I thought so -- you know your antibiotics well.
I agree the susceptibility testing should be mandatory, of course -- there is no point using other drugs that won't help.
But my own experience is bit disappointing really -- we can't rely on a quick treatment just because the susceptibility test shows the best drugs to use.
When I was diagnosed in 2018, the pulm. doctor said my m.Intracellulare was found to be "extremely susceptible" to Macrolides -- Clarithromycin or Azithromycin.
But after 2 and a half years on the Macrolides with other drugs, I still haven't got rid of the m.Intracellulare yet.
The issue is that ALL of the Intracellulare lives inside a very tough biofilm inside my lungs -- so very little of the bacteria is found in the 'young' and temporary planktonic stage that antibiotics are able to attack. Antibiotics have a difficult time getting into the biofilm to fight this bug. That's why it can take so long to treat this disease.
And susceptibility testing is maybe a little bit artificial if you have m.Intracellulare. For susceptibility testing, they just test in a petri dish whether the drug can fight the PLANKTONIC stage of the bacteria only, not whether it can get through the biofilm first to fight the older bacteria inside of that.
(This biofilm can be very tough, so it's hard for drugs to get through. In the environment, mycobacterium biofilm is even found on rocks straight underneath waterfalls! That's a lot of shearing force the biofilm must withstand -- and it does withstand it!).
Sorry, that's a long explanation -- LOL
But I definitely agree with you that this is the best online site -- I'm so grateful for all the help I've had from people in this forum.
Good luck to you

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