(MAC/MAI) Mycobacterium Avium Complex Pulmonary Disease: Join us

@jammer Hello. Welcome to our group. I am sorry to hear about your diagnosis. It can be a scary thing; but the more you learn about it; the less scary it is. Unfortunately, Florida is listed as one of the seven 'hot-spots' for mac in our country. I caught mine in Arizona, another hot-spot. Have you had a chance to read about topics on our Discussion Board? It is located on the Mac and Bronchiectasis group home site.There is a post on how people catch mac and then another one on how to avoid infection or re-infection once you are rid of it. If you need help locating that, please let me know. I can tell you this: after you have worked through the natural steps of denial, anger, acceptance, etc. concerning this disease, it will take an attitude 'agreement'. By that, I mean a good mind-set. For me, it was a decision that I was NOT going to be that sick person. (it could be a healthy form of denial). Getting a great doctor is key to treating this infection. In my opinion and that of @alleycatkate, @auntnanny and @america; we think that Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville is THE place to go for the best treatment. How are you feeling now? Are you having many symptoms?

@xfirerose, Hi. I had asked you in another post if you could take antibiotics since you were also on the immunoglobin therapy. I never took the 'Big 3', my Mayo dr put me on monthly antibiotics. For 10 days one month, I'd take ciprofloxacin, then on alternating months, I'd take doxycycline for ten days. A yr later I tested negative for mac, but stayed on those two meds for two more yrs to keep the mac away. That was in 2013. I test negative to this day.(I was severely ill) Perhaps you can tell my story to your doctor and be sure to tell him\her that this treatment plan came from a Mayo pulmonologist. I want you to mention that because Mayo physicians are highly respected. They are the cream of the crop in medicine. Without knowing your susceptibility test results to treat mac, my exact two antibiotics may not work for you, but perhaps another pair would. The meds are given alternately to prevent resistance.. One more thing, your dr can call your insurance company and/or Medicare and tell them that they need to make an exception for you to go to Mayo due to you having a rare disease. Sometimes, they can get that through. @alleycatkate was able to flip hers and got into the Mayo. Please keep me posted on what they decide for you

@windwalker Hi Terri, I am new to this group but have MAC and pretty sick at the moment. Thanks so much for your post about the different treatment plan you had. It sounds much better to me. And so good to hear it worked - it has given me some real hope. Yes it does depend on what the little critters are susceptible to. It's great to know a Mayo pulmonologist used this plan, Is there's some way I could find out who your doctor was? Thanks again. Annie
@xfirerose Hi and good luck to you. I hope the kind people in this group can help. Annie

@anniepie Hi Annie. I feel weird saying to newcomers; "Welcome to our group." Nobody wants to be in our group; but, here we are. I do not mind at all sharing with you who I see at Mayo. I owe him my life. His name is Dr. Jack Leventhal. He is located at the Mayo in Jacksonville. I feel certain that you could visit any Mayo (there are 3 in the U.S.) and all of their drs are top notch; no matter who you see; you would be in good hands. They only hire the best. I am sorry that you feel so bad right now. With the right treatment, I think you will feel. & get better. I can tell you this; we all need to keep a hard copy of our lab reports. Those reports are so important. You will be able keep track WHEN you were infected, the exact SPECIE of your infection, and a record of your suseptibility test - (what drugs work against your strain of mac.) I also keep a record of travels with that lab file. Of people I have stayed with too in my travels. Why? Because some of my friends and family that I stay with live in older homes and may have molds, etc. in their environment. For example, I picked up a black mold in my lungs after visiting a good friend of mine in Va. She was renting a place that I learned later had a mold remediation issue. My point is, by keeping records, you can pretty much track your active infections and learn where you catch them. Then, you learn how to avoid them. I would like to learn more about what you know so far with your condition; if you are ok with that. That way, I can try to guide you in what you should ask your dr to make sure that you have a knowledgeable and active part in your recovery.

@america Hi Rita. Keep me posted.....feel better!

@windwalker Thanks again Terri - it's a precious gift for us newcomers to be helped by someone who has been through it and succeeded. I'm actually in Australia (hi @heathert in NZ). There's not much experience in Australia but I'm at one of only 2 NTM clinics in the country. Here they want to use the standard Big 3 drugs in the ATS protocol with all the toxic risks and sometimes not very good success rates really.

Mayo is respected internationally, Terri. Thanks so much for info about your Mayo doctor. I'd really like to find out if he has treated many MAC/MAI patients successfully with the protocol you mentioned: Antibiotic 1 for 10 days in month 1 and antibiotic 2 for 10 days in month 2, alternating. (If so, I hope he publishes it, I'd like to show my pulmologists here so I can try it). Thanks for explaining you'd been really ill too but succeeded at the 12 month mark. If it's okay, I might write to him at Mayo to find out more about it. I'm very interested.

You asked for my clinical details: I was diagnosed recently with M. Intracellulare MAI by CT scan and 2 positive sputum tests. I have bronchiectasis and recurring MAC/MAI symptoms - lots of fatigue and weakness, fever, lung pains, coughing etc. Unfortunately, my GP/primary doctor and I just discovered that M. Intracellulare was found in a bronchoscopy I had at a different hospital more than 3 years ago but they messed up and didn't send the results to my doctor or me. So I've been left untreated but getting worse for more than 3 years. I've been unable to work for nearly 3 months now -- I tried but couldn't make it through a day. I'm older than you Terri, I'm 65, but had previously been working well and planned to continue -- a 'young 65' LOL -- but now I need to retire. I've got some complications to work around: recurring vasculitis (skin) that needs immunosupressive treatment - not good with NTM. And I'm hypothyroid so some drugs interact with my thyroid meds.

Anyway, my heart goes out to everyone posting on this site and I wish us all the best. This is the best forum group I've found online - the kindest people. Thank you all for your support for all of us. Hugs, Annie

Hi guys, I am still struggling with sore throat and can’t seem to get over this. My daughter who is an RN told me to try a dyflucan because it could be a yeast infection in my throat. I have not heard of this before in the throat but I took one last night. I will see what happens. I am also seeing my Primary Care again tomorrow. It has been a long month for me and hope this is all going to be better soon. Has anyone heard of yeast in the throat? Stay well everyone Rita.

Hi guys, I am still struggling with sore throat and can’t seem to get over this. My daughter who is an RN told me to try a dyflucan because it could be a yeast infection in my throat. I have not heard of this before in the throat but I took one last night. I will see what happens. I am also seeing my Primary Care again tomorrow. It has been a long month for me and hope this is all going to be better soon. Has anyone heard of yeast in the throat? Stay well everyone Rita.