Has anyone had Geotrichum or TRichosporon loubieri

@cynthia69 These are both either fungal or yeast organisms, I don't remember which is which. In any case, they are everywhere, much like the various mycobacteria, but they are seldom the cause of any problem unless you are immuno compromised such as with HIV/AIDS or suppressed due to an organ transplant or bone marrow radiation. Each is found in anywhere from 1/3 to 1/2 the population. There are many organisms like this - even at least 75% of mycobacteria strains are never treated.

Our bodies, including our sputum, host billions of bacteria, fungus, etc but only a few make us ill and require treatment.

It would have been nice of her to take the time to explain, but she may be one of those docs who is not a fan of raw test results being posted on the patient portal and that caused her short answer.
Sue

Thanks Sue
She did tell me they would not cause problems but that work ABNORMAL is scary.

And of course google causes trouble because when I looked them up they say to treat them.

Thank you for your quick and through answer.

Best,

Cynthai

Cynthia, I have had two bronchoscopies this year, March 1 and September 6. There was no indication of a fungal problem after the first one but the most recent bronchoscopy showed the trichosporon fungal species at which time my pulmonologist put me on fluconazole, an anti-fungal drug. I took it for 4 of the 10 day prescription but began to have a rash and itching from it. I decided to go off of it and will discuss this with my pulmonologist when I see him at the end of the month. I am a patient at National Jewish Health in Denver and have been going through some very sophisticated testing since August. The cultures at that time showed no fungal spores but the more recent tests done by my local hospital, as mentioned, did and that's the reason I was put on the fluconazole. I am not concerned, at this point anyway, about having a fungal problem. We often read the results of tests and assume the worst (I'm guilty!). When I read that I have "rare" this and that, it freaks me out but come to find out those terms are typical for people, like me, with MAC/BE. Whether I take a drug or not, I go on with my life and make the best of each day. Wishing you the best as we journey together!

Hi,

Thank you very much for your answer. I got an answer from Dr. Wilgus. She told me that the fungus were colonized in her opinion and that there was not an active infection. She told me to ask the infectious disease doctor - Dr. Dutta.

I found Dr. Dutta on my own since Dr. Wilgus does not tell me much of anything except take the big 3. Without this group I would be lost.

Thanks again.

Cynthia

So glad you are being taken care of. We just have to take each day and do the best we can. It is wonderful to have a group of people to turn to if only for more information, whether important to our own issues or not. I know I'll be taking meds in the future but have to go through a lot of testing in the meantime. One of the Big 3, Azithromycin, showed to be ineffective for my kind of MAC and then I was put on Cipro, which didn't work for me with the other 2. It's hard to keep "calm" when there is so much going on but none of us is alone and it's great to have such great advocates! Do take care and best wishes!

Hi,

Thank you for you kind words. It is hard to stay calm.

How do you know what kind of MAC you have? Is there any place besides Jewish Health that tells us the subspecies and the load. UCLA definitely does not.

I took Cipro for my pneumonia and I was ok with it. I had Covid May 2022 and I think I got pneumonia then. I took azithromycin and it got rid of the pneumonia. I still had in my next sputum sample. Dr. Wilgus said it had colonized and it was worth treating. I then took Cipro. Have not had another sputum to know if the colony is gone.

I definitely do not feel alone anymore with all of you on this forum.

Thank you very much,

Cynthia69