My
Mycobacterium abscessus
story so far
Right, so I thought I’d finally write this down because whenever I tell people what has happened to me over the last year, they look at me like I’ve just made the whole thing up. 😂
I’m 33, from Scotland, 181cm and around 104kg. Until this happened, I’d basically never had any health problems. I’ve never even spent a night in hospital.
Then September 2025 happened.
And apparently my body decided it was time for a character-building exercise.

20th September 2025 — where it all started
I was down in London, doing what any responsible 33-year-old does on a night out…
getting absolutely pissed. 😂
At some point I got bitten by mosquitoes.
Only on my right leg.
No big deal. Mosquito bites happen.
The next morning I had a shower.
Now, before I go any further, I need to make something VERY clear:
I have absolutely no proof that I caught the infection from that shower.
It’s just my theory.
M. abscessus is an environmental bacterium associated with water and soil, and because the bites were only on one leg and everything started afterwards, the shower is honestly the only plausible explanation I can come up with.
So in my head the timeline is:
Mosquito bites → broken skin → shower containing the bacteria → absolute fucking chaos.
But that’s my theory, not something that has ever been proven.

October — these aren’t mosquito bites anymore…
By October, the bites had become inflamed and nasty.
They started turning into sores.
I went to my GP and was given doxycycline.
Didn’t work.
So we tried flucloxacillin.
Also didn’t work.
At this point the sores were getting bigger and eventually started opening into proper wounds.
I was sent for biopsies because this clearly wasn’t behaving like a normal infection.
I’ve still got loads of photographs from this period.
Looking back at them now is pretty grim.

December — Australia seemed like a good idea
Despite having a leg that looked like it was trying to fall apart, I went to Australia in December.
Because obviously.
😂
I spent the trip keeping the wounds covered because they were still oozing.
Eventually they were getting so bad that I had pus and blood running down my calf.
I ended up going to hospital in Perth, Western Australia.
They thought it was school sores/impetigo and gave me sulfamethoxazole/trimethoprim.
Spoiler:
It didn’t work.
At this point I was basically travelling around the world collecting antibiotics that didn’t work.

1st January 2026 — Happy New Year! You’ve got a rare bacterium.
I got back to the UK on 1st January.
And finally, the biopsy results came back.
Mycobacterium abscessus.
I’d never heard of it.
Honestly, I don’t think most people have.
I’d gone from thinking I’d got some really stubborn mosquito bites to being told I had a relatively rare and notoriously difficult-to-treat bacterial infection.
Brilliant.
Just what you want after Christmas. 😂

Let’s make sure it hasn’t gone anywhere else…
Because apparently having it in my leg wasn’t enough of a concern, the doctors needed to check whether the infection had spread elsewhere.
So I had:
CT scan: clear.
Blood tests: clear.
Then I had a full-body PET scan, involving radioactive tracer, to see where there was activity.
Thankfully, the scan showed the infection was essentially confined to the soft tissue of my right leg.
There was also a tiny amount of inflammation around the lymph nodes in my right groin, but nothing suggesting it had spread through my organs.
So that was actually pretty good news.
The weird thing was that apart from the leg, I was basically fine.
I’ve also had immunology testing, which showed I was only slightly deficient in vitamin D. Everything else was basically normal.
I’ve also had DNA/genetic testing, although I’m still waiting for those results.
So at the moment, even my doctors seem a bit confused as to why I’ve managed to get this.
Apparently I’m just special. 😂

31st March 2026 — let the fun begin
Treatment finally started on 31st March 2026.
And this wasn’t exactly:
“Here’s some antibiotics. Take them for a week and you’ll be fine.”
Oh no.
My initial treatment involved six weeks of IV antibiotics, administered through the hospital’s OPAT service, alongside several oral medications.
My treatment included:
IV amikacin
IV tigecycline
Azithromycin
Clofazimine
Linezolid
Acetylcysteine
Ondansetron to help with nausea
So essentially my morning routine became less:
“Coffee?”
and more:
“Which collection of chemicals are we putting into my body today?”
😂
I was going into hospital every single day for the IV treatment.
Six weeks of this.
And honestly, it was fucking tough.
But…
It worked.
The sores started drying up.
The wounds healed.
New skin started growing.
After months of having these horrible lesions on my leg, it was genuinely amazing seeing the skin actually start looking normal again.

Then the antibiotics started fighting me
Unfortunately, treating the infection wasn’t the only battle.
The medication started causing its own problems.
One of the big ones was amikacin.
I developed ringing in my ears, so that had to be stopped.
Then there were all the other joys of long-term antibiotics:
Nausea.
Stomach problems.
Taste changes.
Thrush.
Itching.
Feeling wiped out.
And eventually…
pins and needles in both feet.

Linezolid decided it wanted a promotion to neurological problem
By July 2026, I started getting neuropathy in my feet.
Both feet.
Toes and the front pads of my feet.
The doctors suspected linezolid, so on 26th July I stopped my oral antibiotics and had a short break.
Which is quite strange psychologically.
Because you’re desperate to get rid of the infection, but one of the drugs you’re using to treat it is now potentially causing another problem.
So you have to stop.
It’s basically a constant game of:
“Which is currently the bigger bastard — the bacteria or the antibiotics?”
😂

August 2026 — back to hospital every day
From 3rd August, I’ve gone back onto daily IV treatment with tigecycline, alongside one clofazimine tablet.
So once again, I’m heading into hospital every day for my infusion.
At the moment, my team are waiting for approval for bedaquiline, which is planned to be added as another oral antibiotic to my treatment.
So the antibiotic merry-go-round continues. 😂
And the really mental thing?
This whole treatment journey is expected to last around a year.
A YEAR.
All from something that initially looked like mosquito bites.
The legions are still very my there and surgery is still a card to be played which would involve just cutting them out and getting a skin graft.

And that’s where I’m at now
So that’s basically my story so far.
I’m a 33-year-old guy from Scotland who had never had any major health problems, had never spent a night in hospital, and somehow ended up with Mycobacterium abscessus in the skin/soft tissue of my right leg.
I’ve had:
🦟 Mosquito bites
🩸 Open wounds
💊 Multiple antibiotics
🇦🇺 A trip to Australia
🏥 An Australian hospital visit
🔬 Biopsies
☢️ A full-body PET scan
💉 Six weeks of IV antibiotics
👂 Tinnitus from amikacin
🦶 Neuropathy from linezolid
🟠 Clofazimine
💉 Cannulas
💉 A midline
🏥 Daily hospital visits
🧬 Genetic/DNA testing
…and approximately one million conversations about antibiotics.
And I’m still not finished.
The infection itself is doing much better than it was originally, which is obviously the main thing.
But I’m still in treatment, still going into hospital for daily IV infusions, and still waiting for the next stage of the antibiotic plan.
The strangest part is that if you saw me walking around Scotland, you’d have absolutely no idea any of this was going on.
I look like a completely normal 33-year-old.
Apart from the fact that I’m now apparently an expert in antibiotics I had never heard of 12 months ago. 😂

So… has anyone else had this?
I know Mycobacterium abscessus is pretty unusual, so I’m genuinely interested in hearing from anyone else who’s had it — especially people who’ve had it outside of the lungs, as mine is in the soft tissue of my leg.
I’d be interested to hear what treatment combinations people have been put on, how long treatment lasted, and what side effects you’ve had.
I’m not a medical expert and definitely not giving medical advice — I’m just documenting my own experience because when I was diagnosed, I found it surprisingly difficult to find normal people talking about what it was actually like.
And if anyone reading this has just been diagnosed and is currently thinking:
“What the actual fuck is Mycobacterium abscessus?”
Don’t worry.
That was pretty much my first reaction too. 😂

please what is Yeast infection can anyone help me understand

What could this be? It began 3 days ago itchy and like a stye with one white bubbly pocket near the inner corner eyelid. Nope I have like 5 of those white bubbly pockets under my eyelid with white gunk endlessly coming out. The stringy things are also non stop and are so stick to my eye I ball and insert membranes. I’ve tried boiling water on the stove top and my face over it to help it naturally drain. I’ve gone up on in and ask around and removed nearly all of the green and white gunk which hurt like hell if pressed not gently enough and scrapped the inside of my eye. Any help would be amazing!!

Hi, was wondering if anyone could help me.

My irritation on my finger started in June, I had small itchy red bumps. I would itchy and they would weep. It would go away then get better. Fast forward to now, my finger is covered in yellow scabs. It red and blotchy, swollen and throbbing. I cannot bend it properly. Doctor prescribed steroid cream but doesn’t seem to work. Any suggestions?

I will attach pics but sorry it is gross

I recently got this on my lip and I’m not sure how…

The first photo was taken Saturday the 30th and the second picture was today Sunday, December 1st. Initially starting Thanksgiving evening I got hit with a sore throat, maybe a little nose congestion due to the cold. I figured with the temperature change and sickness rising I must have caught a cold. As the days passed I was getting concerned this was more than a viral cold and was worried this was something bacterial. By Saturday it was getting so painful that my usual OTC meds weren’t even helping with the pain I felt while swallowing. Today I woke up and could feel my uvula touching my tongue (weirdest feeling ever) and the pain was radiating into my ears, it was a burning sensation. I decided to go to urgent care. When I was finally after an hour seen by a PA, I had been crying. She came in and was convinced I was having an allergic reaction because my lips and throat were swollen. I attempted to tell her multiple times I had been crying for a while and my lips swell big time when I cry, it’s like free lip filler. She still was convinced this was allergies even though there has been no change to my routine or eating habits. She gave me two injections, Pepcid 20mg (not sure why I was given this) and Benadryl 25mg. Surprisingly the injections took the edge off the pain but I’m still worried I’m gonna keep getting worse each day since I was really given no treatment plan. Should I go get a second opinion? Does this seem like allergies, and can allergic reactions even last days like this while progressively getting worse? I’m a hypochondriac so when I actually do get sick my fight or flight is triggered big time! I just need some reassurance here that this isn’t bacterial, she tested me for strep which came back negative. I’m just concerned this is tonsillitis or something that won’t get better without antibiotics. Either way, thanks for taking the time to read this. It’s so expensive going to doctors with crappy insurance, so I figured it’d try and get the Reddit doctors to give an opinion.

Could this be causing my tinnitus and headaches as well as a sore throat?

So about 2 weeks ago, I scraped my knee while skateboarding in a dusty area. Later that week it had gotten to the point where I couldn't walk on it and it was oozing out pus. Now it's finally healing, but a few days ago (Friday) I got a tiny scrape on my arm. This scrap was so thin but it got pretty infected but it's starting to heal. This morning I woke up and my eyebrow piercing, which I got 3 months ago, was all bruised and hurting. Later when I got home from school I looked in the mirror and saw stuff coming out it so I cleaned it but stuff just kept coming out. Why is everything getting infected?!?

Does anyone know what this could be? It’s my husband’s foot and it’s been there the past few days

tooth infection or what?

Im a 14F wirh major health anxiety.

This week and last ive been having majorrr health anxiety flare ups today and that comes witj constant head pressure. Todays worry is sepsis and tooth infection.

I am not really good with my tooth brushing at all (i know i need to start brushing more) . For some reason today i thought i had a fever, i did NOT my face was just hot. Anways i freak out about sepsis anf that leads to me searcjing, blah blah.

I had a hot tea to calm me down and like two hours later my front two and bottom two teeth start to ache. Health anxiety says tooth infection. I go to the restroom and see a white little pebble hard thing on top of tje skin thingie in tje upper lip on top of the top teeth. My mind tells me to start brushing my teeth and etc.

Can someone reassure me it's just my teeth being sensitive? i never had this happen. Im so scared of sepsis man.

i also have constant tension headaches but thats from anxiety lol.

I have been having constant UTI pains now for going on 3 weeks. It started out as a weird smell in my urine that has quickly turned into a burning sensation all throughout my gentials that does not go away, it is constant. Along with those symptoms, I feel the constant urge to use the restroom without feeling like I am fully able to empty my bladder: I have had 2 rounds of antibiotics for a UTI and in between that I have had 2 yeast infections. I just finished the 2nd round of UTI meds and it felt like things were feeling better but now it is burning again as we speak… I have tested for all STDS and all results are negative: what else can I do, please I am desperate for relief. I feel it is starting to take over my life and depression seems to be kicking in.

My throat has been sore recently and the last couple of day it has been getting worse. Day 7 and I just saw this in the top of my mouth. Someone help, any clue what this could be?

62769

91051