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MAC Big Three Side Effects

MAC & Bronchiectasis | Last Active: Apr 19, 2023 | Replies (165)

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@sueinmn

Welcome to Mayo Connect. It seems overwhelming when we first get this diagnosis, but trust me things do get better over time.
I'm going to try to answer several of your questions, but would invite @poodledoc, @irenea8 and other "veterans" to weigh in with their experiences.

First, the vest should be a help with airway clearance, but if you are trying to avoid the antibiotics, I would suggest that you also ask about nebulizing 7% saline, which has the dual advantage of thinning mucus and potentially suppressing the bacteria growth. Here is an article to introduce you to it:https://smartvest.com/blog/airway-clearance-techniques-for-bronchiectasis-and-copd/

Second, most of us were told that outdoor pools are safe. Chlorine does not kill MAC so it lingers in the copious water vapors above an indoor pool or any hotub, so these are to be avoided.

Finally, not everyone experiences hearing loss from the drugs - I got my a baseline hearing test, then was tested by an audiologist every 3 months to be sure, since I already have issues with tinnitus and age-related loss. So if you need to start, just be hypervigilant.

If you spend some time reading other discussions in this support group, you will find the answers to many of your questions.
Sue

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Replies to "Welcome to Mayo Connect. It seems overwhelming when we first get this diagnosis, but trust me..."

Thank you so very much. This helps alot!

@equanimous You have found a great place here on Mayo Connect to help educate yourself. My personal experience with bronchiectasis and MAC involved 2 years of a chronic productive cough and a LOT of doctor visits and tests before finally being diagnosed. There are a lot of GPs and even Pulmonologists that simply are not familiar and up to date with our condition. If your Pulmonologist suggests waiting on the antibiotics, I would certainly go with that. The most important thing IMHO is for you to perform airway clearance (=lung hygiene) every day for the rest of your life. For me that includes nebbing with 7% saline (#1 most important) and using the Aerobika There are several youtube videos that will be very helpful, one of my favorites is this one https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-EHohMe7II One last piece of advise is to do all the other things to help make you healthier overall to include exercise, a healthy diet, stress reduction etc. Good luck yo you. Bill