[ElainMoria]

Elain -

I am so sorry to hear that your MAC infection has caused so much difficulty. I have read that the treatment can take a long time, and that it is important to stay on top of it as much as possible.

My older brother had CLL and it went into total remission a couple of years after diagnosis. He said that the CLL made him feel tired but had no other significant symptoms.

My thoughts and prayers are with you.

spanky

Yeah. I am looking at another 18 months of treatment minimum, and I've been being treated for more than a year already. I HAVE since restarted the Rifampin, but only after my Endo switched me to estrogen injections rather than pills. Things have been going ok. Not great. I don't seem to be actually beating the MAC, but at least it is being held roughly at bay. The CLL is still in stage 1, so I'm not real worried about it at this time.

As for breast development, things seem to have stalled out, even though my estrogen levels are in the 250-300 range (right where they should be according to my endo). I've read from a few different sources that this is actually a common occurrence, so for now I am not real worried about it.

I had a radical bi-lateral Orchiectomy a cpl months back (removal of both testicles) and since then I have noticed a few very nice changes. My body hair (chest and tummy) is all but gone now, though admittedly, it was already thinning prior to the Orchi, but that thinning has accelerated greatly since. Leg hair is also much thinner, and I find I only have to shave my legs about once a month. Granted, I tend to wear pants or long skirts most of the time so my leg hair isn't showing often enough for me to worry much past that (yet). My skin is now so soft and smooth... I find myself rubbing my arms, or running my hands across my forehead and marveling at how soft my skin is. Facial hair growth is slower, but not significantly so. I AM having electrolysis done every week, so it's slowly going away. I like that.

My medical team (and I have a lot of doctors lol) are all talking with one another, so all my care is organized and coordinated. With luck... I'll have GRS in about a year. Without luck... well... then I sell my car and RV, fly to Taiwan and have GRS done there. We shall see, we shall see LOL.

~Elain