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Chest and upper back pain with bronchiectasis and pseudomonas
MAC & Bronchiectasis | Last Active: Feb 1 2:15pm | Replies (131)Comment receiving replies
Hello Minette - Have you been checked lately for the status of your MAC infection? Normally, pain is minimal and/or intermittent with MAC and bronchiectasis. Increased pain may be an indication of increased infection, and neither Tylenol nor ibuprofen will treat it. If you ignore MAC too long, it can do truly devastating damage to your lungs.
When was the last time you had a complete workup - sputum culture with active colony count, and lung CT?
When you nebulize, are you using 7% saline? Some of us have had very good luck with that keeping our MAC infection at bay.
Sue
Replies to "Hello Minette - Have you been checked lately for the status of your MAC infection? Normally,..."
The original year I was treated for MAC, Staph infection and pseudonomas was 2019 for 14 months. Last year in 2021 I started having more discomfort and had two cough specimens that came back positive for MAC. I just sent one in and it will be a month or two before the results are back. I had two chest ct's last year also that were consistent with bronchiectasis and/or MAC. My infectious disease doctor is fine keeping me off the MAC medications because when I am on the ethambutol, rifampin or rifabutin, and azithromycin, the side effects make it difficult to go into the office to work and I am considered an essential employee. I am close to retirement and would rather not try to find a new job. However my doctor does want me to go on the MAC meds if I am not doing better using the vest and nebulizer. Its a pain to do my job remotely and did do that for 9 months due to covid. I use a NAC or acetylcysteine in the nebulizer. The achiness in my lungs is real and I empathize with others who have these symptoms. It is worse when fatigued. It is really great to get feedback and insight from others on this whole topic. Thank you for responding! Minette
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Sue, I have lately been coughing up white stringie globs do you have any idea what that may be? I sent the sputum in for culture. As usual it takes a while before we get it back. Growing cultures takes 3-12 weeks sometimes. Gloria