recurrent tb

hi, Im from the Philippines, i was diagnosed with PTB last 2016, i took the meds for 6 months for ptb and improved (gained weight, no cough etc.) although* i would like to note that AFTER i finished the 6 month treatment I havent been able to check my status ever since i hadnt also done any sputum culture after the 6 months, now, im planning to have a medical check-up, is it possible that i still have tb eventhough i dont show symptoms? would it turn into drug resistant tb if ever there is still tb in my lungs?

[Deniseelk]

I must say I do not know what “ PTB” is ( maybe Pulmonary TB?) but it sounds like you were diagnosed with active TB bacteria and took antibiotics for 6 months. I had latent TB and took my course of antibiotics for 3 months, as prescribed. It is not possible to re-test for the TB bacteria as when we have had it in our bodies ( and it has been “ killed off” by the antibiotics) our bloods still show “ markers” . Rest assured that if you have taken your antibiotics, as prescribed, every day for the full course your active TB bacteria will have been killed off. However, it is always possible, for anybody, to contract the TB bacteria again , only caught from somebody with the active TB bacteria, so a slight chance. I am not a medic so if you need medical confirmation you must speak to your TB specialist. I hope you are feeling much better now you have finished your antibiotics and can feel you can put this whole, worrying experience behind you.

[Hidden in reply to Deniseelk]

thank you for replying i am still waiting for my sputum results hoping it would be negative

[Deniseelk in reply to Hidden]

That’s great news that you were able produce sputum for the test. Did they explain how long it takes for them to grow the culture for your test? I believe it can be up to 8 weeks and hope they warned you! I also noticed a question if you can have TB elsewhere in your body ( apart from your lungs). Well, the answer is yes. My understanding ( I am not a medic) is that the TB bacteria is initially breathed into the lungs ( from a person with active PTB) the active TB bacteria can travel to other parts of the body ( some are very rare). For example, I had TB bacteria detected by several blood tests. My chest x-ray did not show signs of active disease and my specialists felt mine was latent. However, some time prior I had suffered a destroyed wrist ( diagnosed as Rheumatoid Arthritis) therefore a decision was made to take a biopsy of my wrist to test for bone TB. Likewise, this took many weeks to grow the culture to ensure there was no active TB bacteria there. I was told this is a very rare form of TB. The results were negative. I can see you are very anxious about your TB situation and it cannot have been an easy journey for you. Do please try to have some confidence now you have taken your antibiotics and you are getting care and attention from your TB specialist. It is very important to be positive as negative thoughts and feelings can take its toll on our bodies. Time to look forward and enjoy your new, fresh start with your family.

[Hidden in reply to Deniseelk]

thank you for replying, actually i had a very hard time to produce "sputum" because i didnt have a cough but i decided to push through with it and the specialist also instructed me on to how to produce sputum. regarding the extra pulmonary tb i am specifically refferring to 2 tbs coexisting with each other like pulmonary tb and tb of the spine, is there such case?

[askessing]

It is possible to have TB and not show symptoms - a friend of a friend of mine had hers found during a routine check up and apparently it was active and not latent. I had a few pains in my chest and was a little tired but I was not expecting it to be anything serious when I visited the doctor. But as far as I'm aware, many places don't check your sputum again after 6 months so if you are taking the medication you should be fine. It's just a case of whether you had the bad luck to catch it twice, which is probably highly unlikely. I'm sure you're ok.

[Hidden in reply to askessing]

thank you for replying, im really hoping for the best in my results

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

i kind of was in the same situation like in that friend of a friend of yours, before i didnt even know that i had tb moreover an active one because i didnt show any symptoms few weeks or months prior to my check-up (however, before i must say that i had a cough but i never knew it was tb because it disappeared sometime)