@tdrell thank you Terri, but the trip was totally unrelated! Hugs! Katherine

Dear Katherine .. you are such a leader and mentor for so many of us... learning you have been so sick takes the wind right out of our sails.. I hope you will begin to feel better soon. I was diagnosed with pseud but the doctor never told me it was NOT curable...it cleared up within about 3 weeks with the drug Levofloxacin. Can you tell me how Dr. Aksamint knew you had the pseud ... were you coughing really badly, or did he just test the sputum and find it...was he able to test for pseud and MAC in the same sample or did you have to submit two samples... your diagnosis now makes me realize that I could get pseud again so I am curious as to how you first had signs that something was amiss. Am sending you good thoughts for healing quickly, Pam

@katemn, Hope you are feeling much better soon, you have done so much to help all of us, wish we could help you!

Hi Katherine, I'm sending my love and prayer for you to get better soon.

@pamelasc1, Pam, thank you for your lovely thoughts! Quite honestly I have great hope .. even today I feel better! YEAH!

Pam, I have some concerns for you .. here is why. I wish your Pulmonologist had given you more information and follow up check ups. I do NOT want to concern you .. but as you know I am BIG on being your own best advocate .. AND due diligence. I would suggest you read this article that I found AFTER I was diagnosed. Unfortunately .. WE are the ones who must care about the one body we are given in this lifetime .. NOT the doctors! After you have read the article I would suggest you get to a GOOD Infectious disease doctor .. request a sputum culture be made for Pseudomonas Aeruginosa .. explain your history and ask for follow ups.
https://bronchiectasisnewstoday.com/news-posts/2017/01/31/study-identifies-key-variables-survival-bronchiectasis-patients/

Here is what Dr. Aksamit told me:
Dr. Aksamit said that Pseudomonas Aeruginosa can be treated but like MAC cannot be cured. In my case that the Pseudomonas Aeruginosa bacteria had probably been in my lungs long before it showed up on my 11/9/16 regular sputum culture report. But just like MAC shows up on a culture report from "MAC FEW" to "MANY" to "COLONIES" (depends on where in the lungs that particular sputum culture came from!) the Pseudomonas Aeruginosa bacteria is the same. The Pseudomonas Aeruginosa can lay low until it shows up enough in a culture to be considered "PROMINENT".

Only and at that time (considered "PROMINENT") does it need to be treated. He did not say this but it can be assumed: You do not use high power antibiotics UNTIL necessary in this world of super bugs .. especially with people with immune systems like mine who will probably NEED them in the future. Essentially until I got sick .. you don't treat.

My follow up will now be in 3 months I go back for another sputum test to make sure the Pseudomonas Aeruginosa "stabilized", another Xray, a pulmonary test .. the usual. Then we will see what the next step is. I am obviously hoping for the best .. that my Pseudomonas Aeruginosa can be kept stabilized like my MAC has been since May 2014! BUT you can bet that I will continue to do my "due diligence" and will continue with sputum cultures and check ups!

Pam, hope this does not frighten you .. but I wanted to be honest with you ... until I was given the diagnosis and did my own due diligence did I really understand it was nothing to mess around with. Sending you hugs! Katherine