Need advice on best MAC Docs in or near North Carolina.

Hi Shelly61,

Welcome to the group, you will find a lot of support here. Where are you located in NC? I'm in the Charlotte area and I see Dr. Daniel Howard at Jan & Ed Brown Center for Pulmonary Medicine. He's been great so far. I started on the Big 3 meds last December and I have very little side effects. Like you, I was terrified about starting them. I was super worried about the digestive issues because I have GERD, and the vision issues. I go see an ophthalmologist every 6 weeks to make sure my vision hasn't changed. I have been pretty lucky with the digestive issues, I get occasional diarrhea on the days I take the meds. I'm also extra tired, cat naps during the day and it helps.

There is a NTM/Bronchiectasis Center at UNC Chapel Hill that has excellent doctors if you are close to that area. I live too far to be able to make regular visits.

Thank you @benniej23
I am not far from Charlotte and actually had my Bronchoscopy where you go.
I am so glad to hear you are doing well with the meds. Does your doc also recommend airway clearance? I am reading a lot about how important that is on this site but my Doc has not said anything about it. So nice to chat with a local too. I felt like I was the only one in NC with this.

That's great, I had my bronchoscopy with Dr. John Doty, he was excellent. I wanted him to be my pulmonologist, but the office told me he is only working in the hospital now.

My original doc never recommended airway clearance, I learned it from this group. I did ask my doc at the time about it and she was very supportive (I was in Jacksonville, FL when I was diagnosed) and sent a RX to Walgreen's for the AC equipment (PARI Vios GoGreen nebulizer and 3% saline). Once in a while I will use 7% saline because a lot of people here have said it is much more effective. She recommended doing it 2x a day, but I have committed to doing it 1x a day for now.

Feel free to ask any other questions you may have, happy to help out another NC resident!

Thank you so much. I have a regular nebulizer. Nothing special about it that I know of. I just bought it
From a pharmacy. I don’t have a prescription for the saline. I just ordered the 0.9% off Amazon and just started using it. I will try to get the nebulizer you have. I have heard others mention this one in some of the post. It must be special. Dr Singh did my Bronchoscopy. He was great. Are you seeing an ID doc or is pulmonologist taking care of you? The 3 meds that were discussed were Ethambutol, azithromycin and Rifampin. Is that your meds? I have had my eye
Check up and now getting hearing test scheduled. Needless to say I am so scared. I still work and don’t want these meds to interfere with my work. So glad to hear from your successes so far. Thank you friend.

Yes, those are the 3 meds that I'm taking. It is very normal to be scared, I was too. I was worried I would be so sick that I couldn't do my normal things. But, I have been doing good. All you can do is try, right? If the meds make you sick or you have some other side effect, your doctor will work with you. I haven't heard of Dr. Singh, I'm glad you like him. I'm working with just a pulmonologist right now. You are doing all the right things, getting tested before you start the meds. I recommend you read some posts here about how people take their meds. I decided to take a probiotic first thing in the morning, 1 hour later Rifampin on an empty stomach, 1-2 hours later I would have breakfast and take Ethambutol and Azithromycin at the same time. This seems to work for me.

Please keep us posted how you are doing!

Thank you so much!