@ginak!  Thanks for your response.  My husband have aFib and git the same treatment as you had except he didn’t get ablation. Can you explain the procedure for ablation.  I think I know what it is but not sure. Maybe you may want to try something to control

the mucus. I know it is had to stay away from food you crave for lol ! Bronchiectasis can be cause by excess of mucus getting to your lungs according to my doctor for Infection of MAC .  That is why we need to have a diet with little mucus forming food. Bronchiectasis

is the reason why we catch organism like the MAC. We are more prone to catch organism from soil, water, dust etc.  Being a smoker doesn’t help for sure.  

Thanks for explaining   Aerobika .  I know what it is . We use that I think in hospital after a surgery to help the lung to work at its full capacity.  Live happily Gina! 

@suzie2017 Very good. I hope the I.D. doctor can devise a good plan. Will you please keep us posted?

Usually most people get general anesthesia for Atrial fibrillation ablation. Some lung conditions can increase Atrial Fibrillation. You should find out from an echocardiogram how big the left atrium in size. That would let the MD know how likely the procedure is to be successful. Making sure you don't have sleep apnea is a good idea to make sure that isn't making atrial fibrillation worse. Not everyone is a candidate for atrial fibrillation ablation.

Yes against women. Since most people that have it are women. I think if more men would have it, they might work harder at finding treatment. Somehow I feel like we aren't getting a fair amount of attention. I keep saying when someone famous get it, then attention will be paid to it.

@128128terry11t , How To Prevent Re-Infection
Causes in the home can be curtailed to some extent. Turn your hot water heater temperature up to 130 degrees (use caution with children in the house as this is a scalding temperature).Take a bath instead of a shower. The splashes and steam from the shower get inhaled. Remember your hot water tank and the shower head are the biggest offenders for harboring mac and/or other dangerous mycobacteriums. Your shower head should be soaked in vinegar every 6 months or less. It can be removed (ideally) and soaked, or a baggie with vinegar in it wire-tied over the shower head while still in place. It should be left soaking for at least thirty minutes.
Change water filters every two months or boil your drinking water. Do not use ice cubes that your freezer makes or drink the water from the door. That water sits in a bladder inside your refrigerator next to warming elements and breeds mac.
Avoid swimming pools, steam rooms, and hot tubs, and facials using steam. (I know, I just sucked all of the joy out of your life – I‘m sorry.) Avoid unnecessary visits to people in the hospital or nursing homes. These two places tend to harbor some of the very bad infectious bacterias like: m. abscessus, serratia marcescens, and most notoriously klebsiella pneumonia. These last three are particularly bad because they are hard to treat and are famous for being antibiotic resistant. There are new drugs on the horizon that seem to be promising for combating these, but have not been released by the FDA yet.

@jkiemen Good question Jo Ann! Many people get caught up on the physical aspect of having mac and it's treatment. There is always the psychological side as well when dealing with a chronic illness. For me, when I was in the throes of active infection and feeling cruddy every single day; you can't help but constantly think about it. When my treatment plan started to work, I fixated less on it. You DO better, when you FEEL better. I also did a lot of visualization. I told myself daily that I am NOT sick, that is not who I am, I would repeat "I am normal" all of the time. I tell my body that this is unacceptable (to be sick) and that I am not having it! This is much easier to do when you are feeling better verses feeling miserable and hacking up your lungs all day .Jo Ann, I have adopted healthier lifestyle changes that have become second nature to me now; therefore, I don't need to be thinking of the disease so much. Let me know if you decide to try the visualization idea.

@windwalker Thank you. Nice summary. IF anyone has anything to add, it all is appreciated. Anybody out there have the filters for the shower??

@suzie2017 Suzie, MAC is serious when one has a full blown infection from it. If it is a heavy bacterial load it can do destruction to lung tissue. That is permanent damage. I have lost a little over 60% of my lung function and I know that my right middle lobe is pretty much dead. If your husband's doctors don't take this seripusly, then you may need new doctors.

@sophie1019 Sophie, if you are talking to me, I took 500 mg of cipro 2x day for ten days and on alternate months was on 500 mg doxycycline 2x day for 10 days.

@jkiemen Hi. It's funny, I do not think of mac every day concerning my own health because I don't believe I am infected any longer. I feel great. I go for my next sputem test in a few weeks. Being the Mentor for this group, I do think about it daily. Only now, I worry about others that are battling it. I do stay concious as a second nature to try to avoid reinfection. I pray that your day comes soon that it doesn't pervade your thoughts so much. Hugs! Terri