Taking my last pills for the Big 3 today. Any advice?

@benniej23 Congratulations on reaching the finish line! When I stopped the antibiotics in December 2019, I just continued airway clearance, ate a healthy diet and worked on exercising to regain my weight, strength & stamina.

My pulmonologists also recommended continuing all vaccines, drinking filtered or bottled spring water, and avoiding sick people. Since I also have asthma, keeping it well under control has helped me to avoid exacerbations.

What do you want to do next?

@sueinmn Thank you! I plan to continue eating well, exercising and taking measures to ensure I don't get re-infected (assuming my infection is gone) such as continuing to get vaccinated, avoiding sick people and mask up when needed. It's such a relief to be done with the meds, but scary at the same time because you don't want to be back on them. I'm so glad I found this group because I have learned a lot since joining a few years ago!

@benniej23 If it makes you feel any better, I was not totally "cured" when I stopped the antibiotics in December 2019, but every culture except on has been negative since then, and my scans show that my lungs are stable.
I follow the course I suggested to you, and live a pretty normal life (except for some fatigue and an annoying little cough) - but is that infection, age, rheumatoid arthritis, asthma, or ??? By normal I mean we spend time with grandkids, travel, volunteer, see lots of people, take care of house and yard... just more slowly that in the past.

@benniej23 congratulations and isn’t it a wonderful feeling to reach this point. My only suggestion would be to discuss with your doctor nebulizing twice a day. Like you, I produce very little sputum but my doctor (Dr. Colin Swenson at Emory in Atlanta) thinks twice a day is a necessary precaution to prevent a recurring infection. That may change as time goes on and I remain infection free but for now I will continue with the twice a day regimen.

Hi Bennie. Buy a bottle of champagne! Best of luck going forward

Congratulations! When I went off after an awful 18 months I felt like I was free. It took my stomach many months to recover and I still continue with probiotics and yogurt daily. I have been at a family reunion in Ohio this past few days and the smoke has been terrible here, air quality as high as 500, now three days later it’s down to 180. I’m not taking my lungs for granted anymore so masking to and from car and spending all my time inside by myself while everyone is out on the lake. I’ve always done what was expected but I’m trying to put my needs first for the first time in my life. Actually doing my breathing overlooking the lake now, all is good.

Congrats!. I had been on Azithromycin and Ethambutol for nearly 5 years and Arikayce for nearly 3 for my MAC. Finally went to NJH for extensive 2nd opinion workup (should have done that years ago) and was taken off all antibiotics and concentrating on twice daily AC with 7% saline and Aerobika device. Turns out much of my CT findings are really old scar type damage from either secondhand smoke or other pollution type impacts growing up in China. Not active infection process. I do have some mild MAC and mild Bronchiectasis, but AC and other lifestyle changes are the way to deal with it. Cannot praise the team at NJH enough.

I congratulate you on 18 months of treatment. That is an amazing accomplishment that probably felt like forever as you were going through treatment. . I have 1 more year to go and often wonder if I can ever go off the meds. You’re an inspiration to me and got through it. Thanks for sharing your experience. Very much appreciated.

@sueinmn I'm glad every culture has been negative since you stopped and your scans show your lungs are stable! I hope the same will be true for me. It's great you are able to live your life normally, albeit slower. I'm still able to do the things I normally do, too. I'm a little more tired these days but it helps to take daily naps for at least 20 minutes.

@maryjanechilds I did ask my pulmonologist if he thought I should nebulize twice a day and he said no, once a day was fine. I work full time and I usually nebulize first thing in the morning because sometimes I will forget. I know that's bad. I have to be on camera during meetings and I mentally tell myself I'll nebulize after this but then I get wrapped up in an issue or something and forget. So that's why I do it first thing. I will ask him again when I see him in September,