Hello boomer, I applaud you for trying to do everything you can for your health .. I would just say to others that when I question Dr. Aksamit on just how/why the mycobacterium got into my lungs his reply was:
Mycobacterium is all over our bodies .. it is in the soil .. it is the water. It is just NOT supposed to be in our lungs.

One theory is that when people shower the water is aerosolized and the mycobacterium is breathed into the lungs. BUT two people/a couple can take showers in the same water in the same places for twenty years and one will get MAC and the other will not.

AND two people can garden together for twenty years disrupting the soil .. and one will get MAC and the other will not.

So in reality we DO NOT know how mycobacterium gets into the lungs at this time .. the research is not there.

So I would tell people that until the research is there .. spend the money if you have it but don't bat your head against a wall if you don't.

Actually, we do; Docs agree that it gets into the body through some form of ingestion...eating/drinking & inhaling. Unless someone is down into soil on a regular basis while inhaling deeply (say an avid gardener), the most likely source for most folks is ingestion/inhalation of the home's water.
This is why the "Ways to Reduce Exposure to MAC from Nat'l Jewish emphasizes water treatment, the most common source of infection.
And, as I mentioned, regardless of the initial source of one's infection, re-infection through the water system is quite possible as we know it lies in most if not all US water supply. It is this I advocate preventing, at a cost (for highest efficacy whole-house filters) of less than $500.
I have RA, thus a compromised immune system, so indeed it's easier to understand how I could have been more susceptible. But regardless of the reason for "one person contracting the infection while another does not," once you have it, just makes sense to prevent re-infection through water ingestion. Nat'l Jewish seems to agree!
Oh, and I also recommend an adjustable bed...helps me tremendously to sleep more easily!

Thanks for all the info Boomerexpert! Can you share where you found the filter? I have been looking online but haven't found anything so it would be great to look at what you found. Thanks. Janet

Call Mark @ 239-357-0038 - he's found an even better filter so tell him Terri sent ya'!

I was told I got Mac from working in the yard. Humans usually don't get it unless they have low immune system<br><br>