Discussions

Double whammy- M.Ab +MAC

October 24, 2026

1 63

Hello, I'm new here. I just retired after 23 years in the military and finally got to see civilian doctors who care. The military didn't listen to me and just told me I had asthma/COPD, even though I've never smoked. They said my mucus was just a "new normal.” They never told me I had bronchiectasis, but in May 2026, a civilian pulmonologist said it was there and had been there for years. Soon after, he did a bronchoscopy. Since then, I’ve had two hospital stays for bouts of Achromobacter, and now I’ve had three positive cultures for M. abscessus and three positive cultures for MAC. They’re going to treat both.

A civilian immunologist diagnosed me with SAD two years ago, so there’s just a lot going on. My ID doctor said it was extremely rare to have M. abscessus and MAC at the same time. His plan is to use four antibiotics: inhaled amikacin and oral azithromycin, clofazimine, and ethambutol.

Is there anyone else out there who has or has had both? I’d really appreciate any insight into what to expect when I start treatment.

v/r

Kelly

Latest Activity: 7 hours ago

Replies

Ksmiles123

Kelly,

Hello! Welcome to our community- I am glad you found us. 1st of all- Thank you for your time in the service, we greatly appreciate it.
I am so sorry that you did not get the care you needed up to this point in time. I am glad you are finally in good care. 3 antibiotics are usually given for MAC. It is a lot to deal with 4 antibiotics at the same time. I would strongly recommend finding a registered dietitian who can assist you on your journey.
There is a lot of educational resources under the Learn More tab in the menu.

To start, listed below are videos onNTM for you to listen to . Having both MAC and Abscessus at the same time is not very common. https://social.bronchandntm.org/resources

https://social.bronchandntm.org/resources/detail/18

Latest Activity: 7 hours ago

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