Thank you for sharing your experience. I always have a hard time coughing the sputum up and out and suggest to my doc that I wasn't producing a good enough sample. He dismissed that though and didn't give me any explanation. Yours helps alot.

I am trying to do sample too its hard.

Hi gardeniatexas,
Do you mind me asking how long you’ve had Mac? I was recently diagnosed and my doctor did not prescribe a nebulizer nor a vest. It’s not a good fit with my current doctor and I will be changing doctors in January but in the meantime I am advocating for myself. I recently asked my doctor to prescribe saline for nebulizing and I am wondering about the vest. Is it too soon? My Mac was caught quite early on, I don’t have a lot of sputum, but I’m looking to do everything I can I can to be my healthiest. Any thoughts? Thank you!

The vest s a good thing but be sure to check on the best one. I and others have had Hil Rom and it didn't help us much at all. I hear a about the Afflo Vest its portability is very like able. Each to his own. One is good for one may not be another. I found the hypertonic saline 7% helped me more than the vest did.

@Macfit

While I was diagnosed 5 years ago, I had been complaining to doctors for about 5 years before that so by the time it was caught, all 5 lobes of my lungs were infected and had nodules. After I was diagnosed with pulmonary MAC (NTM) and bronchiectasis, it took a few years to finally get a set of doctors that understood the situation and were ___proactive___. My first pulmonologist knew to put me on the 3 oral antibiotics, but did not know a bunch of other standard treatments (monthly sputum samples, what to do if the 3 oral antibiotics did not clear the infection, what to do about the bronchiectasis). Fortunately I now see a research pulmonologist who specializes in this at UT Health Science Center in Tyler, Texas (about 3.5 hours from where I live) and an excellent. immunologist.

I do believe that the nebulized saline and the airway clearance vest are keeping me stable (along with a many meds) and help me not get near as many other lung infections.

@Macfit Hi Macfit;
I don't have MAC, but have been using a vest for a little more than 2 months now and found that it is slowing helping me bring up phlegm. I also use a nebulizer with albuterol, brovana and budesonide. My vest is from Respirtek. I'm happy with the vest, the caregiver who showed me how to use it, and the people from Respirtek who have been extremely supportive. Because I also have Bronchectasis, my doctor recommends using the vest with a hypertonic saline solution. Hope this helps!

I had the vest Hil Rom and I felt it didn't help me. I use hypertonic saline 7% is the purest. Now pulmo PA is calling in mucomyst I hate that stuff. We are trying to get a sputum sample its so hard for me to do this. Last one was normal but they want to check see if any other bugs are there.

Thank you, I appreciate the input ad the helpful hints.