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Lung cavities

Posted by maxraether @maxraether, Dec 8, 2025

I’m 68 with Bronchiectasis. Two year ago I was diagnosed with Pseudomonas and two lung cavities. The pulmonologist has only prescribed an antibiotic for a week when I have flareups which cause me to cough up blood. I have a hard time getting phlegm up even though I use a saline nebulizer once a day. I’m pretty active but I have had at least three flareups this past year. My recent CT scan showed one of my cavities grew some ( I believe they’re only one centimeter). He’s considering doing a biopsy but told me to wait 6 months. Hearing the word biopsy worries me to think it could be something more serious.

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maxraether | @maxraether | Jan 11 4:15pm
In reply to @kris2468 "@maxraether I learned about Dr Patel through the support group. Marian Fink and Leslie Wasserman are..." + (show)
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@maxraether I learned about Dr Patel through the support group. Marian Fink and Leslie Wasserman are the leaders. You can contact them via
Naplesfl@ntminfo.org

Good luck!

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Thank you!

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sweethighland | @sweethighland | Jan 12 8:23pm
In reply to @sueinmn "@sweethighland I got rid of MAC and Pseudo initially with nearly 2 years of antibiotics. My..." + (show)
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@sweethighland I got rid of MAC and Pseudo initially with nearly 2 years of antibiotics. My sputum samples at the end were mixed - some positive, some negative, but I needed to quit the antibiotics due to increasing issues with them.
So for 2 years I did twice daily saline & airway clearance, then got negative cultures. At that point I backed off to one a day saline and 2 a day airway clearance. Gradually, with getting my asthma better controlled I cut back to 2-3 times a week saline & daily airway clearance (after exercise is best for me.) Now I only use saline if I feel congestion or get a respiratory bug, but still do airway clearance - my pulmonologists, both specialists in Bronchiectasis and asthma have approved this routine. The only exacerbation I have had since 2023 was when I got Covid last year - then it was full-on twice daily budesonide, saline and airway clearance plus oral antibiotics and prednisone for 2 weeks.

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@sueinmn Thank you Sue. I'm religious with airway clearance but still not luck getting rid of the bacteria that I'm colonized with and sometimes bleed too.

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