MAC big 3 meds dietary restrictions

Hmmm! Anyone else have these restrictions on the Big 3? The only ones I recall are no alcohol, no aged cheeses and no cured meats. Soft cheeses and fresh gouda, mozzarella,
etc were fine. Also, aluminum containing antacids should not be taken within 2 or 4 hours. My appetite was so poor, it was a miracle to get enough calories in a day to maintain my weight.
Where have you been reading? I went directly to the medication information sheets. There are some Web sites about MAC and Bronchiectasis where individuals have taken it upon themselves to make dietary recommendations, but these are not necessarily supported by science.
What I found was that either the ethambutol or the rifampin altered my sense of taste, and certain foods tasted terrible to me, like tomato based sauces. Also whole meats, like steak or chops - shredded or diced were better.
Have you started antibiotic therapy yet?

I got information reading from various sites. After awhile things all run together. Your comments are helpful. I will start my meds Wednesday. Thank you
May I also when during the day did you take your meds?

Could you share a typical day of meals.
I'm so tired at night I don't want to prepare a meal.
I have to gain weight.
I've been eating a lot of lentils and putting peanut butter in my oatmeal.
Peanut butter on a banana or apple. A spoon of peanut butter when I have a protein shake.
I'm so sick of peanut butter.
It's a good day for me when I bake a yam.
Just not interested in food preparation anymore.

I’m not a nutritionist but from my experience see if you can try to add in some good fats and carbs. I know it’s hard when you are tired and nauseous along with changing tastes. I did buttered noodles, avocado toast and small snacks when I could. I know you’re tired of peanut butter but I try to keep perfect bars on hand. Not really a fan of protein bars but these are refrigerated, healthy and taste like cookie dough! Someone had mentioned keeping weight on with the help of shortbread so I got a big tin of Walkers shortbread which is mostly butter, sugar and flour which I would take when I needed something in my stomach before I medicated. Getting good calories is helpful but make sure you’re trying to get some nourishment to keep up your strength. My directions said to take with or without food so I generally time meals and snacks around my medication schedule as that seems to work better for me. I enter everything into my iPhone, it sets a reminder and also provides drug info including interactions.

I willl tell you what I did for more than 2 years. It was really tough. I was on the big 3 and had a wonderful doctor to help me through this. Anything I say should be checked out with your doctor/physician. First he told me to take the ethambutol with some food....eg toast before I went to bed. That way I could sleep through it. The other 2 were split up during the day. I could have dairy and other allowed foods 2 hours before or 3 hours after taking the meds. . The meds were scheduled to leave me times that I would be able to eat and observe the "rules " of timing and restrictions. I developed metal mouth and used peppermint life savers and popsicles to help kill that taste. I also wore sea bands to help if I was nauseous. It was not easy but it became a little better as I developed a schedule. At the beginning I thought it wasn't worth all this effort but over 20 years later I know it was worth it.
Anything I did to get me through this made it work. Hopefully you can access your physician and pharmacist to assist you.
Keep up the good fight.

I lived on high calorie smoothies. I would make up a pitcher at a time. Typical recipe was raspberries or strawberries, banana, carrots, protein powder, yogurt and a splash of juice or milk. First I would use the puree cycle to completely puree the carrots with liquid. Or I would lightly cook them. Used berries fresh or frozen. Also stacked on the following: cashews, hummus with veggies or whole grain crackers, loaded baked potatoes, cubes of chicken, chicken salad or tuna salad on bread or crackers, full-fat Greek yogurt with fruit or tomatoes and cucumbers and pumpkin or sunflower seeds. Pudding made with your choice of milk flavoring and protein powder.

Thank you. Your "20 years later" comment is encouraging to all of us.

Thanks, so much. Your timing comment makes sense. I start my regime tomorrow and will do the ethambutal with toast at night

Thank you for taking the time to send this. I am keeping these comments to refer back to as needed. I will look up Perfect Bars and keep some on hand.

Glad I could be of help.
Esther