Tell us about your symptom and treatment experience. Take our survey here.

caret icon Back to all discussions

Adult Onset Atypical Cystic Fibrosis

In 2005, I had a severe case of black mold bronchitis. I went to a pulmonologist like I thought I should be tested. I had the sweat test done at Washington DC's children's hospital and it was positive over 60. They sent off my sample for genetic test but told me the results were insignificant. In the meantime, every few years I had a big flare. In 2010 I had my gallbladder removed because it was full of stones. From 2000 - 2017, I had frequent pneumonia and sinusitis, this is complicated by the fact that I have a primary immune deficiency. In 2017 I tried to find out what the mutation was for a CFTR. Georgetown had thrown my results out but somehow I managed to track down the genetics company that still had my results. When they sent them to me it was clear that I had an unusual mutation of significance. In 2022 I caught Pseudomonas pneumonia at home and ended up in the hospital. I continue to have frequent pneumonia sinusitis. We weren't sure whether this was coming from my immune deficiency or cystic fibrosis. Between 2020 - 2023 I had three rounds of covid as well as many other viruses which I had no resistance to. In January 2025, I developed cystic fibrosis symptoms all over my body- coughing up huge amounts of this mucus from my nose that was bloody and had drastic weight loss that I could never regain, as well as continued constipation. We now know it was coming from CF. My pancreas is not functioning correctly and we are looking into pancreatic enzymes. My biggest problem is that I can barely tolerate any medications so we're not sure how to treat this. Has anybody else had anything like this?

  1. Thanks for being here and for feeling comfortable sharing your experiences with us. Although I can not speak directly to what you've experienced, I wanted to link to a few articles that may be helpful. I am also hopeful that other community members will chime in and share their thoughts and experiences with you to give you some better insight. If you're feeling up to it, please keep us posted on how you're doing, and always remember, our community is here for you. Sending you strength and support. -Beth (Team Member)

    Information on Pancreatic Enzymes: https://cystic-fibrosis.com/treatment/pancreatic-enzymes-supplements
    Experiences with weight loss: https://cystic-fibrosis.com/living/weight-loss-management
    The importance of knowing your mucus types: https://cystic-fibrosis.com/living/mucus
    Common respiratory infections that weaken the immune system: https://cystic-fibrosis.com/respiratory-complications

    Please read our rules before posting.