Gale C,

Hello! Welcome to the community. Regarding medications- do you have Bronchiectasis, NTM or both? 

Both.  I was diagnosed with Bronchiectasis in 2012 after my first bout of pneumonia, and I have done great on only inhalers. I worked (and just retired) in an elementary school so caught many germs which has had me having pneumonia 3 times since 2012, but we usually caught it quickly.  My MAC diagnosis was surprising since I had been doing great but it appears my fatigue and weight loss this school year was not being 65 years old.  I got very ill in April and it ended up being MAC.  I am extremely allergic to many antibiotics, etc and am anxious by nature. I really do trust my pulmonologist. I know knowledge helps me to process things. Thanks for reading!

GaleC,

You are most welcome. I assume that your Pulmonologist is watching/ monitoring and waiting before prescribing multiple antibiotics since you mentioned that you have difficulty with these drugs. Do you have any specific question about a particular drug? We are here to support you. 

Because of how sick I got , my scan and results of bronchoscopy he is starting me on the 3 medications, one very few weeks. I started the first one last week. 

Gale,

Hello! It is best practice to start one pill at a time to note any side effects. I recently posted information on these drugs ; if you scroll through the activity feed over the past few weeks you’ll find them. I hope that things go smoothly for you. Let me know if you have any specific questions. 

Thank. I found them to read. Is it possible to assume that most people here eventually need medication for MAC?

 Doctors are watching, monitoring patients for a period of time to observe their symptoms, checking any changes on cat scan, seeing if airway clearance is effective before prescribing multiple antibiotics. I don’t have any exact numbers on how many do not get placed on medications, but more monitoring is being done now than in the past. Ongoing research on this subject is being conducted.