Kay,

What "cavities" you are talking about. My mother tongue is french that doesn't help lol

Thanks Ling for the info.  That is exactly what my INFECTIOLOGIST  SAID TO ME! I have bronchiectasis also and I have a similar condition as you. That is why I take clear lung to eliminate the sputum from my lungs.  I had radiation after a breast cancer

level 1 .  It is probably where the problem came from. The Dr can't tell for sure. I appreciate your information. 

I am talking about the Clear lung!

Nick
If you read about MAC most articles talk about either nodular or cavitary. Cavitary is treated more aggressively. The type is determined by CT scan. Your doctor can tell you.

Thanks
Kay

@ling123, With that said, Ling, I feel like those choosing not to take antibiotics should at least be nebulizing the 7% saline twice a day. It is not a drug, (our bodies are mostly saline anyway) and it does a lot of good. It's just good lung hygiene. It moistens the plegm so that it comes up and out easier too. Ling, I know that you know this already. I am am replying for others to see it. BTW, I hope you are doing well. - Terri

@nick52, I believe you that it works. I have my old stand-by too. I drink 'Breathe Easy Tea' by 'Traditional Medicines' found at some grocery stores like Kroger and Fry's. Whenever my chest feel very tight, it opens my airways. Also, calms a cough. I haven't had to drink it the past year because my lungs have cleared up totally after I was treated for pseudomonas.

@windwalker Hi Terri, welcome back and glad to know that you were OK during the hurricane. Good suggestion about using the nebulizer. I have an appointment to see my pulmonary doctor on Oct. 5. Will inquire about that. I'm also seriously considering giving Clear Lung a try as @nick52 has suggested. Thanks for asking, Terri. I'm doing great. Just came back from a 8-day trip to the Grand Teton National Park and did some hiking there when the weather was suitable. The longest I did was about 14 miles with an elevation gain of over 4,000 feet. Had to trudge through some snow that had fallen on top of the mountain the night before. Not bad for someone with lung issues. Never had breathing problems during the hikes. But my feet and leg muscles were a different story.

@jkiemen, I went to the conference in D.C. last spring. It was put on by NTM Info & Research. They are trying to get more funding for research. At the moment, mac/bronchiecstasis is considered an 'orphan disease' because the reported numbers of us are low. NTM is the only ones I know of right now trying to put together a data-base of those of us who have it. They asked at the seminar that the patients who attended please sign up on their registry. They need real numbers to show when they apply for grant money to do the research. I have signed in myself. You can visit their website at http://www.ntminfo.org to learn more about it. They also have a support group at http://www.BronchandNTM360social.org I signed onto that also, but did not find the community there as helpful and supportive as this one. It may have changed since I last looked at it though. I also think that it is not going to be an 'orphan disease' for long either as more and more people are getting this. Even healthy people are catching mac. I would suggest going to your municipal water company and ask for the REAL water test results at their facility, not the simple ones they post on their websites. I plan to go to ours in person because they have not returned my e-mails. WE MUST ALL BECOME ADVOCATES! Contact the CDC and complain and demand answers. I have called them several times in the past, they are good about communication.

@nick52, I did a food elimination test on myself about 15 years ago and narrowed down which foods aggravated my lungs. I found that gluten and sugar were the biggest culprits. Food dyes also messed me up. Yellow and blue were the worst, for example: I cannot drink a Mountain Dew or I will cough incessantly from the yellow dye. I cannot eat Peanut M&M's except the brown ones or I will cough my head off. I have been on a whole foods diet ever since and do so much better.

@jkiemen I used to have the mucous at the back of my throat, in fact, since the age of 13; I am 58 now. a lot of it went away when I eliminated certain things from my diet. I was treated last year for pseudomonas with tobramycin and and all of that drip and phlegm went away. I still have a little post nasal drip from time to time. I found that doing a Netti rince with distilled water with added salt clears that up pretty well.