Treatment starts...Today.

This is just an informative blog to let those who want to know how I'm doing and what's going on with my health.

For those of you who don't know, I haven't been getting better from all the hospital visits, antibiotics, and home treatment as I should be. My CF doctors have been looking into it and finally found a growth of a micro-bacteria growing in my lungs. He set me up with a highly recommended infectious disease doctor who wasn't even taking patients at the time, but made an exception for my case.

Today I met my infectious disease doctor. We went over what I have been growing in the past few cultures, and it's called "MAC" (MYCOBACTERIUM AVIUM COMPLEX). It's NOT a contagious infection. However it's an infection that has probably been causing my unfortunate sick times in the past year. I start treatment today, and according to my doctor it will last anywhere from 18-24 months.

I found this website with a lot of information that some of my friends and family may want to read, I think it's easier to just read it rather than me summarizing everything it says. I've gone over the risks of side effects with my doctor and loved ones, and hope that I simply am 'lucky' enough to avoid these or catch them before they get too bad.

For the next year and half or so I'll be doing monthly blood work (for those of you who know me, know that I am really not a fan of this), monthly sputum cultures, hearing and vision tests every 6 months. The doctor says that I should be feeling better any time between a few weeks and a couple months, and hopefully this time....STAY BETTER.

http://maclungdisease.org/more-mac-information