lklopetro....Is the medical facility/doctor you got the input from re your mycobacterium one that
-has a lab qualified to do the 3 sputum specimens needed for NTM confirmation......the final answer should be after 6-8 weeks of time.
-CAT scan of chest read by Radiologist who is highly trained in reading Chest Cat scans...best certified in it.
-same with ID or Pulmonologist.....that they see at least 12 clients a year who have NTM infections..
you are smart not to jump into taking the meds....locally here in Wisconsin a year ago...the ID was after meeting me for two seconds began writing out the prescriptions for the big 3 meds...l stopped her saying l was going to NJH in a few months. Where it tuns out they said although one culture from Wisconsin grew the MAC others did not and the Chest Cat scan done there did NOT show active infection or bronchiestasis....and that my GERD was causing me to aspirate stomach secretions which had the tap water hence NTM into my lungs . So my treatment is geared to controling the GERD and the aspiration. tdrell

@jklopetro, Hello Gayle, welcome to our forum! I have to agree with you, we are a helpful and friendly bunch. I, like you had pneumonia many times over the last 25 yrs. My pneumonia was never sputem tested, so I have suspicions that I may have had MAC or Pseudomonas during some of those bouts. Actually, all humans have some amount of mac in their lungs because it is all around us in soil and water. It doesn't usually make healthy people sick. Usually people that get NTM/MAC also discover that they have a condition called bronchiecstasis, which is one reason some folks get serious infections from the MAC. A ct scan will uncover bronchiecstasis as well as the condition of your lungs. @tdrell, is right, the gold standard for testing initially is three consecutive sputem tests. Three samples over three days, refrigerate them until they can be sent to a lab. It would be advisable to have your doctor send them to NJH to do the lab work. I wouldn't do a ct scan until results are back from the lab, that takes about six weeks. CT scans are powerful and shouldn't be done unless necessary. You definitely don't want to get very many of them. You are doing the right thing by educating yourself on this. MAC infection is a complicated disease which makes it difficult to treat. This bug can have a way of coming and going, or not give you much trouble at all. It could also give you tons of trouble. For now, learn all that you can about it, and stay on top of it. I feel like like for now, you might want to ask your doctor about nebulizing saline twice a day. That's 7% sodium chloride. It is harmless, it is salt water; it is recommended for good lung hygiene. It helps to keep the phlegm thin so that it comes up easier. Also, it makes it harder for the MAC to colonize. I do not have phlegm issues right now, but I do this treatment as a preventative measure. I feel like germs don't really like salty environments. If you read some of the back passages on this site, you can learn a lot. If you look up @katemn, you will find a treasure trove of good advice. We are here for you Gayle, -Terri M.