Connect
← Return to Has anyone ever been cured of MAC?
Discussion
Has anyone ever been cured of MAC?
MAC & Bronchiectasis | Last Active: 1 day ago | Replies (36)Comment receiving replies
Ina, you said, " I don't understand what the nebulizing 7% saline is but am trying to find it on the internet." I'm not the Internet but here's an Okie's take on why it tends to be favored among MAC sufferers. People who know about such things tell us that although lower concentrations of saline are helpful to the extent that they thin mucous which presumably facilitates coughing it up, However, when the concentration reaches 7% it not only thins, but also becomes lethal to mycobacterium avium complex (MAC) infections. Which is most likely the reason a few years ago after switching to 7% from a lower concentration of saline, my Pulmo (for the first time) following a chest X-ray, told me that the radiologist reported that the MAC infection had diminished in size compared to an earlier X-ray.
Replies to "Ina, you said, " I don't understand what the nebulizing 7% saline is but am trying..."
This.
Mycobacteria can't survive conditions higher than 3% salinity. That's why sea/ocean water (which is 3% saline) is 'safe' from a re-infection risk perspective. Swimming pools, spas, etc. are high risk due to low salinity of the water.
At NJH, they go from 3% all the way up to 10%. I use 7%, which took some getting used to, but I'm convinced it's what dramatically reduced my colony count from over 200 to 3. 17% of people who neb with saline are able to convert to negative.
Don,
I have had MAC since around 2010. I was on the famous 3 super antibiotics for a year. The MAC went dormant for about 10 years then returned with a vengeance after I had covid in 2024. In 2025 I was on a picc line with Cefepime, an oral, Clarithromycin, and Nebulized with Arikayce for four months. It killed my gut. I have lost 20 lbs. I still have no appetite & can barely eat. I have such shortness of breath, and very weak. It also has promoted osteoporosis and I have 5 fractures in my lower back. I saw your post one week ago started nebulizing with 7% saline twice a day. How long does it take to feel better? Does it really help to reduce the MAC? Is there anything else that might help?? My Dr now recommends Brinsupri. Gayle
Connect
Wow! That is encouraging! May I ask how often you do the nebulizer? I discovered I do have one that I was prescribed when I had a bout with pneumonia a while back but my doctor has never suggested it be used to help treat MAC. Anything that will attack the little bug I'm all in for!