CAT SCAN - how often?

@meadows I had to look back to see because it has been 5 years. At first, I had CT scans every 3 months because I was quite ill and the lungs were getting worse. During treatment, it was every 6 months. Since I stopped, once roughly each year. My pulmo wants to skip this year unless I have a problem in the next 6 weeks because I have gone the entire year without an exacerbation or a serious asthma attack. (I hope I don't jinx myself by saying this!)

I feel very fortunate that airway clearance and controlling my asthma has kept me pretty healthy.
Sue

@meadows I had to look back to see because it has been 5 years. At first, I had CT scans every 3 months because I was quite ill and the lungs were getting worse. During treatment, it was every 6 months. Since I stopped, once roughly each year. My pulmo wants to skip this year unless I have a problem in the next 6 weeks because I have gone the entire year without an exacerbation or a serious asthma attack. (I hope I don't jinx myself by saying this!)

I feel very fortunate that airway clearance and controlling my asthma has kept me pretty healthy.
Sue

Sue, I just got back from NJH and I will be getting off the Big 3 along with Amikacin Feb 1st if I continue to test Negative for MAC. I will continue with Sodium Chloride and Levalbuterol Pump along with airway clearance. Since you are at the 5 year mark I was curious as to which airway clearance you are doing (it is obviously working very well for you).

I use NAC and Mucinex to keep the mucus thin, Symbicort inhaler twice a day (also have asthma) the Aerobika daily plus random huff coughing whenever I feel anything in my lungs. 3 times a week I use 7% saline.

For two years, I used the saline daily but last year I cut back gradually. If I feel any twinge of congestion, any sign of a respiratory illness or my shortness of breath worsens, I begin daily saline nebs again. This is the strategy agreed on with my pulmonologist, and it seems to work wonderfully for me - a year now without an exacerbation.

To everyone - I was stable for two years before I attempted this - you need to do what your lungs dictate.
Good luck getting off the meds - it has been a long haul for you!
Sue

Sue, do you take NAC in capsule form? My pulmonologist mentioned Mucomyst which I believe is an inhaled form of NAC. Thanks!

I use NAC and Mucinex to keep the mucus thin, Symbicort inhaler twice a day (also have asthma) the Aerobika daily plus random huff coughing whenever I feel anything in my lungs. 3 times a week I use 7% saline.

For two years, I used the saline daily but last year I cut back gradually. If I feel any twinge of congestion, any sign of a respiratory illness or my shortness of breath worsens, I begin daily saline nebs again. This is the strategy agreed on with my pulmonologist, and it seems to work wonderfully for me - a year now without an exacerbation.

To everyone - I was stable for two years before I attempted this - you need to do what your lungs dictate.
Good luck getting off the meds - it has been a long haul for you!
Sue

I take NAC in capsules. There is all kinds of speculation about effectiveness, but here are my observations:
I ran out when I couldn't get Jarrow brand - my muscles ached more, my hands were more swollen (arthritis) and my mucus got "stringy" again.
Then I found "NOW" brand and restarted - all of these settled down.
Just to check if it was still effective, I stopped for 10 days this past spring - same result.
I have also thought "do I need both" and stopped Mucinex - no effect on aches and pains, but my mucus got thicker and I got fluid behind the eardrum in my chronically bad ear.

So, for me the capsules work, and it's not one more thing I have to inhale.
Sue