Sjoggie-Mates,
It appears that I am starting to finally get some answers (after having my first vasovagal episode last July 15, 2022)
I have been staying at a chest pain level of between 5-8 for months. I have been coughing up blood since Dec., am in tachycardia when I walk. Last Thursday evening I had some weirdo pain and blood pressure spike which sent me to the ER. My bp was 200/1?? The c-scan showed nothing new from the previous scan a couple of weeks before (active Bronchiectasis). So I went home and was able to supply the sputum sample the doc had ordered the week before. I dropped the sample off at the hospital on Fri.
Monday I was scheduled to have an in-person PCP appointment at 1:15. The doctor's office called to change my appointment to a Video appointment. I smiled and thought..how kind, my doc realizes that I am still feeling like caca and is trying to save me the 10 block walk (plus rest stops) from the parking garage to his office. No. As it turns out, they found Mycobacterium (the bacteria that causes Tuberculosis) in my sputum sample. Apparently, the bacteria is a slow dividing one and it takes a good while for it to grow. Not sure whether I will be treated by a prescription or it will require hospital IV antibiotics.
Not gonna lie ya'll..I am starting to feel like I am in front of a firing squad!
Always something new🌻
SjoDry
Good heavens, SjoDry, that must have been a shock. But thank goodness you can begin to get proper help.
I can see that coughing up blood would have been a symptom of TB.
I do hope you receive quick and correct treatment, and that you soon feel a lot better.
SjoDry, I am so sorry to hear this. I know it's scary but it sounds like you have good doctor. Take good care and please keep us posted.
Marie
SjoDry,
I wonder how long you have actually had this?! Especially since you've been coughing since December! I understand it is very contagious so I wonder if they are gonna want to track your contacts?
I'm sorry, but I think somebody should have helped you before now!! Not impressed with the timing of all this. Hopefully you will be taken more seriously in the future.
Kathy
Kathy57,
I am still waiting to find out what this is. I agree that I should have been helped. This all started last July. I have been trying my best to get some answers for months.It helps when the physician doesn't go down a Reflux rabbit-hole at the exclusion of everything else (including appropriate testing). As I am researching the bacteria, it appears to be a slow-dividing one which takes awhile to grow. I am hoping I get some definitive answers soon. Your words are what we all hope for..Hopefully we can all be taken seriously and believed when we need help🌻
SjoDry
Does your lab report specify which Mycobacterium was identified? There are several, and the differences between M. tuberculosis and nontuberculous mycobacteria can be picked up by immunochromatography, exact species identification requires molecular techniques. Some forms are more contagious than others, and some are spread only by environmental contamination.
A diagnosis time of several months isn't uncommon, since very specific, specialized testing is required, and since the diseases caused by the bacterium have decreased dramatically in North America, that isn't usually one of the first lines of investigation, especially since other forms of respiratory infection have become so much more prevalent.
Linda,
I will ask which Mycobacterium. Quite frankly, I was so caught off guard, I didn't ask the questions I should have.
SjoDry
SjoDry, I had Mycobacterium kansasii back in 2005. I was suffering from severely low T cells at the time which did not get diagnosed until 2006. I had been on Methotrexate and it was felt that this caused my body to pick up this bacterium. I also had MRSA at the same time.
Yes, Mycobacterium is iin the same family as TB which is contagious. However, mine was a type that is picked up from the air or soil usually and is usually found in people with compromised immune systems. I had the unknown compromised immune system plus the addition of the Methotrexate which is known to cause us to pick up infections easily.
It usually takes quite a while to culture out this bug from the sputum and I was put on 3 different antibiotics for one year. This is the usual protocol for treating the regular TB that is contagious. There is another Mycobacterium that is found in water of aquariums and maybe in just regular water. I have forgotten the information after all these years.
I had to take the two special TB antibiotics which I would have to look up now as don't have them on the tip of the tongue plus Rifampin which is an antibiotic that is used more commonly also. I ended up being allergic to the rifampin and had to be put on Biaxin. So I took 8 antibiotics a day for one year. This regime kept me busy along with all my other meds and I did fairly well on this.I'm sure by the time you read this post you will have gotten a lot more info from your doctors. I had an infectious disease doctor for one year. Hope this finds you doing some better as I haven't followed this well as I have been off the site for a couple of months. Good luck. meirish