@irene5, Irene love that positive self talk .. you go girl! Hugs! Katherine

@windwalker Terri " I adhere to a healthy lifestyle, exercise, pay attention to nutrition, don't stress, follow doctor's treatment plan to a
tee. Here lately, I do not even think about MAC. I live like I am perfectly fine." .. LOVE IT! Hugs! Katherine

I've been pushing all my docs to do more re: research. EX: my Pulmo stated that there's adequate research taking place...I responded that I've his position to be not only untrue given no new drugs or inhaled antibiotics have been devised in almost 20 years, but what's being done is insufficient - that I'm actually quite disappointed with the lack of urgency around the infection. He was surprised, but now he knows how one patient feels

very true @boomerexpert

@heathert, Heather and All, the TOTAL credit goes NOT to me .. but to Mayo Clinic who hired Colleen Young and began Mayo Clinic Connect. We are just this wonderful little corner of this world .. if you REALLY want to be impressed .. take a look : https://connect.mayoclinic.org/groups/ . WOW! Impressive!

Everywhere I go I talk about this wonderful opportunity for people in distress to share what WE have/share on our MAC Forum! Truthfully I don't pretend that ALL the Forums are QUITE as wonderful as ours .. BUT of course I am speaking as a Mama Bear proud of her Cubs! BUT there is a place on Mayo Clinic Connect for nearly every health issue AND Caregivers to find shelter in the storm .. to find support/hints/help for their particular issue. It is just that our particular MAC Forum is evidently the oldest and most active (and of course in my opinion .. the smartest .. prettiest .. nicest and most talented!) of all the Forums!

But you would be doing a service if you do take a look/familiarize yourself with https://connect.mayoclinic.org/groups/ .. and then shout to the rooftops to anyone you talk to .. tell them just to google: Mayo Clinic Connect .. they can then find a group that could be a lifesaver for them/a friend/a family member .. just as it has been for us! Do them a good turn! Truthfully I kind of embarrassed my husband a while back in a restaurant! As I passed by a table on the way to the restroom .. I saw a woman in her late 40's with an oxygen tank. To make a long story SHORT .. I connected her to Mayo Clinic Connect .. she was VERY grateful. WHY? Because in our lives we have people who love us .. BUT they do NOT walk our walk .. ONLY people on our Forum WALK OUR WALK. It helps SO much to reach out to people who really understand.

So even if it is NOT an oxygen tank .. I just did the same thing with a heart patient .. health issues are basically all the same .. we all have the same pain. So do reach out to others .. be it what ever part of the body. Hope this helps us help others! Hugs to all! Katherine

<br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br>It is technically not a bacterium, that is the loophole they are using, it is a mycobacterium. Just like they can loophole mycoplasma. Seems like we might fit<br> into “orphan diseases” category.<br> <br><br><br>

<br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br>Or if we can show that he has a genetic marker. Does anyone else have someone in their past who has died of MAC or of a respiratory disease, that may have not<br> been diagnosed as MAC, or was diagnosed with tuberculosis, which could have been incorrect diagnosis of MAC back then, we are talking a very long time between you and a child of yours or a sibling getting diagnosed with this, as long as thirty years, more<br> if it can skip a generation ?<br> <br>Or that we can show that it is not only a species jumper, but also carried in water and soil, which is true,making it a potential biohazard, then it would go<br> in with the terrorist agent, anthrax, and that is a government funded project.<br> <br><br><br>

<br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br>I would agree with your positive attitude. But…. I absolutely will not give up figuring out the how we got it, what is correlated, etc….because there should<br> be better testing and better treatments. If you watched your Mother and your Aunt go through this and find that not that much has changed in 30 years then peace is great but I will find it when I find my answers. If this has a genetic component then I want<br> to know, and I think everyone with MAC should know that., is your daughter or son or niece or nephew going where you are? Is this environmentally related, did I just share the same space or the same habits. Finding correlating issues is a central key to finding<br> the answers, and within those answers lies a cure, and better testing. By the way, it is a proven medical fact that a positive attitude is directly correlated with a far superior immune system, lots of papers on that on pubmed.  Most of the research out of<br> Berkley and UCLA.<br> <br><br><br>

<br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br>Hi, I had rheumatic fever when I was 8. And I have had a horrible time with allergies all of my life. Wonder if anyone else had rheumatic fever? Thanks for<br> your reply. I am very serious about getting to the bottom of this, and I am very serious about putting one of the researchers to work on it as soon as I catch him at work.<br> <br><br><br>

<br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br>Thanks that clears things up for me, and they finally gave me something for my splitting headache. My dog appreciates that, he has had a bath and a nice walk.<br> Which he really deserved for having to take extra special care of me for last month.<br> <br>Looks like MAC is becoming more widespread and mutating quickly as well. Time for action, and people in the right places to pay attention.<br> <br><br><br>