That makes you a seasoned warrior in personal health. As for your current diagnosis, it seems like you are catching your lung disease early and doing the right things to cut it off at the pass. Exercise definitely helps to strengthen your lungs, so I am glad that you are jogging. I am curious, did you stop swimming because of what you read here about mac being found in pools?

@lorifilipek In answer to your question about possibly inhaling particles from post nasal drip, I am pretty sure that it was mentioned at a mac/bronchiectasis convention that I attended in D.C. a few years back. I remember it being said that there is a correlation between post nasal drip and bronchiectasis. In Ayurvedic medicine practices (from India) they recommend daily sinus clearance along with eye rinse and eye clearing. If you do flush your sinuses, you should use sterilized saline designed for that. Boiled tap water doen't guarantee a safe rinse. You may have read on this site that many of us are using the nebulized saline to keep our lungs cleaned. Ironically, it also clears the sinuses and cuts down the post nasal drip. You may want to ask your pulmonolgist about it. It is called hypertonic saline or sodium chloride 7%. I feel like you are a good candidate to benefit from it to thwart off bronchiectasis progression. I will look for the article that contains the chart that shows where the use of inhaled saline can kill various mycobacteriums.

@lorifilipek , yes I have wondered about the sinus drainage going into the lungs also but have never read anything about it.

@windwalker When I nebulise the saline I blow it out my nose which loosens any mucus and you can blow it out.