I have been diagnosed with Mycobacterium abcessus and Mycobacterium chelanae. Has anyone ever been cured from this? Does anyone know what life expectancy is? I am only 51 years old.

Has anyone experienced hair loss from meds? I have been on ethambutol, rifampin and azithromycin for 6 months now and my hair is getting very thin.

After being told I have bronchiectasis, my pulmonologist informed me that my eosinophil levels were extremely high, 179 was the count, and that it was the main cause of my asthma. Has anyone else experienced this?

Hi! Has anyone with a history of mastectomy with gel implant reconstruction been using a percussion vest, or know anything about the safety to the implants of such use? Any idea where to find case reports of problems or studies showing safety? Thank you! …

Is itpossible to get Disability assistance through the government due toNTM and /or Bronchiectasis? Hasanyone gone through this process?

Hi - found out recently that there is a connection with NTM MAI and living with birds - has anyone been told this by a doctor, I saw a new pcp and he was stunned to learn that I was living in a house with a bird (amazon) - I was stunned that no one ever …

I'm newly diagnosed with Bronchiectasis and MAI. Apparently I have only two brands of nebulizers available in my area that my insurance will cover: Drive (compact or MedNeb I think) and Phillips Respironics Innospire Mini. Does anyone know which is the …

I needed to quit my visual art high school teaching job of 33 years due to my Bronchiectasis. I would frequently have bronchospasm, coughing for several minutes with difficulty breathing, sweats while trying to teach 5 classes per day of 40 students per …

Does your respiratory diagnosis create challenges in your daily tasks? Have you found helpful solutions that you can share?

I was diagnosed with pseudomonas a few months ago & had a hard time getting it resolved. They had to change antibiotics a few times.

Do any of you use Health Apps to manage your disease? Here is an interesting article from the Wall Street Journal about how certain apps help in the connection between health care professionals and patients. Any thoughts on this? https://www.wsj …

Does anyone know what causes Bronchiectasis? Also interested in hearing diagnosis experiences (i.e. did your doctor tell you how you got Bronchiectasis?) if anyone is willing to share. Thanks!

Wonder what foods may or may not affect my condition. Others with experience? Thanks for your responses.

I was diagnosed with this NTM in 2014, and recently my pulmonary doctor has told me he sees progression of growth in my CT's of suspect new activity of the disease. I thought we had beat it back. Now do I start all over? Doing the three tests AFB again. …

Hi everyone, Has anyone tried using masks when they travel to minimize risk of exposure to illness? What have you tried -- and have they worked for you? Thanks!

Yes, so many with chronic disorders face these challenges. I feel that you learn over time how to face saying "no" when you are truly unable to function and attend an event. True friends, family will get better insight of what you are dealing with over …

I do hypertonic saline 7% and it sure has helped me. Also NAC a supplement pulmo do recommend be sure to ask your dr first. My pulmo told me to double my dose I was doing 600 mg for the antitoxin affect till I got bronchiectasis. http://www.webmd …

I sent samples of the bio film in my showerhead to the university study conducted a couple of years ago. Did anyone here participate? Did you get your results? I've never heard back and now cannot even remember who did the study to follow up. Any …

After taking Nexium (PPI that blocks all acid) for over 3 years, due to problems with the antibiotics for NTM, I read that PPI's cause bacteria to go into the lungs. Don't need more of that! So now I am going cold turkey, with no Nexium for the past 3 …

As most of you know our now almost 19 month old has non-cf cystic Bronchiectasis. We have been trying to allow her to experience as many "Normal" activities as possible. One of these being swimming. See, we live in Texas and basically to survive a summer …

Hi all -- how do you approach expressing your needs re: your illness with friends and family? For example, if you need them to stay home when they have a cold so you can avoid infection or you would prefer to stay inside rather than engage in an outdoor …

This is a question from participant Elaine. After having severe H1N1 swine flu in 2009, followed by another chest infection within 10 days - my health and lifestyle changed. My main continuing issues are - persistent throat clearing and occasional …

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I was at a Bronchiectasis and NTM conference and there were a few patients who shared their tips for cleaning their equipment. Many patients were interested in different methods to do so. Do you have any tips or routines that you have found to work over …

Ok guys we are going back to pulmonologist Monday for a follow up for our LO'S pneumonia. When we were told she had Bronchiectasis a few months back our pulmonologist never told us the severity, lung involvement(both or one lobe on specific), or if it …