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Discussions
new diagnosis, so many questions..
My near 80 yr old father was recently diagnosed with Bronchiecstesis and MAC. He saw an infectious disease specialist today and she put him on the "big 3" on a daily regimen. His latest scan shows cavitation. So far his only symptoms are chronic cough, fatigue, and a big weight loss. I am terribly concerned at how the antibiotic treatment will affect him. My questions are... are there alternative treatments that we should seek in addition to the antibiotic drugs? Diet? Supplements? Alternative medicine? TCM? Ayurveda? I am trying to find any info I can on how patients handle the treatment and how to give him the best support going forward. Thank you so much for any suggestions!
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This is a terrific site to be able to connect and ask questions, I am happy you found your way here. There has been a lot of fantastic info shared on here and I have also learned a lot from watching speakers from past conferences that take time to talk about some important aspects of NTM and Bronchiectasis, from treatment to living better and eating better. Below is a link to NTMir video series on YouTube, I hope they may be helpful for you!
https://www.youtube.com/user/NTMir/videos
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Hello! I am sorry to read about your dad’s current challenges. The antibiotics are the only thing that will get rid of the mycobacterium. Added Supplements which have not been approved by the FDA could compound potential issues to body organs such as the kidney and liver. Make sure that he gets his labs checked frequently, gets his eyes checked by a great ophthalmologist, report any side effects to his MD in a timely manner. We are here to assist you with any questions on this journey. I would advice reviewing nutritional support as well on line since he has lost weight and some patients feel nauseous from the meds. Please keep us posted. Kati
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