Diagnosed with MAC but not being treated

@auntnanny I was told to use the same cup as I use for the saline and albuterol. It does take a long time to get through all three treatments. Mine take a bit longer than an hour. Sometimes I cheat and skip the saline. (Only because I am not as ill any longer) Pine pollen has hit the south already, so I am being more vigilant lately with the saline. These treatments are time consuming, but worth it. I use the time to read through the posts on our Connect site while I do it.

Have you had a CT scan and/or chest Xray done? Those will show any damage the mac has already done.
I was feeling good even with a 8.5 cm cavity in my lung that if I wouldn't have started treatment, would've devoured me.

@migizii I find the treatments very time consuming too, especially with working full time. My employer let’s me come to work an hour later which is very gracious, but it still makes for long days.......but hopefully it will keep illness at bay!

I nebulize the albuterol and saline twice a day and do the Amikacin inhalation treatment once a day. I do the albuterol and saline at 4:00 a.m. then go back to sleep until 6 LOL! I take the nebulizer to work and do the next one around 4 in the afternoon. I just wash the pieces in hot soapy water. Then before bed I do the Amikacin treatment which is 10 x more time consuming with how you have to wash and sterilize each time. But it works and the more you do it; the quicker it goes. Totally worth it.

Just curious why you get up at 4 to do your treatment?

Sometimes the Albuterol makes me shaky so I'll take a low dose of Xanax to keep me calm. But then I'm pretty relaxed, still groggy from nights sleep and can take an hour or so nap before I have to get up. LOL! Also, I have to do these every 12 hours so if I do my next one at 4:00 in the afternoon, I can do my Amikacin treatment a few hours later at a convenient time before bed. Doing the Albuterol and Saline solution a couple/few hours before Amikacin allows everything to be cleared out of my lungs and opened up to make it easier for the Amikacin to get in there deeper.

@suzyqueue Hi Suzi. Albuterol did the same thing to me, plus, would cause heart palpitations and bring on superventricular tachycardia
(SVT) racing heartbeat. So, my dr switched me over to 'Levalbuterol'. That is albuterol with the shaky stuff removed. Sadly, my insurance this yr doesn't cover it. I forgot that and filled the script, then got a bill for $2,400.00! Yikes!

@migizii, There are better nebulizers that go quicker. I am looking into whether that is ok. For all I know, slower may be better to really saturate your lungs with the meds.

@suzyqueue I am so impressed with your 4am commitment! Good for you. If we go to the gym at 4;45am, and then I do my therapy, I often want to nap before work. I don’t think the doctors -or anyone who doesn’t have lung disease - can fully appreciate how exhausting 40 minutes of: nebulizer/postural drainage/forced coughing can be...this disease requires self discipline, (and for me, God’s help and a sense of humor) to be sure!

@brigby - Only if I could fit in gym time in the morning....oh and the energy LOL! I usually go to the gym after work around 5:30 or 6:00 and weekend afternoons. This really does require everything you said. I remember my doctor saying that the nebulizing is just "a pain in the butt" and I thought "how big of a deal can it be"? LOL! One I got into routine it wasn't so bad. Adding the Amikacin treatments to my day and all that has to be done with sterilization etc with it is another story....again - once in routine not so bad.